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Children’s services going ‘in positive direction’

Children’s services going ‘in positive direction’

Children's services are improving in Devon after years of problems, according to a commissioner appointed by the government.The Department for Education appointed Nigel Richardson as Devon's Children's Services Commissioner following an Ofsted report in May 2025 that judged children's services in Devon County Council to be inadequate.The commissioner said the areas crucial to the success of the service were "all heading in a positive direction" and praised the council's leader and chief executive for their focus on children.The…

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Care home placed into special measures after inspection

Care home placed into special measures after inspection

GoogleGarsewednack Residential Home has been rated inadequate by inspectorsA care home has been placed in special measures after inspectors found the level of care had deteriorated.Garsewednack Residential Home in Redruth, Cornwall, has room for up to 21 residents, including some living with dementia, with 16 people living there at the time of the last inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).The CQC said due to the level of concern identified during inspection, it had issued four warning notices…

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Fiddler crabs found to hoover up and break down microplastic particles

New research has found that Fiddler crabs are playing an unheralded role when it comes to hoovering up microplastics found in the world’s mangrove forests and salt marshes. Scientists studying a thriving population of Fiddler crabs in a polluted mangrove forest in Colombia have found that they can ingest and break down large quantities of small plastic particles in the sediment. The ability to mobilise large amounts of sediment for feeding and sheltering, and the creature’s specialised digestive…

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Teenager charged with murder of girl, 9, in Weston-super-Mare

Teenager charged with murder of girl, 9, in Weston-super-Mare

Sarah TurnnidgeWest of England PAA post-mortem found the preliminary cause of Aria's death was a single stab woundA 15-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of nine-year-old Aria Thorpe.Aria was found dead at a house in Lime Close, Weston-super-Mare, shortly after 18:00 GMT on Monday. A post-mortem examination found the preliminary cause of her death was a single stab wound, Avon and Somerset Police said.The teenage suspect, who cannot be named due to his age, remains in…

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LIVE: Another Gaza home caves in as Israel keeps blocking shelter supplies | Israel-Palestine conflict News

blinking-dotLive updatesLive updates, Rescuers save six Palestinians, including two children, in Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp after family home collapses.Published On 17 Dec 202517 Dec 2025Click here to share on social mediashare2Share Source link

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West Somerset cycle path upgrade axed as cash spent elsewhere

West Somerset cycle path upgrade axed as cash spent elsewhere

A project to improve a cycle route has been scrapped because it is too difficult to implement, a council says.Active Travel England provided Somerset Council with £1.5m to carry out work on the existing path along the A39 between Dunster and Carhampton in west Somerset.A spokesperson for the council said: "The funding allocation, with the agreement of Active Travel England, was reallocated to a number of other schemes due to the logistical challenges of the original proposal."The authority…

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Jockey graduates in neuroscience at Exeter after switching careers following injury

A jockey who switched careers to focus on neuroscience research following injury was among those celebrating at the University of Exeter’s winter graduation. Tommy Eyston, 25, completed a Masters in Neuroscience at Exeter and received a distinction while also riding as an amateur jockey. Having also ridden as an amateur before her studies, Tommy decided to go professional as a conditional jockey after completing an undergraduate degree in chemistry at the University of Bristol in 2022. As a…

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Arrest over suspected theft of cocker spaniel Gerry in Dorset

Arrest over suspected theft of cocker spaniel Gerry in Dorset

A man has been arrested in connection with the theft of a red cocker spaniel that disappeared from a kennel outside a village home in Dorset.Gerry went missing from Hilfield, between Dorchester and Sherborne, on 8 December between 11:30 and 12:30 GMT sparking a police and social media appeal.He was found safe and well two days later near Cerne Abbas about 5km (3 miles) away and was returned home.Dorset Police said a 34-year-old man from Poole was arrested…

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‘Win for residents’ as Solent Meads Golf Course not in plans

‘Win for residents’ as Solent Meads Golf Course not in plans

A councillor has said news that a golf course will not be included in plans to create more natural green spaces is a "win for residents".Bournemouth, Christchurch and Pool (BCP) Council announced three sites - Erlin Farm, Millhams Mead and Solent Meads - had been earmarked to help improve access to nature.There were fears Solent Meads Golf Course could be closed, with a petition to save it gaining more than 8,000 signatures.East Southbourne and Tuckton councillor Bernadette Nanovo…

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Bid to vary Portland incinerator permit ‘nuts’, critics say

Bid to vary Portland incinerator permit ‘nuts’, critics say

Ros TappendenSouth of EnglandPowerfuel PortlandThe proposed incinerator would be built on land owned by Portland PortAn application to burn more types of waste at a planned incinerator on the Dorset coast have been branded "completely wrong".Powerfuel Portland has permission to build an energy recovery facility at Portland Port after the Court of Appeal dismissed a legal challenge by campaigners in November.The firm wants to vary its environmental permit to include additional waste types, including waste from sewage cleaning,…

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How many UK homes could be heated from cow manure?

How many UK homes could be heated from cow manure?

Dave HarveyBusiness and environment correspondent, West of EnglandBBCDairy farmer Richard Clothier sees cow manure as "nature's crude oil"How many homes could be heated by cow muck?It is not a question I have thought about before, but as Britain searches for sustainable sources of heat, many farmers are looking, well, right under their noses.Cow manure can be treated to release biomethane, a renewable gas which is already used to power central heating boilers in about a million homes.But there…

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