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Cheddar recycling centre to remain open for foreseeable future

Cheddar recycling centre to remain open for foreseeable future

There are no immediate plans to shut a recycling centre, which two years ago was earmarked for closure in a cost-saving measure.Somerset Council published plans in January 2024 to shut five of the county's 16 recycling centres, including one in Cheddar, in a bid to save £963,000.Somerset Council has now confirmed Cheddar's recycling centre will remain open with its current hours for the foreseeable future.Councillor Richard Wilkins, lead for waste services, said: "If any closure is proposed, it…

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Devon monastery offered for sale to community for £1

Devon monastery offered for sale to community for £1

Guy HendersonLocal Democracy Reporting ServiceGuy Henderson/LDRSThe former monastery is proposed to be turned into a community centreCampaigners who were looking to turn a former monastery into a community centre have been offered the chance to buy the building for £1.Torbay Council announced a proposal to support the campaign by offering the building on Paignton's Berry Drive to the campaign for the negligible sum. The Marist Order paid £6,000 for the building when it was new in 1881, the…

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Inside South West schools where phones are locked away

Inside South West schools where phones are locked away

Walk into Brannel School in the morning and you will see teenagers locking away their phones - each device slips into a special pouch that locks until the end of the day.The phones stay with the pupils, but they are out of reach.Brannel, near St Austell, Cornwall, is among a number of schools in the South West that are clamping down on phones due to the distractions they create.Head teacher Tristan Muller-Forster said the system tackled what he…

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Fatboy Slim and Friends in Dorset Camp Bestival takeover

Fatboy Slim and Friends in Dorset Camp Bestival takeover

Fatboy Slim is to headline Camp Bestival next summer in an all-day takeover of the festival's Castle Stage.The DJ, whose real name is Norman Cook, will host Fatboy Slim and Friends - a day of non-stop music featuring special guests on the final day of the four-day family festival in Dorset.The 2026 event, which runs from 30 July to 2 August at Lulworth Castle, will have a seaside theme, with attendees encouraged to dress up.Cook said: "I'll be…

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Frome flats evacuated after blaze rips through building

Frome flats evacuated after blaze rips through building

A block of flats has been evacuated after a blaze ripped through the building, a fire service has said.Firefighters attended the incident at a property on Marigold Road in Frome, Somerset, at 18:51 GMT on Wednesday. During the blaze, the building's roof partially collapsed, but no one was seriously injured. Dozens of people have been moved into temporary accommodation following extensive fire, smoke and water damage to the building.The fire was extinguished by 02:26 GMT and Avon and…

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Survivors recall terror of landslides from North Sumatra cyclone | Weather News

Published On 4 Dec 20254 Dec 2025Click here to share on social mediashare2ShareNorth Tapanuli, North Sumatra – Sri Yuni Pardede, 20, was with her family at home when a thunderous crash jolted them awake at 2:30am (09:30 GMT). “My mother-in-law said it was just thunder. I said, ‘No, the house is shaking.’ Not long after, boulders came crashing down,” she recalled.“My younger sibling was staying over. When the landslide happened, I kicked him to wake him up. If…

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Man in 80s detained under Mental Health Act over woman’s death

Man in 80s detained under Mental Health Act over woman’s death

A man in his 80s arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of a woman in Bournemouth has been detained under the Mental Health Act.The woman, in her 60s, was found dead at an address in Wentworth Avenue on Tuesday shortly before 12:30 GMT.Dorset Police said following an assessment by mental health professionals he had since been detained under the act. The force said the man was known to the woman.The force said a cordon was in…

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Sherborne Almshouse’s triptych sold at auction for £5.6m

Sherborne Almshouse’s triptych sold at auction for £5.6m

A rare 15th Century painting depicting five miracles of Christ has been sold for more than £5.6m at auction.The triptych has survived through religious purges and political upheaval for more than 500 years in the Almshouse chapel in Sherborne, Dorset.The sale on Wednesday evening exceeded initial valuations by Sotheby's who estimated it could fetch £3.5m.Dorset Museum had hoped it could appeal to the Arts Council for a temporary export deferral to allow it more time to raise the…

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Academics welcome parliamentary debate into national acquired brain injury action plan

Exeter researchers working to highlight the hidden costs of acquired brain injuries – both to individuals and the economy – have welcomed a debate on the issue in the Houses of Parliament. Held at Westminster Hall today (December 4), the debate will investigate the potential merits of the Government developing a comprehensive acquired brain injury action plan. It comes after a report in May found that investing in specialist rehabilitation services could save the NHS and social services…

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Rottweiler pups named after Krays join Devon and Cornwall Police

Rottweiler pups named after Krays join Devon and Cornwall Police

BBCPaul Glennon said he hoped the pair would be "very successful"A pair of rottweiler puppies are being trained by Devon and Cornwall Police in the hope they will become general purpose police dogs.The force's canine development officer, Paul Glennon, said the 13-week-old pups, named Ronnie and Reggie after notorious London gangsters the Krays, were an alternative breed for the force to supplement the German shepherd breed.Mr Glennon said he was not aware of the breed being used in…

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Cornwall care home put in special measures after inspection

Cornwall care home put in special measures after inspection

GoogleTwo people were living at Clubworthy House at the time of the inspectionA care home for people with learning disabilities has been placed in special measures following an inspection by a watchdog.Investigators at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found the care offered at Clubworthy House, Cornwall, was inadequate after the inspection in October.In a report investigators found leaders at the home had "allowed a closed culture to develop where people weren't treated with dignity and respect", and investigators…

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