Simon Hall, Home Affairs Correspondent
BBC Spotlight

A call for council tax to be increased to plug a gap in police funding has been dubbed “a blow to hard-pressed families”.

Devon and Cornwall’s Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg says council tax should be raised by 1.99%.

But Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “At a time when residents are feeling the pinch, public bodies should be doing everything they possibly can to ease the tax burden, not raise it.”

Holly Green
BBC Weather

Variable amounts of cloud with bright or sunny spells and isolated showers. Cloud amounts increasing.  

Tonight will be overcast with patchy light rain and drizzle and increasing south westerly winds. Minimum Temperature: 9 Deg C (48 Deg F).

BBC Radio Cornwall

An earthquake of 0.8 magnitude was recorded in Penryn last night. 

Image source, British Geological Survey

It lasted two to three seconds and vibrations were felt from Falmouth to Helston. The British Geological Survey said it was 1km deep., external

BBC Radio Devon

Plymouth University is looking for local expertise to help build the word's first full sized self-sailing ship, aimed at changing the face of shipping.

Image source, Plymouth University

It says the technology needed is so cutting edge, it doesn't actually exist yet. 

It's aimed to sail the Mayflower Autonomous Ship across the Atlantic in 2020 to mark the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim fathers sailing for the New World.

Jonathan Morris, BBC News Online

Motoring misery is set to continue for months to come on a busy Devon main road because of unexpected delays.

Image source, Getty Images

Temporary lights were installed on the A379 near Yealmpton in March last year because of subsidence, but work won't start until April.

A County Council spokesman said: "It doesn't normally take this long to design a structural repair scheme, but the investigation work was seriously hampered by the location of a gas main under the road." 

Exeter Express & Echo

More details of the Donald Crowhurst biopic Deep Water, starring Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz and the scenery of Teignmouth, external, have begun to drip out, external.

Claire Hawke
BBC Local Live

Rail campaigners have welcomed government assurances that a decision not to fund improvement research may be re-examined

A search for man, believed to be missing in the Truro River, has been called off

St Austell is to receive almost a million pounds from the Heritage Lottery Fund to improve the look of its town centre 

Seaton Jurassic - one of the biggest tourist attractions in Devon - will open in the next few months

One of the UKs most endangered butterfly species has spread its wings and covered more land in a Devon forest.

Image source, Andrew Cooper

Numbers of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary have dropped by 95% in the past 40 years. But their future has now been made more secure by extending their habitat into the HaldonForest Estate, external.

Exeter Express & Echo

Council leaders have said Exeter must not miss out on the chance of a £100m investment and up to 750 new jobs in the redevelopment of the city centre., external

Image source, Express and Echo

BBC Radio Cornwall

Antony Primary School in Torpoint has been closed after a security threat received this morning.

The roads around the school are closed. All staff and pupils are safe and police are carrying out a search. 

Thousands of pupils were evacuated on Tuesday as hoaxthreats were made to 14 schools across England, including four in Cornwall.

BBC Spotlight

The rail minister has confirmed that the government is looking at ways of funding two key rail studies in the South West. 

There remains doubt over the £500,000 funding needed for studies into the impact of electrification and journey times, that the Peninsula Rail Taskforce says is key to future improvements.

Answering questions in the House of Commons, Claire Perry said: "I am looking very carefully at how we fund a very small amount of money." 

Matt Pengelly
BBC Radio Cornwall

The search for a man believed to be missing in Truro River has been scaled down. 

A man was rescued from the River Truro at around 07:00 this morning and told the police that a second man was also missing - a major search was then launched involving all of the emergency services.

Police have now told me they believe the second man was able to get out of the water on his own, but investigations are continuing. 

Laurence Reed
BBC Radio Cornwall

Yesterday on the programme we had a big reaction the the news that the Cardrew Walk in Centre at Redruth will not have its contract renewed and will therefore close. 

Twenty five thousand people use the centre and will now have to use a walk in centre at Camborne Redruth Hospital instead. 

Today I'll be putting your concerns to the MP for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle. Get involved by calling the phone-in on 01872 222222.

BBC Spotlight

Government plans, which could see the merger of the control rooms that take 999 calls for the emergency services, are purely and simply about cutting costs and will do nothing to improve services to the public, says Unison South West.

The union's regional secretary Joanne Kaye said: “The last thing that the dedicated staff who work in our ambulance, police and fire and rescue services need is yet another reorganisation." 

But Home Office minister Mike Penning said it did not "make sense" to have different premises.  

BBC Radio Devon

Flybe has confirmed the launch of new direct flights from Exeter Airport to Norwich Airport.

Image source, Freefoto

The new route will operate six days a week from March and is being backed by the Government's Regional Air Connectivity Fund, which supports routes that may not be initially commercially viable.

A thorough search of the Truro River is taking place this morning after reports of two men in the water. One of the men was rescued, but the other is still missing.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service crew manager, Dave King, said: "We've got people walking up the bankside to see if they can locate anybody in the water, and we've got some small inflatable boats that are in the water just checking around the boats that are actually moored up."

BBC Spotlight

One of the biggest tourist attractions in Devon will open in the next few months.

Seaton Jurassic claims to be the first centre to promote the World Heritage Site coastline which runs along East Devon and South Dorset.

Developers estimate it will bring £4m into the local economy by attracting up to 60,000 visitors a year.  

A major search is still underway in the River Truro.

One man has already been rescued in the operation involving all of the emergency services in the Malpas area this morning. 

Tago McLeod from the Coastguard said: "We believe one person is still unaccounted for and we are continuing the search at this time."