Summary

  • Updates on Thursday 7 July 2016

  1. Our live coverage across the daypublished at 18:00

    Live updates for Devon and Cornwall have finished for the day, but we'll be back at 08:00 on Friday with the latest news, sport, travel and weather.

    You'll be able to catch up on the latest about Dartmoor's missing lynx on BBC Spotlight. There will also be news through the night on BBC Radio Devon and BBC Radio Cornwall.

  2. Arson attack Polish family 'don't feel safe anymore'published at 17:57

    Andrew Segal
    Local Live

    A Polish woman whose house was targeted in a suspected racially-motivated arson attack in Plymouth says she doesn't "feel safe anymore” and things have been "very intense after the [EU] referendum".

    Police said the fire was "started deliberately" in a shed situated close to the house in Blandford Road, Efford, between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, damaging the house itself. A threatening letter was also sent.

    Shed. Pic: Ewa BanaszakImage source, Ewa Banaszak

    Ewa Banaszak said: "We’ve had verbal comments over the last couple of years but it has intensified after the vote, and now this which is the most serious incident yet. Two days ago my little brothers were out in the park playing and a group of children started throwing stones at them, shouting: 'Go back to your own country'. One of the mums joined in, which shocked me as I thought she would know better."

    She added: "I have had lots of messages of support and I know not everyone wants us gone, but it is enough people to make an impact on our lives”.

  3. 'Various meats' to tempt missing lynx into trapspublished at 17:53 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

    Andrew Segal
    Local Live

    Traps being set out to capture a lynx which has escaped from a Devon zoo will contain various types of meat to tempt him inside, zoo managers say.

    Lynx. Pic: Dartmoor ZooImage source, Dartmoor Zoo

    Newly-arrived lynx Flaviu was discovered missing from Dartmoor Zoo this morning, prompting the organisation of search teams in the local area.

    The zoo said humane traps of "ample size", so as not to hurt Flaviu, were being laid out. Once inside, it said, the door will then close behind him, allowing the animal to be safely returned to the zoo.

  4. Bobbies on the beach: Wheels in motion for Segway patrolspublished at 17:48 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

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    Police in Cornwall have started using Segways to patrol a stretch of coastline around the Newquay area.

    They'll be used in a bid to tackle low-level crime such as drinking. A company has donated the devices to the force for the summer trial.

  5. Latest weather: Staying cloudy with chances of rainpublished at 17:43 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

    David Braine, Weather Forecaster

    Remaining mild tonight, although the skies will stay cloudy throughout. Outbreaks of rain or drizzle will develop through the night, and there will be a little hill fog in places. Minimum temperature: 14C (57F).

    Weather

    Friday is staying cloudy, with the continued risk of rain or drizzle, especially across the hills. Through the afternoon, the rain should ease with some late brightness possible. Maximum temperature: 20C (68F).

  6. Oooh, those sock-napping police pups!published at 17:38 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

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  7. Latest headlines in Devon and Cornwallpublished at 17:32 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

    Andrew Segal
    Local Live

    • Police and zoo staff search for a lynx which has escaped from Dartmoor Zoo
    • The home of a Polish family in Plymouth is damaged by fire in a racially-motivated arson attack
    • French courts are to take no further action against a ski-lift company involved in a freak accident which killed Devon schoolboy Keiran Brookes
    • Staff in Padstow's lobster hatchery say they're worried their efforts to support lobster stocks could be scuppered by Brexit negotiations
    • Newquay Airport has had a boost, with new figures showing a sharp rise in the number of passengers - up 51% since last year
  8. Parody Twitter account set up for Dartmoor Lynxpublished at 17:25

    Claire Jones
    BBC News Online

    A parody Twitter account has been set up for the Dartmoor Lynx that has gone missing.

  9. Police 'appalled' by arson attack on Polish familypublished at 17:18 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

    Andrew Segal
    Local Live

    Police say they are "appalled" by an arson attack on a Polish family's home in Plymouth which they believe to be racially motivated. 

    Arson attackImage source, Handout

    Officers said the fire was "started deliberately" in a shed situated close to the house in Blandford Road, Efford, overnight between Wednesday 6 July and Thursday 7 July. It spread to the house, causing "substantial damage". A "hate-filled letter" was also sent to them, containing further threats, police added.

    Insp Darren Green said: "Hate crime has no place in Plymouth and we will do everything possible to locate those responsible for the fire and the disgusting letter sent to the victims."

  10. Teacher abused boys at holiday homepublished at 17:10 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

    Miles Davis
    BBC News Online

    A teacher sexually abused young boys at a school and at his holiday home.

    Jonathan Thomson-Glover, 54, pleaded guilty to four counts of indecency with two children at a school in Winchester and at a holiday home in Cornwall. 

    Jonathan Thomson-GloverImage source, Handout

    Thomson-Glover is already in jail at HMP Channings Wood for making indecent films of more than 120 pupils using hidden cameras at Clifton College. At Truro Crown Court, Recorder Martin Meeke QC sentenced Thomson-Glover to an additional six months in prison

    The abuse took place at some point between 1987 and 1992, probably when the boys were 12-years-old. The court heard Thomson-Glover "befriended and charmed" the parents of the boys so they trusted him to take their sons to a holiday home.

  11. Exeter face tough Premiership startpublished at 17:04 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

    Brent Pilnick
    BBC Sport

    Exeter have arguably the hardest start of the Premiership season after the league's fixtures were unveiled.

    Exeter ChiefsImage source, Getty Images

    Last season's losing finalists open with a trip to Wasps - who they overcame in the Premiership semi-finals, but who beat them in a dramatic Champions Cup quarter-final - before hosting champions Saracens in their opening two games.

    They then host Harlequins before a trip Bristol, who the Chiefs last met in 2010 when they beat them in the first-ever Championship play-off.

  12. Missing lynx: Some sightings "more credible than others"published at 16:58

    Claire Jones
    BBC News Online

    George Hyde, operations manager at Dartmoor Zoo, said: "We expect to make some progress over the coming hours. We hope to be open as usual to the general public tomorrow morning.

    "All of that will be done with the cooperation with the local authority.

    "Since our earlier news reports we have had a few reports of sightings in the local area, some more credible than others, and we are following up on those reports as we speak."

  13. 'Vicious' dog attack trial droppedpublished at 16:49 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

    Andrew Segal
    Local Live

    The trial of a dog owner whose animal allegedly attacked a man in Truro, causing him serious head injuries, has been dropped, prosecutors have confirmed.

    Peter Fitzgerald

    Peter Fitzgerald said his pet dog, Kimbo, had to fight off what he called a "vicious" Pitbull Mastiff which had set on him in a park in Malabar in June 2015. He needed almost 200 stitches (pictured) after the attacking animal "basically started eating the back of my head".

    Paul Lindsay-Jones, 52, from Truro, had pleaded not guilty to having a dog dangerously out of control in a park in Cornwall in October. The CPS said the case was dropped on 30 June because of a lack of evidence.

  14. Calls for British laws to replace EU food protection post-Brexitpublished at 16:39

    Andrew Segal
    Local Live

    Environment Secretary Liz Truss wants to use British law to protect food and drink from across the country after Brexit, including Cornish clotted cream and Cornish pasties.

    Pasties. Pic: Getty ImagesImage source, Getty Images

    The cabinet minister told MPs that she was keen to develop "British protected food name status" as a replacement for the EU scheme currently in operation

    Welsh beef and Melton Mowbray pork pies are also among the 74 items of produce Ms Truss said she believed were currently enjoying protected status under EU law which guarantees place of origin and authenticity. She said she thought it was "an extremely important issue". 

  15. Missing lynx: Humane traps will be laid to trap animalpublished at 16:30 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

  16. Farm worker deaths 'higher than that of the construction industry'published at 16:19 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

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    As well as being higher than the construction industry, the rates are 17 times higher than the all-industries' average, figures from the Health and Safety Executive show. 

    The data shows farm vehicle-related accidents and falling from heights were the biggest killers. There were 27 farm worker deaths in the country last year, down from 32 the year before.

  17. Grimes heads to Leeds from Swanseapublished at 16:10 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

    Brent Pilnick
    BBC Sport

    Former Exeter City midfielder Matt Grimes has joined Leeds United on loan for the entire 2016-17 season from Premier League club Swansea City.

    Matt GrimesImage source, Getty Images

    The England Under-21 international joins up with former Swans boss Garry Monk, who signed him as a teenager from Exeter for a club-record fee of £1.75m in January 2015.

    Grimes, 20, has struggled to break into the Swansea first team, making only one Premier League start. He played 13 times for Blackburn Rovers during a loan spell last season.

  18. Escaped lynx will be 'very scared and anxious'published at 16:00 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

    Press Association

    A lynx which escaped from Dartmoor Zoo will be "very scared and very anxious" zoo operations manager George Hyde has said.

    "He'll be much more likely to stay away from people and to stay hidden." 

    Mr Hyde, speaking in a video posted online by the Plymouth Herald, external, added that the lynx was last fed "before he began his journey" on Wednesday. The animal arrived at the zoo yesterday and keepers found he had escaped this morning.

    He said the zoo was prepared for such situations and reassured the public that the risk from the animal was "very, very low". "It's about the size of a small Labrador so bigger than a domestic cat".

  19. Polish family's house hit in 'racial arson attack'published at 15:50 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

    Andrew Segal
    Local Live

    A house in Plymouth which is home to a Polish family has been damaged in a suspected arson attack which police believe was racially motivated.

    Officers said, external the fire was "started deliberately" in a shed situated close to the house in Blandford Road, Efford, overnight on Wednesday 6 July and Thursday 7 July. It spread to the house, causing "substantial damage".

    Soon after the fire was started, a hate-filled letter had been sent to them, containing further threats. Officers said forensic examinations of the scene and the letter were under way, and the family was being supported by police and partner agencies.

  20. Tortoise rescue makes national headlinespublished at 15:39 British Summer Time 7 July 2016

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