Simon Hall, Home Affairs Correspondent
BBC Spotlight

A farmer who had TB in his cow herd in Devon says he had signed up to one of five new badger culling zones in England to try to prevent the disease from returning.

Image source, PA

Shooting of badgers will begin in early September in north Cornwall, north Devon and south Devon, the BBC understands. Culling is part of the government's 25-year-strategy to eradicate the disease, but opponents say there is no evidence culling is effective. 

Tony Francis, who farms near Okehampton, said he had signed up to one of the new cull zones to try to prevent the disease from returning. 

"It's an issue which has been going on for decades," he said. "No one has really got on top of it. I think the agricultural industry feel we've got to try and take control of it." he said.

BBC Spotlight

The owner of a dog which drowned in a river in Cornwall says he is lucky not to have been swept underneath himself when he tried to save her.

Fears have been raised about safety around parts of the Carnon River at Bissoe, which runs alongside a busy cycle path, after three dogs recently drowned in it. The latest incident was last week when five-month-old German pointer puppy Luna went in. Her remains were recovered the next day. 

Luna's owners, James and Caley Cooper, said: "One minute she was there, the next she was gone. You couldn't see it [river] was there until you were right on top of it. 

James added: "I did jump in, frantically trying to look for her, but it was so powerful that I nearly got swept underneath myself."

West Briton

A heroin addict has been sent to prison, external for burgling the house of his dealer while armed with a Taser.

Jenny Walrond
Health Correspondent, BBC Spotlight

A woman from Cornwall is warning how quickly she developed sepsis. 

Sarah Pascoe is calling for better awareness of the blood poisoning condition, external among both medics and the wider community.

She almost died earlier this year after she had an extreme reaction to an insect bite.

Lucy Martin
BBC Weather

If you're planning a trip to the coast or seaside, here are the next high water times around Devon and Cornwall.   

We'll have the latest forecast on BBC Spotlight at 13:30. 

Exeter Express & Echo

A dinosaur model in Exmouth has been damaged after vandals removed its tail, external – only three weeks after being placed in the town.

Andrew Segal
Local Live

Penzance Olympic medallist Helen Glover is front and centre of a special selfie which was taken just before Team GB began its flight back home.

Image source, Alex Livesey/Getty Images for British Airways

Glover can be seen third right of the front row in the snap taken by a member of British Airways cabin crew prior to the team flying back from Rio. She and women's pairs rowing teammate Heather Stanning (standing to Glover's right) are both brandishing their gold medals.

And spare a thought for those who were staffing metal detectors at Rio airport when the Olympians left - Team GB was bringing home 67 medals, including 27 golds.

Andrew Segal
Local Live

A dog has been rescued from a roof in Tavistock after it chased a cat on top of a building, firefighters say, external. 

A fire crew was called to a property in Boughthayes at about 20:05 on Monday after the medium-sized dog was reported as stuck by its owner.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said the dog "chased the cat on to the roof of a neighbouring building at the bottom of a steep garden". The crew rescued the dog, which was uninjured, using a short extension ladder.

Simon Hall, Home Affairs Correspondent
BBC Spotlight

The government's environment department is not confirming that badger culls are to be carried out in five new areas of England in a bid to control bovine TB.

Image source, PA

It said it was "currently considering applications for further badger control licences as part of the usual licensing process". However, the BBC has learnt that the shooting of badgers will begin in early September in south Devon, north Devon, north Cornwall, west Dorset, and south Herefordshire.

Culling is part of the government's 25-year-strategy to eradicate the disease, but opponents say there is no evidence culling is effective.

Lynne French, BBC News Online

The son of a coach crash victim says the penalties for people who use mobile phones while driving should be as tough as those who drink and drive.

Margaret Luxton, 59, was one of two women who died when the coach, with 51 passengers onboard for an Age Concern, external trip, crashed near Looe in Cornwall two years ago.

Image source, Luxton family

Coach driver Martin Chun, who had been using a hands-free mobile when the accident happened, was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and of causing serious injury by dangerous driving on Monday and was jailed for five years.

Plymouth Herald

Eight people have died as a result of fire in Devon and Somerset, external over the last year, two of them in fires which were started deliberately.

Lucy Martin
BBC Weather

Early low cloud or mist will clear to leave a dry, fine, warm and humid day with spells of hazy sunshine.

We will see more cloud at times during the afternoon. Winds will be light south easterly, moderate along the south coast at first becoming onshore this afternoon as sea breezes set in. Maximum Temperature: 23C (73F).

BBC Travel

• In Devon, Kingskerswell Road in Newton Abbot is partially blocked between Priory Road and Deer Park Road due to an incident
• On the A38, there's slow traffic at Haldon Hill heading towards Exeter due to an earlier incident. All lanes are open
• In Plymouth, one lane is blocked on the A38 Parkway, at the Manadon roundabout, heading towards the Tamar Bridge, due to a broken-down vehicle

BBC Radio Cornwall

Concerns have been raised about the safety of a stretch of river between Falmouth and Truro. 

It's thought three dogs have drowned in the Carnon River, which runs close to the popular Bissoe Trail cycle path. Local cavers, the Carbis Bay Crew, told the BBC the river was 8ft deep but only 1ft wide in places. 

Image source, Carbis Bay Crew

In one case, a five-month-old German pointer puppy fell in and could not be rescued from the fast flowing water. The cavers had to later recover her remains.

The Environment Agency said it was to "review the [safety] measures in place". 

Simon Hall, Home Affairs Correspondent
BBC Spotlight

Badger culls are to be carried out in five new areas of England - including Devon and Cornwall - in a bid to control bovine TB, the BBC has learnt.

Image source, PA

Shooting of badgers will begin in early September in south Devon, north Devon, north Cornwall, west Dorset, and south Herefordshire, the BBC understands.

Culling is part of the government's 25-year-strategy to eradicate the disease, but opponents say there is no evidence culling is effective. Dorset, Gloucestershire and Somerset are already practising culling.

Andrew Segal
Local Live

Good morning from BBC Local Live. We'll be bringing you the news, sport, travel and weather for Devon and Cornwall today. If you want to get in touch, please email us.