Sian Davies
BBC News Online

Police are appealing for witnesses following a crash in which two people died and four others were admitted to hospital.

The collision involved a Citroen Xsara Picasso and a Ford Transit Luton van on the A358 just outside Axminster at about 15.30 on 17 October.

Micha Sloman, the driver of the Citroen, and her 17-year-old niece, Toni Sloman, both died in the crash. Two other passengers in the Citroen also suffered injuries and were taken to hospital by air ambulance.

A 39-year-old woman is now out of intensive care and a four-year-old child who was taken to hospital as a precaution was later discharged.

The 38-year-old driver of the Ford Transit suffered minor injuries and has since been released from hospital.

Sophie Pierce
BBC Radio Devon

Police have admitted that child sex abuse victims were let down in the past, as the number of offences rose in Devon and Cornwall.

Supt Keith Perkin said: "Two decades ago the police and other partners let children down, particularly when they made allegations against those in authority.

"Today we are in a different world and I can assure them that however long ago they were abused we will take those concerns seriously."

Referring to the rise in allegations, he said there are new offences such as grooming, and people also feel more confident about coming forward.

BBC Radio Cornwall

A new project with Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, external will see some crews carrying pet oxygen masks to help pets who have inhaled smoke or carbon monoxide.

The national scheme will be run in Cornwall by fire crews from Tolvaddon, Newquay, Padstow and St Dennis.  

Sian Davies
BBC News Online

Image source, Devon and Cornwall Police

Two girls who went missing from Bude have both been found safe and well.

Police were concerned for the welfare of Chloe Timms and Tiegan Lewis, who went missing from the Bude area and had not been seen since Saturday 29 October.

Police have thanked the public for their help and shares on social media, which paid an important role in locating the girls.

Jonathan Morris
BBC News Online

The fishing industry will benefit if Brexit is put back says Labour MP for Exeter Ben Bradshaw.

Image source, EPA

He spoke in the House of Commons as the government said it would appeal against a High Court ruling that the Prime Minister can't trigger the official process of leaving the EU without a vote in parliament.

Mr Bradshaw said: "Eighty per cent of the fish caught around our coastline in the South West goes straight to export to the rest of European Union.

"There is huge concern in the industry about the effect of tariffs."

Jonathan Morris
BBC News Online

"We will rebuild it," says Exeter City Council member Pete Edwards as demolition work continues on the fire-hit Royal Clarence Hotel.

"We want it back to what was there before," he said about the hotel which burned down after standing on Cathedral Green for hundreds of years.

Work started yesterday afternoon in front of a large crowd of onlookers as the façade of the hotel was knocked down. 

The Department for Work and Pensions in Devon is helping the staff of the hotel by offering advice on what they can do next regarding finding jobs. 

Clare Woodling
BBC Spotlight

The jury in the trial of a company boss charged with manslaughter after a door he supplied collapsed killing two men from the Cornish shanty band Fisherman's Friends, has retired to consider its verdict.

Image source, BBC/MCMULLAN FAMILY

Fisherman's Friends singer, Trevor Grills, 54, from Port Isaac, and the group's tour manager, Paul McMullan, 44, from Cheshire, died after being hit by a falling door at G Live music venue in Guildford on 9 February 2013.

The steel door, which weighed more than two tonnes, collapsed without warning, striking both men.

Mr McMullan died at the scene and Mr Grills a few days later in hospital.

David Naylor, 57, from Bridgenorth in Shropshire denies manslaughter and his company, Express Hi-Fold Doors, denies a charge of a breach of health and safety laws.

Sian Davies
BBC News Online

Police and fire crews are at Lower Marlpits Hill in Honiton where a lorry has shed its load of pig flesh.

The road is expected to be closed for most of the day. 

Image source, Mat Helm

Insp Mat Helm said: "It does smell a lot. The road is a country lane with a 90 degree bend and a 30 degree gradient and the truck has lost traction. A car would be going up in in first gear." 

Emergency crews are waiting for recovery, and an environmental clean-up company has been called to make the area safe. 

“The warnings have been that we are at breaking point, but the survey says we are now broken."

That's the view of Nigel Rabbitts, chairman of the Police Federation in Devon and Cornwall after a survey revealed large numbers of police officers in Devon and Cornwall believe cuts have left them struggling to investigate crime and keep the public safe.  

“This is endangering both the public and police officers themselves," he added.

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer said: “ I am requesting an increase in the number of police officers from the commissioner.

“We are also moving to a new operating model to ensure a better quality service for the public, to reduce pressure on officers, and to put more officers on the front line."

Sian Davies
BBC News Online

Micha Sloman, 44, and her 17-year-old niece, Toni Sloman, have been named as the two victims who died in a crash on 17 October.

Emergency services were called following reports of a collision on the A358 Chard Road near Tytherleigh, just outside Axminster at 15:30.

Police are still appealing for witnesses.

Victoria Gould
BBC Radio Cornwall

Two heroin addicts from the Edgcumbe area of Newquay have been jailed for their role in a series of burglaries in the town over the summer. 

Image source, Devon and Cornwall Police

John Bentley, 38, pleaded guilty at Truro Crown Court to a burglary in Newquay on 6 September 2016. He had six other burglaries committed between July and September taken into consideration. He has been jailed for three years. 

Jodine Harvey,36, pleaded guilty to burglary, handling stolen goods and fraudulent use of a stolen bank card. She had seven other offences taken into consideration. She has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.   

Speaking after sentencing Insp Dave Meredith said: "Both were heroin addicts who injected heroin on a daily basis. There is little doubt that all of their crimes were committed to gain money to buy heroin". 

Jonathan Morris
BBC News Online

We've been told by forecasters that October was dry - but exactly how dry on Dartmoor which is usually sopping wet at the best.

Image source, Dave Martin

Dave Martin, external‎ of the Dartmoor Information Exchange, external has the numbers for the Cherrybrook Hotel on the moor.

"October was the second driest month of the year on Dartmoor at the Cherrybrook Hotel and the driest October since records began in 1971," he says.

"There were only nine days when there was more than 0.1 mm of rain :)"

Sian Davies
BBC News Online

A lorry has spilled pig flesh across a country lane after the driver followed a sat-nav diversion. 

The lorry shed its load on Lower Marlpits Hill, in Honiton early on Thursday morning. 

Image source, Mat Helm

Inspector Mat Helm said the driver had been using a sat-nav following the closure of the A30 on Wednesday evening. 

He said the steepness of the lane caused the lorry's load to shift, and rip the vehicle's back doors off. 

Jonathan Morris
BBC News Online

The current cordon which was set up after the fire at the Royal Clarence Hotel is being reviewed this morning to see if it can be reduced again says the city council.

Image source, Google

Tesco is now open but only from its rear Queen Street door.    

Image source, Exeter City Council

West Briton

A beach side cafe favoured by former Prime Minister David Cameron and his family while on his summer holidays in Cornwall has been given one of the worst hygiene ratings possible. , external

These are some of the responses from Devon and Cornwall Police officers who believe cuts have left them struggling to investigate crime and keep the public safe, according to a survey obtained by the BBC.

• “The crime investigation levels of service provided to the public are sometimes an embarrassment. I am fed up with apologising for the inadequacies.”
• “This is now at breaking point”
• “Staffing at dangerous levels.”
• “We are massively stretched.”
• “It’s pretty simple. We don’t have enough officers to deal with demand.”
• “I shouldn’t come to work and find staff crying because they are stressed about being here.”

Devon and Cornwall Police has cut about 500 officers because of budget reductions in recent years.

The force's police federation surveyed officers during the summer and 1,398 replied, approximately half of its members.

Jonathan Morris
BBC News Online

A man from Cornwall has designed and built a special wheelchair for use by disabled people in the African bush.

The "Safariseat" is made of simple parts and can cope with rough ground.

Janna Deeble grew up in West Cornwall before moving to Kenya, where his parents are wildlife film-makers.

He is using a crowdfunding website to raise enough money to start manufacturing the special chairs.

Jonathan Morris
BBC News Online

What happens next to businesses affected by the fire at the Royal Clarence Hotel?

Image source, Nick Groom

Many have lost money after a large area around the hotel was cordoned off for safety reasons.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says it's meeting the Exeter Fire Business Recovery Group, which was created by the city council, tomorrow.

They will discuss what happens next in regards to businesses on the green that have been affected by the fire. 

The DWP is also in talks with the HR team at the Royal Clarence Hotel to offer advice to employees on what to do next.