Victoria Gould
BBC News Online

Image source, Devon and Cornwall Police

The father of a motorcyclist killed on the A30 says he's disappointed by the sentence handed out to the motorist who crashed into his son. 

Elliott Allen (pictured above), 22, was returning from a Christian festival in Exeter with his young family when he hit Matthew Smith, 27, from Altarnun. 

The father pleaded guilty to one count of causing death by dangerous driving. 

He was sentenced at Truro Crown Court to two-and-a-half years in prison, and disqualified from driving for two years. 

Speaking after sentencing Matthew Smith's father, Ian Smith (pictured below), said his family's life had been changed forever, and young people need to be more aware of the risks of driving dangerously. 

Anna Varle
BBC News Online

The Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has pledged £10m to secure the future of rail links between Exeter and Newton Abbot. 

Network Rail is considering how to protect the line since a section at Dawlish was washed away in storms in 2014. It was rebuilt later that year. Here's the rebuild in numbers:

• 6,000 tonnes of concrete
• 150 tonnes of steel
• 25,000 tonnes of collapsed cliff removed at Teignmouth
• Hundreds of tonnes of debris removed
• 600m of parapet wall repaired
• More than 13 miles of new cable installed
• More than 700m of track and ballast replaced

Johnny O'Shea
BBC Radio Cornwall

A gun enthusiast was murdered when he was lured to a disused quarry on the pretext of buying some handguns, Truro Crown Court has heard.

The body of David Alderson, 72, was found face down in a pond at Wheal Maid near Bissoe, Cornwall, in January 2014.

Image source, Devon and Cornwall Police

A retrial of Kevin Cooper from Poldory View, Carharrack and Trewen Kevern of Tresillian Road, Falmouth began this morning. Both men deny murder.

A campaign has started in Newquay to raise £10,000 to build a statue in memory of Walnut the whippet. 

So far more than £300 has been raised, external by the group who is also organising an annual 'Walnut Walk.' 

Last Saturday hundreds of people turned up to walk with the 18-year-old dog and his owner Mark Woods on Porth beach - Walnut's final walk before being put to sleep.  

Brent Pilnick
BBC Sport

Torquay United have signed Forest Green striker Kieffer Moore and Bristol City forward Shawn McCoulsky on loan.

Torquay-born Moore, 22, has joined on a 28-day loan while McCoulsky, 19, will be at Plainmoor until mid-January.

Image source, Rex Features

Manager Kevin Nicholson hopes the strikers will arrest Torquay's poor form, which has seen the side not win for seven matches in all competitions.

"The boys that are here already need to see this as a challenge now," Nicholson told BBC Sport. "They've had my backing the whole time I've been here and I will do everything in my power to help them improve as people and players and help us get the results we should be getting."

A young father who killed a motorcyclist in a crash on the A30, comforted him as he lay trapped under his jeep, a court has heard. 

Matthew Smith, 27 died at the scene of the crash at Altarnun in August last year. 

Elliott Allen, who previously pleaded guilty to one count of causing death by dangerous driving was jailed for two-and-a-half years at Truro Crown Court and banned from driving for two years. 

Judge Simon Carr said he was "not an experienced driver, who drove little and was driving a work's vehicle that he was not familiar with". 

Anna Varle
BBC News Online

A government investigation, which halted a contraception project, will lead to the starvation of more than 70 ponies on Dartmoor.

That's according to the organiser, Charlotte Faulkner, who says the mares will be heavily pregnant in freezing conditions when there is little food to eat.

Defra dropped the investigation when it found no case to answer. But Ms Faulkner's solicitor has accused Defra of being extraordinarily heavy handed.  

Sian Davies
BBC News Online

A gingerbread house has been built at Arlington House in Devon with a little help from knitters around the world.

Anna Varle
BBC News Online

The government has today confirmed an additional £10m to help "strengthen the resilience" of the railway line from Exeter to Newton Abbot via Dawlish. But how did we get here?

• Feb 2014 - A section of the sea wall was washed away, leaving the tracks hanging. There was also a major landslide on the cliffs at Teignmouth while the line was closed
• This cut off the service linking Cornwall and much of Devon with the rest of the UK
• A 300-strong Network Rail team then rebuilt the track at a cost of £35m, with former Prime Minister David Cameron praising the "Herculean effort" of workers on round-the-clock shifts
• April 2014 - The line reopened
• The closure of the line was estimated to cost the South West economy more than £1bn

The government said: "The £10m funding will allow Network Rail to continue their development work on mitigation against risks [to the line] from 2017, when the current funding comes to an end."  

Image source, PA

Jonathan Morris
BBC News Online

Police have seized 27 dogs in a raid with the RSPCA on a house in Launceston. 

Image source, .

The RSPCA said the dogs, mainly poodles and miniature poodles, were taken from the premises in Dockacre Road at 13:20 on Tuesday. No arrests have been made, said police. 

"We are assisting them (police) in any way we can," said the RSPCA. "As the investigation is ongoing, we are unable to comment further at this time."   

BBC Spotlight

Devon and Cornwall Police have submitted their defence in the investigation into whether the force committed corporate manslaughter of a church caretaker.

Thomas Orchard, who was 32 and had schizophrenia, died four years ago after being arrested for a public order offence in Exeter. Police sources told the BBC they have produced a "robust defence" of the force.   

Brent Pilnick
BBC Sport

Torquay United have the sixth-cheapest season ticket in the National League, according to the BBC's Price of Football survey.

BBC Sport's annual research found that only four clubs have a match day ticket cheaper than the cash-strapped Gulls.

Image source, BBC Sport

The cheapest season ticket is £200, 15% below the average, while the cheapest match ticket at £15 is 5% below average.

But the cost of a replica shirt, a pie and a programme at Plainmoor is slightly higher than the average for a fifth tier club.

Victoria Gould
BBC News Online

A young father has been jailed for causing the death of a motorcyclist.

Elliott Allen, 22, from Elizabeth Close, Bodmin, had his pregnant wife and 18-month-old step-daughter in his work pick-up truck when he crashed into Matthew Smith (pictured below) on the A30 in Cornwall.

Mr Smith, 27, from Altarnun, died at the scene on 9 August 2015.

Allen previously pleaded guilty to one count of causing death by dangerous driving.

He was jailed for two-and-a-half years at Truro Crown Court and banned from driving for two years from the end of his prison sentence.

Image source, Family handout

Chris Ellis
BBC News Online

The government has allocated £10m of funding to carry out further planning into how the line between Exeter and Newton Abbot can be protected from extreme weather.

The main line at Dawlish was destroyed by storms in February 2014 - and rebuilt and reopened in April 2014.

Mark Langman, Network Rail's managing director for the western route said: "Keeping the South West connected to the rest of the country by rail is vital to the economy of the region. 

"We very much welcome the additional £10m in funds announced today to help us build on the work we've already done to prevent this crucial line being blocked in the case of extreme weather."

Chris Ellis
BBC News Online

In their report Network Rail identify three priority areas where action is needed to prevent the main Exeter to Plymouth railway line being blocked by further extreme weather. 

They are: 

• The risk of landslip from the steep cliffs between Teignmouth and Parson's Tunnel which would block the main Exeter to Plymouth railway line
• Rock falls from the cliffs above the Parson's Tunnel north entrance 
• Flooding from the sea of the railway and the road at Marine Parade between Dawlish station and Kennaway Tunnel

The government said: "The £10m funding will allow Network Rail to continue their development work on mitigation against these risks from 2017, when the current funding comes to an end."

The main rail line at Dawlish was destroyed by storms in February 2014.

Image source, Network Rail

Chris Ellis
BBC News Online

The government has confirmed an additional £10m to help "strengthen the resilience" of the railway line from Exeter to Newton Abbot via Dawlish.  

The funding is for Network Rail to carry out further planning into how the line can be protected from extreme weather.

Image source, Getty Images

John Danks, BBC Spotlight

The funding comes as Network Rail publish a report which sets out their proposals for strengthening the route, which was significantly damaged by extreme weather in the winter of 2014. 

A section of the sea wall was washed away, leaving the tracks hanging in space, and there was also a major landslip on the cliffs at Teignmouth while the line was closed. 

The closure of the line was estimated to cost the south-west economy more than £1bn. The funding is for Network Rail to carry out further planning for how to keep the track better protected from extreme weather. 

John Danks, BBC Spotlight

The government has confirmed an additional £10m to help "strengthen the resilience" of the railway line from Exeter to Newton Abbot via Dawlish.

BBC Radio Cornwall

The Bodmin Public Rooms could be sold if fundraisers can't reach an initial target of £50,000 by 1 December, it has been revealed.

The community facility in the heart of the town was opened in 1892 but closed three years ago. Now the race is on to get the money in place to convince Bodmin Town Council the rooms should remain in public use.