Jonathan Morris
BBC News Online

Twin sisters are celebrating the birth of their babies within hours of each other on Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.

Image source, Kelly Ackrill

Kelly Ackrill and Ashleigh Davidson, 28, from Ivybridge, Devon had due dates two weeks apart in January 2017. 

But as soon as Kelly went into labour, so did Ashleigh and the babies River and Louella followed soon after. 

Ms Ackrill said: "We are really close, we spend a lot of time with each other, but this is amazing!"  

Image source, Kelly Ackrill

Plymouth Herald

A number of villages near Saltash and in South East Cornwall are set to get superfast broadband as part of a £7.6m investment, external unveiled by telecoms giant BT.

Fire crews in Devon were called out to an unusual incident yesterday - a spillage of mercury in Ashburton.

The liquid metal had spilt from a barometer into floorboards.  

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said crews from Ashburtion and Buckfastleigh got to work clearing it up using paper towels and duct tape.  

The Environmental Protection Unit from Newton Abbot also attended.

Johnny O'Shea
BBC News Online

Police are appealing for help investigating a house burglary near Tiverton.

They say several 22-carat items were taken from a house in Withleigh between 14:00 and 17:00 on Tuesday.

Bangles, necklaces and rings, as well as a Kashmir style wooden box were among the items stolen.

BBC Travel

• There are still some fog patches around the region this lunchtime. There are reports of heavy fog on the A303. Drivers are reminded to use dipped headlights and fog lights
• Traffic on the A30 eastbound at Bodmin is very busy after a car came off the road at Carminow Cross
• Both Plymouth and Exeter are busy on all the main routes 
• In Plymouth there's slow-moving traffic on the A38 Parkway from St Budeaux to the Tamar Bridge 

Facebook

An international surfer has spoken about the moment he was hit by tonnes of water at a big wave competition in Portugal.

Tom Butler, 27, from Cornwall, was in a World Surf League event, external at Nazare when he fell on the 30ft (10m) wave. He believes he was fortunate to only require hospital treatment for a split ear, bruised ribs and lung injury.

"I feel very grateful to not be hurt worse," he said, watching video footage of his fall.

Image source, JACK BUTLER

Your reaction on BBC Spotlight and BBC Radio Cornwall Facebook pages:

• Carole: I am surprised more people aren't seriously injured or killed doing these big waves...  
• Anne: Scary stuff. 
• Julie: Lucky escape

Johnny O'Shea
BBC News Online

Money and potentially fatal drugs have been stolen from three vets surgeries in Cornwall.

Police say the Highertown Veterinary Clinic in Truro was targeted first between 12:30 on Christmas Eve and 08:15 on 28 December. Ketamine was stolen and £800 worth of damage was caused.

On the 28 December a charity box was taken from The Cornwall Animal Hospital in Treleigh, which had about £100 inside. The third burglary happened at the JM Williamson Veterinary Clinic on Bartles Industrial Estate in Redruth between 08:30 and 09:45 on Thursday. Around 20mg of Apomorphine was stolen from a medical cabinet.

A police spokesman said that in the "wrong hands" the drugs were "extremely dangerous" and "should not be attempted to be used".

"Apomorphine in particular can make a person very ill and could prove to be fatal.”

Plymouth Herald

Two women have proved twins really do share a special connection after giving birth within 24 hours of each other - on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!, external

Earlier today the fog created some great scenes for photos, like this slightly eerie one at the Lost Gardens of Heligan near St Austell.

Jonathan Morris
BBC News Online

A father whose two young children were killed by a drink-driver has issued a stark warning to anyone tempted to get behind the wheel when drunk.

Image source, Steve Kimberley

Steve Kimberley's daughter Lucy, 10, son Matthew, 12, and family friend Ben Jewell, 19, were killed in a car crash in 1996.

The driver of the other car also died and was found to be three times over the legal drink-drive limit.

Estate agent Mr Kimberley, from Falmouth, was the only survivor.

Image source, Steve Kimberley

He said on Facebook, external: "This year will be our 20th Christmas without our three lovely youngsters-that's two whole decades since we last heard their voices, infectious laughter and shared our lives with them every day. 

"Driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs is to me a premeditated act which changes, ruins and influences so many families that wave you off and expect you to return safely."

Exeter Express & Echo

A tiny dog that went missing from a Devon home has died, external after spending a night out in the cold.

BBC Travel

• A car has come off the road at Carminnow Cross near Bodmin 
• Traffic on the A30 Eastbound at Bodmin is at a standstill
• Flights to the Isles of Scilly have resumed but with delays

Sian Davies
BBC News Online

A team of divers who have been given a royal honour discovered two shipwrecks in the same spot on the south Devon coast after finding 13 cannons on the seabed.

The team discovered the wreck of The Dragon, a British West Indiaman ship that sank in 1757, which should have had 10 cannons.

Image source, The Start Project

When the wreck was discovered, lying beneath two metres of sand, the team had to wait for a big enough storm to shift the sand and expose the wreck and what turned out to be 13 big cannons.

Image source, The Start Project

Steve Clarkson and his team believed there may be another wreck in the same spot - and found the HMS Crown Prize, a 26 cannon British war ship, lost in February 1692 with the loss of 20 lives.  

BBC Spotlight

People are being urged to have their say on controversial plans for the reform of the NHS and social care system in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

A five-year transformation plan to cut costs could mean the loss of hospital beds in favour of more care at home. Boss haven't ruled out the possibility of some hospital closures and job losses.   

Campaigners say the plan is "budget-driven" and will force "local communities to decide how to cut their own services". 

A series of public meetings will be held throughout January.

BBC Travel

All flights to the Isles of Scilly are currently on hold because of the weather.

Facebook

The Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee, external said on Facebook it has made a "temporary fix" to one of the ferries after an "electrical fault" was found.

"The ferry is currently running and taking traffic but we are still doing some tests and may run with reduced loads throughout today while we fully assess and test."

The company said if the temporary fix failed "we would still be able to get back to the shore albeit slowly". 

"The longer term prognosis for a full and complete solution will depend on how quickly the manufacturers can supply a replacement board. The nature of this board and the programming required means it is not something that can be kept as a spare and just slotted in."

Currently three ferries are in operation.

West Ham have praised fans, external who've helped the family of a life-long supporter raise £90,000 to fly him home from the Caribbean after he was shot on Christmas Day. 

Chris Tester from Devon was shot in the head during an attempted robbery at his parents' restaurant in Antigua. 

He's now in hospital in Guadeloupe and his family are hoping he'll be well enough to be flown back to the UK by air ambulance in the next few days.

Image source, other

Police are appealing for help to identify these two men in connection with the theft of sat nav equipment from a Plymouth store. 

The theft happened at Halfords at Marsh Mills between 19:00 and 19:25 Thursday 8 December. 

Sian Davies
BBC News Online

Among the wrecks photographed by Steve Clarkson and a team of divers off the south Devon coast was the tea clipper The Gossamer where 13 people perished.

Image source, The Start Project

The vessel sank in 1868 with the loss of 13 crew and passengers, including her captain and his wife, who he had married just a month earlier.

Image source, The Start Project

Steve and his team have won second place in the Duke of Edinburgh's Sub-Aqua Prize.  

The team used magnetic imaging to pinpoint the exact location of sites, before sending scuba divers down to verify the facts first hand.  

Johnny O'Shea
BBC News Online

A man has died after being hit by a van while crossing a road in Plymouth. 

Police say the 46-year-old from Devonport was crossing Outland Road when he was hit by a white transit van at about 17:35 GMT on Thursday. 

He was taken to Derriford Hospital where he died.

The van driver, a 41-year-old man from Plymouth, was not injured. 

The Manadon-bound carriageway was closed between Lyndhurst Road and the Venn Lane footbridge for more than five hours while officers carried out a forensic examination of the scene. Police are appealing for witnesses.