BBC Spotlight

The family of a Devon man murdered on New Year's Day two years ago say it is hard to move on with their lives without key answers about the way his killer was handled by the probation service in the weeks before the crime. 

Image source, Devon and Cornwall Police

Tanis Bhandari, 27, was stabbed to death by Donald Pemberton and another man in Tamerton Foliot after celebrating the new year at the local pub.

It emerged that Pemberton had been out on licence after serving two months of a four-month prison sentence, when he was spotted wielding meat cleavers in Plymouth city centre two weeks before the murder.

Tanis's brother Gavin said: "We just want to know why and how he was out and whether what happened to my brother could have been prevented.  

"You don't want anyone else going through what we've gone through."

The community rehabilitation company involved in the case said Pemberton's management had not been linked to the crime committed and "processes were being followed to tackle the offender's behaviour".  

A 46-year-old man has died after he was hit by a van while crossing a road in Plymouth, police say.

Plymouth Herald

Violence and vandalism has fallen significantly in Plymouth's clubland, external – and drug possession offences are down by a whopping 76 per cent, say police.  

BBC Spotlight

Business leaders are calling for the South West to get a bigger share of national rail spending. 

Train fares will go up by an average of 2.3% on 2 January, but the rise affects all parts of the country equally. 

Campaigners say that's leaving the region more vulnerable because the South West doesn't get its fair share of improvement works.

BBC Spotlight

Patients undergoing cataract surgery at the Royal Eye Infirmary in Derriford Hospital can now benefit from a revolutionary new computer assisted cataract surgery system.

It is only available in a few centres worldwide, and is operated by foot. That keeps the surgeon's hands free and shows them exactly where to cut.

BBC Spotlight

National parks like Dartmoor are losing millions of pounds in government funding, according to figures from the Press Association.

The Campaign for National Parks said staff working on Dartmoor had already been reduced by 35% since 2010. 

In 2015, the government promised to protect funding, with a year-on-year increase, but the figures show parks will be receiving significantly less by 2020 than they were a decade earlier.

There are reports of sheep on the road between St Stephen and High Street on the A3058. 

BBC Travel

• It's below freezing in many places around Devon and Cornwall this morning

• There's patchy, dense fog in some areas that may be slow to clear

• If driving, there's a risk of icy patches on the roads

Crews from Tolvaddon and Hayle fire stations attended an electrical fire on an industrial estate in Pool near Camborne in the early hours of this morning.

The fire remained in the single-storey building, measuring 15 metres by 25 metres, and did not spread, fire crews said.

The last crew left the scene at 0545.

BBC Weather

Any early fog may be slow to clear today. 

Otherwise it'll be fairly cloudy with a few bright spells in the east in particular. There will be the chance of patchy drizzle in the west too. Maximum temperature: 10 Deg C (50 Deg F) 

BBC Spotlight

National parks like Dartmoor and Exmoor have lost millions of pounds of government funding in the past five years, says the Press Association.

Their funding was cut by a quarter from 2011 to 2016, according to an investigation by the agency.

The government says it is committed to raising parks' budgets between now and 2020.

However, funding in 2020 will be as much as a fifth below 2010 levels, said the study, even before inflation is taken into account.

Cornwall Live

A mum who was arrested on suspicion of murder after her baby boy died, external aged just four weeks has had the case against her dropped by police., external

Sian Davies
BBC News Online

A team of scuba divers who took to the air with drones to trace 60 shipwrecks lost off the Devon coast, including a tea clipper which sank in 1868 killing the captain and his bride, have won a royal honour.

Image source, The Start Project

British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) diver Steve Clarkson and his team won second place in the prestigious Duke of Edinburgh’s Sub-Aqua Prize, after they turned wreck detective and also used magnetic imaging to trace the exact positions of wrecks.

Image source, The Start Project

Steve and fellow divers from BSAC clubs in Totnes, Reading, and Northampton, have been working to trace wrecks between Start Point and Prawle Point in South Devon. 

Torquay Herald Express

An honest Devon man has helped to reunite a young girl with a lost Christmas card full of cash.    , external

BBC Spotlight

The family of a Devon man murdered on New Year's Day two years ago say they still have unanswered questions about the way his killer was handled by the National Probation Service in the weeks before the crime.

Tanis Bhandari, 27, was stabbed to death by two men in Tamerton Foliot. 

It emerged one of the men - Donald Pemberton - was out on licence from prison when he was spotted wielding meat cleavers two weeks before the murder.

Image source, bbc

The community rehabilitation company involved said Pemberton's behaviour was being tackled.

Jonathan Morris
BBC News Online

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.