BBC Radio Devon

The testing of new trains to connect Devon and Cornwall to London will begin on British tracks later this year, operator GWR says.

Work to build 36 new AT300 intercity trains has started in Italy. They are being built by Hitachi. GWR said the trains should be quieter, more efficient, more comfortable and speed up some journey times. 

James Davis, from GWR, said trains were "due on to the GWR network for driver testing later this year".

He said: "We can see the first of the passenger services by the summer of next year." 

BBC Sport

Leyton Orient have told BBC Sport they are aware of accusations that one of Plymouth Argyle's ballboys was "shoved to the ground" by team captain Liam Kelly. 

On their website, external, Argyle said they had reviewed videos of the incident and regarded "any physical or oral assault against our ballboys, to be utterly unacceptable". 

They've confirmed the ballboy, although shocked, was otherwise alright.

Leyton Orient told BBC Sport they were aware of the incident.

John Ayres
BBC Spotlight

A collection of memories from former Royal Navy officer cadets who've trained at Dartmouth will go on show this summer.

Interviews have been recorded with officers from across the decades, giving personal accounts of what it was like training for life in the Royal Navy at different periods in time.

The Britannia Royal Naval College, beside the River Dart, opened in 1905.

Hamish Marshall
BBC Spotlight

A schizophrenic man who died in police custody had a cloth belt held around his face after it was put on by officers for five minutes, a court has heard.

Thirty-two-year-old Thomas Orchard suffered a cardiac arrest at Heavitree Road Police Station in Exeter in 2012. 

Devon and Cornwall Police Sergeant Jan Kingshott (pictured) told Bristol Crown Court Mr Orchard threatened to bite officers on a number of occasions.    

A cloth emergency response belt (ERB) was held around Mr Orchard's face to prevent him biting. Sgt Kingshott told the jury he had seen the ERB used in this way on about 50 previous occasions and it was a method of restraint he had been trained in.

Mr Kingshott, 45, and civilian detention officers Simon Tansley, 39, and Michael Marsden, 56, deny manslaughter by gross negligence. The trial continues.

Hamish Marshall
BBC Spotlight

A Devon and Cornwall Police sergeant accused of the manslaughter of a man in custody has told a court the man threatened to bite officers on a number of occasions.

Thirty-two-year-old Thomas Orchard suffered a cardiac arrest at Heavitree Road Police Station in Exeter in 2012. 

Image source, Handout

Giving evidence at Bristol Crown Court, Sgt Jan Kingshott said Mr Orchard repeatedly shouted words to the effect "I'm going to bite your effing face off". 

Mental health issues of Mr Orchard, who had schizophrenia, were not flagged up on the police computer, the court heard.

Mr Kingshott, 45, and civilian detention officers Simon Tansley, 39, and Michael Marsden, 56, deny manslaughter by gross negligence. The trial continues.

BBC Sport

Plymouth Argyle has reported an incident between one of its ballboys and Orient captain Liam Kelly to the Football Association. 

On its website, external, the club said it had reviewed videos of a boy being shoved to the ground and regarded "any physical or oral assault against our ballboys, to be utterly unacceptable". 

They've confirmed the ballboy, although shocked by the incident, was otherwise alright.

The BBC has contacted Leyton Orient for comment.

Torquay Herald Express

Five young refugees have found sanctuary in Torbay, it has been confirmed, external.

Jonathan Morris
BBC News Online

A cancer patient who claims he was "dropped" on his household steps was actually being "lowered to the ground" said an ambulance firm.

Saltash man Robert Wiley, 62, who weighs 23-stone, told the BBC he fell on his back after the specially adapted wheelchair he was in toppled over. 

Wayne Spedding, operations director at E-zec Medical Transport, which sub-contracted Lifestar Medical Ltd for the job, said Mr Wiley was not dropped.

"If staff feel continuing a manoeuvre may become unstable they gradually lower to the ground and reposition," he said.

"I understand it may feel like he has been dropped, and that it may have been a bit of a shock, but it was a controlled manoeuvre."

BBC Travel

There are reports of a collision on the B3226 in King's Nympton near Kingsnympton Road.

Cornwall Live

Gun-toting gang leader has been jailed for 13 years, external for bringing terror to the streets of a seaside town.

Dick Straughan
BBC Radio Cornwall

Former Leeds United Managing Director David Haigh says he is looking forward to helping Penzance Football Club now that he is on the team's executive committee.

Haigh grew up in Cornwall, went to Cape Cornwall School and, since leaving the Elland Road boardroom in 2014, has - by his own admission - been looking for a way back into football.

Image source, Getty Images

He is now linking up with the Magpies, who are currently bottom of the South West Peninsula League West Division, saying he is hoping for fewer "headaches".

He said: "It's a community club, so you don't have owners and investors as such, so that's a big headache you don't have to deal with. What the club has to do is look for sponsors, and I will be sponsoring them. 

"I also know one of the projects we're looking at is that the floodlights aren't working. Once we get them working, we can get the kids playing in the evening again."

Have you got any pictures you want to share with us? If so, just send us an email.  

Jonathan Morris
BBC News Online

An obese cancer patient says he should have been taken to A&E after he claims an ambulance crew lost control of his wheelchair.

Robert Wiley, 62, from Saltash in Cornwall, was left on the ground outside his house when the specially adapted wheelchair toppled over as he left for Derriford Hospital to have a scan for his bladder cancer.

Mr Wiley, who weighs 23 stone, says he still has a sore back and neck and a bruised ankle after the accident last Thursday.

"I think the girl behind me slipped," said Mr Wiley who has complained to the private ambulance firm.

"I should have been taken straight to A&E but they just took me for the scan."

Wayne Spedding, operations director at E-zec Medical Transport, said Mr Wiley was not dropped, but ambulance personnel used a “controlled lower to the ground”.

Plymouth Herald

The aunt of of a schoolboy who was reportedly crushed to death by a till display has paid tribute to the boy, external who "never knew how many people truly loved him".

BBC Weather

It is a mild day with variable cloud, bright or sunny spells and isolated showers.

More cloud and the risk of more showers may happen later in the day from the northwest.

Winds will be mainly light and south westerly. Maximum temperature: 13C (55F).

Most of the cloud will clear to the east during the evening.

There will then just be a little cloud around and plenty of clear spells.

This will allow for a cooler night and also some isolated mist and fog patches to form by dawn.

Winds will be light south westerly. Minimum temperature: 3C (37F).

Dominic Casciani
Home Affairs Correspondent

While an overall figure from new analysis shows to 14,300 hate crimes in England and Wales in three months [including 220 in Devon and Cornwall], it can't confidently be claimed as a quarterly national record across the UK because of the complicated way that hate crimes are counted.

There's no doubt there was a spike after the Brexit vote, but the long-term picture won't become clear for months. And if 2016 turns out to be a record year, there still needs to be some caution about what the figures mean.

Sexual offences rose in recent years thanks to more people coming forward to report what had happened to them.

If there is a long-term rise in hate crime recorded by police, it may simply reflect that victims have more confidence that it is worth speaking to the police.

BBC Radio Cornwall

Cornish rivers stand to benefit from £2m of EU funding to improve water quality to try to boost fish stocks.

The Water for Growth project is being launched at the top of the River Camel in Enfield Park.

The area is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of otters and bullhead fish, which are protected species.