Underground cannabis factory raided and £250,000 worth of drugs found
Leyton Orient captain charged by FA over alleged ballboy shove
NHS 111 questions 'disturbing and disrespectful'
Father of newborn baby says his son could have died just days after his birth because of a lack of communication at Royal Cornwall Hospital
South West Water fined for sewage spill
Devon head teachers warn of redundancies and bigger class sizes if a cut of £33 per pupil goes ahead in April
Devon County Council increases council tax by almost 5% to help fund care for the elderly and vulnerable
Poldark's Levant Mine parking fees 'insensitive'
More news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 on Friday
BBC Travel
Miles Davis
BBC News Online
South West Water has been fined for a sewage spill that risked damaging shellfish beds in the Truro River.
South West Water pleaded guilty to causing the spill at the Newham sewage treatment works on 26 August 2013, and have been fined £175,000 at Truro Crown Court.
The company has also been fined £10,000 for failing to maintain a faulty tank valve and ordered to pay £20,000 of costs.
Image source, GoogleThe Environment Agency said: "It is essential that large sewage works bordering estuaries with conservation designations and also containing shellfish beds are operated and inspected to a high standard to prevent such unpermitted sewage spills posing risks to public health and aquatic life."
South West Water said the sewage was "screened and settled" and had a "minimal impact" on water quality.
Lynne French
BBC News Online
A man is being treated in hospital after being hit by a car in Exeter which failed to stop, police tell the BBC.
Officers said the 50-year-old victim was taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital after the incident in Whipton Barton Road on Tuesday.
Police are trying to trace the diver of a small orange car which is likely to have a damaged windscreen and have appealed for anyone with information to contact them.
Lynne French
BBC News Online
Drugs with a street value of about £250,000 were seized from a purpose-build underground factory in north Devon last week, the police have revealed, external.
The force said the raid on a farm north of Okehampton was carried out as a result of "local intelligence". It added a 37-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of producing a class-B drug.
Image source, Devon and Cornwall PoliceDet Insp Phil Gray said: “We will continue to target those criminals that choose to target the vulnerable in our society and make money from them through drugs.”
Image source, Devon and Cornwall PoliceMiles Davis
BBC News Online
South West Water will have to pay more than £200,000 after pleading guilty to spilling raw sewage into a river near Truro.
At Truro Crown Court they were fined £175,000 for the spill, £10,000 for failing to maintain a faulty tank valve and ordered to pay £20,000 of costs.
Image source, GoogleIt happened at the Newham Sewage Treatment Works on 26 August 2013 and threatened to damage shellfish beds downstream in the Truro River.
South West Water stressed the sewage was "screened and settled", adding "the discharge had a minimal impact on the receiving water quality and the event took place outside the oyster harvesting season."
Talks are under way to save vital bus routes, external throughout Torbay.
Police have seized about £250,000 worth of cannabis in North Devon.
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Det Insp Phil Gray said: “This is yet another positive example of where police have intercepted and prevented a large amount of illegal drugs entering the public domain, off the back of local community intelligence."
BBC Travel
Hannah Stacey
BBC Radio Cornwall
A vandalised car parking pay machine will be replaced at a Poldark filming site in Cornwall.
The original machine was wrenched out the ground at Levant Mine within a week of it being installed.
The site - used in the first series of the historical television drama - is where 31 men died in a mining tragedy nearly 100 years ago and visitor numbers have increased by 50% since it was first broadcast in March 2015.
Despite local opposition to the introduction of charges, the National Trust, external will replace the machine, insisting the money raised will help preserve the important area.
Image source, Ian CookeA well-known Exeter man is recovering in hospital, external after being the victim of a hit and run.
Police are searching for a 20-year-old man from Cornwall who has breached a sex offenders order.
Tony Falcus from Newquay, who's not considered to be a direct threat to the public, was placed on the sex offenders register in 2014.
Image source, Devon and Cornwall PoliceHe's described as 5ft 7in (1.7m) tall, of medium build, with blues eyes, short dark brown hair and a Westcountry accent.
Anyone with information about his whereabouts, is asked to contact Devon and Cornwall Police, external.
New legislation is coming into force, external covering wages, car tax and child care.
The world's oldest Cornish pasty maker and one of the UK's leading bakeries, external is opening its first ever franchise store outside of the South West today.
The father of a newborn baby says his son could have died just days after his birth because of a lack of communication at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.
Robert Stevenson, from Redruth, says despite telling the hospital of his family's history of heart problems, his child was discharged from hospital, without having his heart monitored and developed breathing difficulties a few days later.
Mary Baulch, the Lead Children's Nurse, said the hospital was sorry to hear of the family's concerns and would need to look at the issues raised "in more detail".
"We will talk further to the family about their experience and any support they need," she added.
Head teachers in Devon say planned budget cuts of £33 per pupil could lead to teacher redundancies and bigger class sizes.
Conservative-run Devon County Council, external is proposing to take £2m from the schools' budget to plug a gap in funding for special needs children.
Image source, ThinkstockThe opposition Lib Dems say the money should be taken from reserves - so schools don't miss out.
Bee Tucker
BBC Weather
If you're thinking of heading to the beach today, here are the important times of high water around the region's coastline.
Join me for a full weather forecast in Spotlight's lunchtime news on BBC One at 13:30.
Air pollution could be contributing to as many as one in 19 deaths in Plymouth, external, according to figures from Public Health England.
Hannah Stacey
BBC Radio Cornwall
Car parking charges will be introduced at a Poldark filming site, despite a pay machine being vandalised within a week of it being installed, the National Trust says.
Levant Mine, which was used in the first series of the popular BBC drama, is the site of a mining tragedy, where 31 men lost their lives in 1919.
The trust says despite feelings running high over the charges, they will be used to help maintain the site.
"We know people still come to pay their respects, those that descend from the miners that lost their lives, and we don't want to prevent that from happening in any way," Ian Marsh, from the National Trust, said.
BBC Travel
Land's End flights are currently on hold due to fog.
The first Newquay flight is expected to be slightly delayed.
Any early low cloud, mist and fog will clear across Devon and Cornwall this morning to leave a generally dry day with sunny spells for most of us and light winds.
Vitamin D supplements could spare more than three million people from colds or flu in the UK each year, researchers claim.
The sunshine vitamin is vital for healthy bones, but also has a role in the immune system.
The analysis, published in the British Medical Journal,, external argues food should be fortified with the vitamin.
But Public Health England (PHE) says the infections data is not conclusive, although it does recommend supplements.
