Summary

  • Exeter Chiefs player on sex assault charge

  • Torquay industrial estate fire 'caused by electrical fault'

  • Council of the Isles of Scilly approve £600k worth of savings

  • 999 call handlers face more abuse, investigation shows

  • Doctors call for rethink over Bodmin treatment closure

  • Stolen 200-year-old bank note returned 33 years later

  • More news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 on Wednesday

Live Reporting

Rob England

  1. Stolen 200-year-old bank note returned 33 years later

    Sian Davies
    BBC News Online

    A 200-year-old bank note stolen from a museum 33 years ago has been returned anonymously after being posted from the Caribbean.

    The £1 bank note, from 1819, was stolen from Padstow Museum in Cornwall in 1984.

    It has been  returned to the museum  by airmail without any explanatory note or return address but bearing stamps from St Lucia.

    Museum chairman John Buckingham said the tale was "worthy of a TV drama".

    Bank notePadstow Museum

  2. Cornwall Gold Medallist to row Thames

    BBC Radio Cornwall

    Cornwall's Olympic Gold Medal winning rower Helen Glover is preparing to embark on a new challenge. 

    She and her husband Steve are planning to row down the Thames from Devizes to Westminster to raise money to buy part of a rain forest in Borneo, saving it from being cut down to make way for palm oil plantations.

    Helen Glover (left) with Heather Stanning in 2012Getty Images

    Helen Glover (left) with Heather Stanning in 2012

    I've always been really into the outdoors, but since being married to Steve that knowledge and enthusiasm has just grown. I've realised there is so much we can do, and so much we can save"

    Helen Glover

  3. 'Rural weighting' could help GP shortage in Devon

    BBC Radio Devon

    A shortage of GPs in rural areas like Devon could be tackled by bringing in a 'rural weighting', similar to the accepted 'London weighting' principle. 

    It would mean doctors who come and work in rural practices are paid more. 

    Councillors in Torridge discussed the issue last night.

    Anything that any council can do to support the rural economy and people living in the rural economy, it has got to be done."

    Jane Whittaker , Leader of Torridge District Council

  4. MP backs doctors on Bodmin issue

    BBC Radio Cornwall

    The MP for North Cornwall is backing doctors who say closing the Bodmin Treatment Centre will lead to a loss of staff skills and patient continuity. 

    Commissioners NHS Kernow have been unable to agree on renewing a contract for the Bodmin Treatment centre with provider Ramsay Healthcare.

    The centre is set to close on 31 March. 

    Scott Mann said the centre's waiting times are "much lower" than the main hospitals.

    Scott Mann MP North CornwallScott Mann

  5. Man's arm freed from bed railings

    Firefighters have helped an elderly man who got his arm stuck in his bed railings.

    A fire engine was called to Dartmouth this morning to help the man.

    Firefighters used small tools to release the man and left him with paramedics.

  6. Spot checks at Bowden care home 'disruptive' father says

    Rob England
    BBC News Online

    The father of a man being looked after at a care home being investigated by Cornwall Council has said he can understand why management have "banned" council staff from making unannounced visits.

    Last month the council suspended placements at Bowden Derra in Launceston.

    Bowden care home

    A number of allegations were made about the quality of care at the home

    But Tony Griffin, who's son has been at the Bowden Derra for 15 years, said he was "extremely satisfied" with the care and the council spot checks are "disruptive".

    Cornwall Council says its priority is to make sure people are safe and cared for.

  7. Isles of Scilly council tax rise backed

    John Danks, BBC Spotlight

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  8. Torquay fire 'caused by electrical fault'

    A large fire on an industrial estate in Torquay is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has said.

    Fire crews were called to the Barton Industrial Estate just before 07:00.

    The service said a single unit had been 15% damaged by fire and 100% damaged by smoke.

    Fire

  9. Argyle look to close gap on leaders

    James Law
    BBC Sport Online

    Plymouth Argyle will move a point behind League Two leaders Doncaster if they win their game in hand at home to Blackpool tonight.

    Derek Adams' side beat promotion rivals Carlisle on Saturday for their first victory in five matches, and the Pilgrims boss is looking up the table rather than down.

    Plymouth ArgyleRex Features

    "We've got ambitions to try and get top spot - when you're sitting in the position we are in the league you've got to look to the top spot," Adams told BBC Radio Devon. "We've still got to play Doncaster as well and we've beaten them this season - but we've got to get a win tonight to make that possible."

  11. Government insists laws 'tightened' after Bhandari death

    Rob England
    BBC News Online

    The government is insisting that the law has been tightened following the killing of a building worker from Devon on New Year's Day two years ago.

    21-year-old Tanis Bhandari from Plymouth was stabbed to death outside the Kings Arm pub in Tamerton Foliot.

    One of the two men jailed for life for his murder Donald Pemberton had been released on licence after being arrested a fortnight before the incident for threatening a group of men with a meat cleaver.

    Donald PembertonDevon and Cornwall Police

    Tanis's family, who are holding talks with Justice Secretary Liz Truss at Westminster, said had Pemberton "not been at liberty", he would be alive today.

    The family's MP Johnny Mercer recently raised the case in the House of Commons.

  12. Council of the Isles of Scilly approve £600k worth of savings

    Denis Nightingale
    BBC Radio Cornwall

    Councillors on the Isles of Scilly have unanimously approved a new budget to make £600,000 worth of savings. 

    The chief finance officer says it's the only way to keep the council solvent though he's warning its financial position will still be precarious.

    Isles of Scilly

  13. New site for dockyard dredged silt

    BBC Spotlight

    The Marine Management Organisation has announced a new site where it'll dump contaminated silt dredged from Devonport Dockyard. 

    Dredging is used to remove sediment and debris from bodies of water.

    Fishermen say it will impact their livelihoods, but environmental campaigners are pleased.

    Map of new silt dredge dump site

    Up until now the silt has been taken to Whitsand Bay in Cornwall, the new site is a place known as Plymouth Deep

  14. 999 call handlers face more abuse

    BBC Radio Devon

    The number of abusive calls made to 999 call handlers in the South West has gone up.

    There are calls for tighter laws to protect them after a BBC investigation revealed the extent of the abuse they're being subjected to. 

    Many have received death threats, and racist and sexist abuse over the three-year period. 

    In the South West, there were 27 reports of abusive calls last year, up from 19 the year before. 

    Call centre

  15. Road blocked in Launceston after lorry hits wall

    BBC News Travel

    • In Ottery St Mary, Exeter Road remains partially blocked by an accident at Birdcage Lane
    • In Launceston, Church Street is blocked by a lorry which has hit a wall between Castle Street and the High Street
    • In Rame there's queueing traffic on the A394 with slow traffic due to roadworks
    • In Penryn at the Treluswell Roundabout there's very slow traffic

  16. Albion forward Dacres to join league rivals

    James Law
    BBC Sport Online

    Plymouth Albion forward Nile Dacres will join their National League One rivals Coventry at the end of the season.

    The 25-year-old arrived at Brickfields in June 2015  and has played 53 games in his two seasons at the club.

    Nile DacresRex Features

    Former Worcester player Dacres was part of the Albion side which beat Coventry 33-24 last month.

  18. Doctors call for rethink over treatment closure

    BBC Radio Cornwall

    Doctors working at a treatment centre in Bodmin, earmarked for closure, are calling for an urgent rethink amid warnings about losing staff skills and patient continuity. 

    Last year NHS Kernow commissioned non-emergency treatment at the centre for nearly 5,000 patients from private provider Ramsay Health Care UK. 

    But they've been unable to agree on renewing the contract and so it's closing at the end of the month. 

    A public meeting has being arranged for later this week with both sides being urged to reopen negotiations. 

    They're providing a very extensive service to an awful lot of people, who otherwise wouldn't benefit from the excellence of the staff and the treatment."

    Tony Clarke, Patient

  20. Udderly determined to go surfing

    Rob England
    BBC News Online

    Courtesy of our colleagues at Countryfile, this is the moment a cow decided to go surfing at Croyde Bay back in 2011 and just wouldn't moo-ve out of the water.

    A cow "surfing"

    On BBC Radio Devon's Facebook page , Mike Waller asked where the cow's surfboard was?

    Good point, Mike. That remains a mystery. 

    A cow "surfing"

    Whilst this cow managed to get in the water in 2011, a ongoing conservation project involving cows grazing at Woolacombe beach won't see cows in the water.