Devon health committee votes against referring hospital bed closure plans to minister
Children as young as 11 investigated for sexting by Devon and Cornwall Police
Man involved in bus crash dies
Coverack flood victim, 85, 'won't be able to go home before December'
Plans to improve air in Cornwall village of Grampound after excessive pollution found
Boaty McBoatface 'won't be considered' in fire service boat name competition
Updates on Tuesday 25 July 2017
Sian Davies
BBC News Online
Live updates for Devon and Cornwall have finished for the day, but we'll be back at 08:00 on Wednesday with the latest news, sport, travel and weather.
Don't forget Spotlight on BBC One later. There will also be news through the night on your BBC Local Radio station.
Jonathan Morris
BBC News Online
A seaside hut, which was used by an LGBT painter and her partner, and a chapel have been officially listed as "places with queer histories" in north Devon.
Historic England has given the accolades to, external The Cabin in Bucks Mill and the Chapel of St Anne in Saunton.
Image source, National Trust Images/Chris LaceyThe Cabin was the coastal retreat of the artists and partners Judith Ackland and Mary Stella Edwards.
The Chapel of St Anne has a stained glass window created by artist and suffragette Mary Lowndes.
Image source, James O DaviesThey have been listed to mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality.
They join similarly listed sites including Reading Prison, where Oscar Wilde was held between 1895 and 1897 for gross indecency after his affair with Lord Alfred Douglas.
Any isolated showers will fade away to leave a dry start to the night. However, winds will strengthen with rain arriving from the west, turning heavier later and bringing some hill fog over the moors. Minimum temperature: 15C (59F).
On Wednesday, rain, heavy in places, will spread across all parts in the morning, accompanied by strong winds. However, it will turn drier through the afternoon with some sunny spells, but most will feel much fresher. Maximum temperature: 20C (68F).
Hamish Marshall
BBC Spotlight
Protesters hoping plans to close 71 community beds at four hospitals in Devon would be referred to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt have been left angry and disappointed after Devon County Council's Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee decided not to refer them.
The decision was taken by seven votes to six at a meeting at County Hall in Exeter over beds earmarked for closure in Okehampton, Seaton, Honiton and Whipton.
Protesters said more local beds were needed due to an ageing population, and that the closures would mean long journeys for patients, relatives and other visitors.
Health bosses said they wanted to focus on community care to make the best use of resources, partly because they were affected by a "real workforce shortage", adding it was "not just a financial issue".
Sian Davies
BBC News Online
Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service is calling for suggestions for names for its new fire boat.
It has released a list of tips to help people choose an appropriate name:
Image source, Cornwall Fire and Rescue ServiceHowever, the service said that the name Boaty McBoatface "won't be considered" because it is already taken by a yellow polar expedition submarine.
Sophie Malcolm
BBC News Online
Exeter residents will be able to comment on plans to restore the historic Royal Clarence Hotel tomorrow.
Plans for the external restoration will be unveiled tomorrow, after months of planning.
The hotel, which dates back to 1769, was destroyed by fire in October last year.
Owners of the hotel said they had worked with Historic England and Exeter City Council to preserve surviving features of historic and architectural importance.
A public consultation for external plans will take place at St Martins Church in Cathedral Close on Wednesday, open to all and with feedback forms available for visitors.
Plans for the interior of the hotel are currently being designed, and the owners are aiming to reopen it in 2018.
Image source, IwalkcornwallA recent jellyfish stranding on the north Cornwall coast has prompted concern that more swarms of the creatures could find themselves washed on to local beaches during the summer holiday season.
A year ago, thousands of jellyfish were stranded on popular beaches at Perranporth and Newquay, and there have already been sightings this year at Port Gaverne, Watergate Bay and Carbis Bay.
Matt Slater, marine awareness officer at the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said people should not handle any they found.
Sian Davies
BBC News Online
A cyclist who appeared in court for riding his bike on the M5 spent three days cycling from London to Exeter for the court hearing.
Balin Hobbs, 52, rode for 10 miles before police caught up with him on the M5 in Devon in April – but he overtook them and rode for another two miles, Exeter Magistrates' Court was told.
Image source, IRVING OF EXETERHomeless Hobbs cycled from London to get to the court in time for the case yesterday – and slept on the courtroom steps the night before.
He admitted riding a pedal cycle on a motorway and resisting arrest.
He was given a 12-month conditional discharge. No court costs or fines were issued, but he must pay a £20 victim surcharge.
Hamish Marshall
BBC Spotlight
A Devon health committee has voted against sending plans to close 71 community hospital beds to the Secretary of State for Health to be reviewed.
The beds earmarked for closure are in Okehampton, Seaton, Honiton and Whipton and health bosses said it would see more people being given care at home and save £2.6m.
The vote was seven to six against the referral, with one abstention, during a meeting of Devon County Council's Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee at County Hall in Exeter.
There were cries of "shame" from the public gallery at the result.
A car fire has broken out in a supermarket car park, external, sending plumes of black smoke into the air.
Council ward boundaries in North Devon are set to change and local people are being asked for their help in drawing up new ones.
The independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England has set up a consultation as the first part of an electoral review which will re-draw ward boundaries across the council area.
The commission has also announced that it is to recommend the council should have 41 councillors in the future - two fewer than the current arrangements.
People have until 2 October to submit their views.
BBC News Health
The NHS does not necessarily need more money to improve care, the outgoing chief inspector of hospitals in England, Prof Sir Mike Richards, says.
Sir Mike said there were more cost-effective ways of running the service, such as ending the use of what he called "very expensive" agency nurses.
There was "no doubt" the NHS needed more money because of increasing demand and the need to transform services, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
But any injection of funds should be used to transform the way the health service was run, he added.
Hamish Marshall
BBC Spotlight
About 80 protesters opposed to plans to close 71 community beds at four hospitals in Devon are attending a meeting at County Hall in Exeter which is to decide if the proposals should be referred to the health secretary.
The decision - for beds in Okehampton, Seaton, Honiton and Whipton - will be taken by Devon County Council's Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee.
Health bosses said the plans would see more people being given care at home and save £2.6m.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Cornish peer Lord Teverson says Brexit could lower animal welfare standards in UK farming.
He chairs the House of Lords' Energy and Environment Sub-Committee, which is warning that British farmers will have to compete against cheaper imports from countries outside the EU.
Sophie Malcolm
BBC News Online
Plans to rebuild what's believed to the oldest hotel in England, which was destroyed by fire last year, will be released to the public this week.
The fire damaged buildings on Cathedral Green in Exeter and spread to the Royal Clarence Hotel, which dates back to 1769.
Architects said a new facade would show a restored frontage, designed to stay as true as possible to the original.
Image source, Andrew Brownsword HotelsOwner Andrew Brownsword said some features such as iron work and stained glass windows would be restored, and surviving features preserved.
"This is such a wonderful moment, after the initial heartbreak and months of deconstruction, to start to look towards to the future and to restoring the Royal Clarence's historic frontage," he said.
The work is expected to take 18 months to complete.
Sian Davies
BBC News Online
A cyclist who was caught riding his old bike on a motorway cycled back to London after his Exeter court hearing.
Balin Hobbs, 52, rode along the M5 for more than 10 miles before police forced him from the road and into a service station near Cullompton, Devon, in April.
He admitted riding a pedal cycle on a motorway and resisting arrest at Exeter Magistrates' Court, and was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge.
Image source, Irving of ExeterHobbs, whose address was given as Hennock, Devon, but who is living in London, said: "You are putting me in shackles for no reason" when arrested, the court heard.
Hobbs, who has no previous convictions, defended himself in court, saying: "I was definitely on the M5 on my bike."
But he claimed the police had "intimidated, harassed and harangued me", adding: "I did not intend to cycle on the M5 but I had to try and find my way to Bristol and then London. I don't wish to be in this end of the country at all."
Following the hearing, he mounted his bike to begin the journey back to London.
Matt Pengelly
BBC Radio Cornwall
A Coverack pensioner has been told she won't be able to return to her flooded home before December.
Eighty-five-year-old Leigh Bernard was trapped upstairs by 4ft of water and had to be rescued by neighbours.
She said she was lucky to be alive but didn't know where she would live in the months up to Christmas.
Hamish Marshall
BBC Spotlight
Health bosses say they had no option but to stop birth services at maternity units in Honiton and Okehampton.
The units have been closed for three months at short notice. The Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, which runs the service, said it had a staff shortage due to sickness, unfilled vacancies and maternity leave.
Em Wilkinson-Brice, the trust's chief nurse told Devon's Health Scrutiny Committee that said the decision was due to patient safety.
She said births were suspended at Tiverton on 17 occasions in June due to staffing issues. She added that home births would still be available, as well as services at units in Tiverton and Exeter.
When asked if the units would reopen after three months, she said "I wouldn't say we are confident or not confident."
BBC News Travel
