Harriet Bradshaw
Reporter

People in St Ives have been wowed by the sight of a mermaid swimming in the harbour.

Laura Evans dresses up in her "specially adapted tail and crown and pleases crowds" while making a splash in the harbour.

She recently quit her job in London to return to the Cornish resort.

She says dressing up like a mermaid and swimming in the shallows helps her to tackle anxiety issues.

• BBC Advice: Anxiety & Stress

Devon Live

Police have released a picture of the damage caused after thieves stole a farm cherry-picker machine and used it to rip a cash machine out of the wall, external at a filling station in Devon.

BBC Spotlight

Holiday-let owners should "share the burden" of rubbish collection, a councillor has said.

Linda Taylor, the councillor for Carbis Bay and Lelant, in West Cornwall, said too many owners were not paying a commercial contractor to remove rubbish - something they're required to by law. She's calling for greater enforcement of the law.

After a tightening of national legislation in 2012 any owner of a property that's making money - like a holiday-let - shouldn't put out household bags for the council to pick up - but pay a commercial waste operator.

Ms Taylor said: "If you're letting your holiday cottage out and you're getting in, in some cases between £2,000 - £3,000 a week, you've got a responsibility to make sure you're helping share the burden of the refuge collection that we have".

Cornwall Council said it was using the results of a pilot scheme in Port Isaac last year to review its waste strategy. In the village and surrounding area, 161 properties are now on commercial waste contracts, compared to just 10 before the pilot started.

BBC Radio Cornwall

A Cornish comedy festival, with headliners Bill Bailey and Russell Kane, planned over the bank holiday weekend has been postponed due to flooding fears.

Organisers of The Wyldes at Bude say after "torrential rain" it would "only take one heavy shower to re-flood the site, rendering it unsafe".

Image source, Andy Hollingworth

Those behind the three day stand-up event said they will "try and find some way of making it up to all current ticket holders," and that the event will be rearranged for the first half of 2018.

People wrote on Facebook, external they were "really sorry to hear" the news while others said they understood "completely".

Zoe Edwards said: "Really gutted for the whole team.....but a brave decision.....a group of honest guys trying to do the best for the punters and the land."

Plymouth Herald

An IT consultant has avoided jail for downloading appalling images of child abuse and adults having sex with animals, external including horses and chickens.

BBC Weather

Mist and fog patches will lift and the cloud will thin and break through the morning to leave a bright day with decent sunny periods this afternoon. Maximum temperature: 23C (73F).

Tonight cloud will increase with the risk of some patchy light rain for a time. Cloud will then break later, as conditions become fresher. Minimum temperature: 14C (57F).

BBC Radio Devon

A spectacular wave of poppies goes on show in Plymouth today.

The red sculpture was illuminated on the Hoe last night.

It's part of the Tower of London art installation marking the centenary of World War One.

The Plymouth Naval Memorial is the only place on a tour of six cities that will feature poppies actually on a memorial - and will remain on display until mid-November.

• In Exmouth, Claremont Grove is closed for repairs to a burst water main. Expect delays in the town centre
• In Plymouth, at Sutton Harbour the footbridge across Sutton Lock is closed due to a mechanical fault

Jonathan Morris
BBC News Online

Ten people have been rescued after being cut off by the tide in North Cornwall.

It happened at Porthcothan Bay on Monday afternoon, with Newquay RNLI lifeboats, Padstow Coastguard Rescue Team and local lifeguards on boards involved in the rescue.

They were all brought safely to shore by the lifeboats. No-one was injured.

James Churchfield
BBC Radio Cornwall

Looks like a beautiful start...

BBC Spotlight

There are calls for more to be done to make sure holiday-let owners in the South West pay properly for their rubbish collections.

West Cornwall councillor, Linda Taylor, says too many aren't following the law and paying a commercial contractor to get rid of the rubbish.

Cornwall Council says following a clampdown in Port Isaac last year 161 properties are now on commercial waste contracts - compared to just 10.

It's using this as evidence as it considers a wider waste strategy.

National legislation means any premises used to make money should use a private waste collector and not put out black bags for council collections.

Amy Gladwell
BBC News Online

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