BBC Radio Devon

A senior councillor from Devon has appeared in court charged with attempted murder.

Image source, Chudleigh Town Council

Douglas Hellier-Laing, 67, Teignbridge Council's portfolio holder for the economy and tourism, was remanded in custody by Plymouth magistrates. He did not make a plea.

Mr Hellier-Laing, of Clifford Street, Chudleigh is charged with attempted murder in the town on 29 October.

He is due to appear at Exeter Crown Court on 30 November.

BBC Radio Devon

People living in Teignbridge are being encouraged to report those who drop litter from their vehicles.

There's a new roadside campaign to remind drivers of a £75 fine.

The local council is asking for anyone who sees another person throwing rubbish from cars, vans or lorries, to take the registration number and report it via its online system.

Andrew Segal
Local Live

Image source, Blue Reef Aquarium

A small group of captive-bred rays have been born at Newquay’s Blue Reef Aquarium, staff say.

Found from the British Isles to Morocco, the small-eyed ray is most commonly caught around the UK in the Bristol and English channels.

The ray, which can grow up to 90cm in length, gets its common name from its conspicuously small eyes.

Usually found on sandy sea beds, the species often covers itself with sand with just its eyes above the surface.

Following an incubation period of up to seven months, 10cm long babies emerge from egg cases as perfect miniature replicas of adults.

Staff said that both egg cases and its newly-hatched rays were on display in a special nursery tank and more were set to hatch out "over the coming weeks" as part of a breeding programme.

BBC Radio Devon

A gas pipe had to isolated after it was hit in a car crash in a Devon town.

Firefighters said, external the pipe in Brixham was severed after the crash involving a single vehicle in Penn Lane at about 10:25.

The pipe was isolated by a gas engineer. The driver was not reported to be seriously hurt.

Kevin Thomas
BBC Weather Forecaster

It will be another dry day with bright or sunny spells and patchy cloud.

Some parts will turn more cloudy at times, but much of the cloud will be high.

Light or moderate southerly winds will turn towards the south during the day. Maximum temperature: 13C (55F).

Tonight, although cloudy at times, most of the cloud will be relatively high and with some clear spells developing it will again be chilly in places with the chance of some patches of mist or fog also developing in river valleys.

Light south or southeasterly winds will be moderate at times over the sea. Minimum temperature: 7C (45F).

Andrew Segal
Local Live

The leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, says he is "sad to hear of the sudden death of Candy Atherton", describing her as a "proud champion of Cornwall".

Cornwall Councillor and former Falmouth and Camborne MP Ms Atherton died last night at the age of 62.

Mr Corbyn said Ms Atherton was "instrumental to winning vital Objective 1 EU funding for Cornwall".

He added: "I knew Candy for many years and remember her time as Mayor of Islington with great affection.

"She had a disarming sense of humour; I remember her joking that when she won her seat in 1997, she had outrun the incumbent MP and Olympian Seb Coe.

"I saw her most recently this summer, when we shared a platform at a wonderful rally for the NHS in Heartlands, Cornwall. Our thoughts are with her family and friends.

"We will all remember her as a warm person and a tireless campaigner for social justice."

The party leader and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell came to the rescue of Ms Atherton after her wheelchair got stuck on stage at the party's conference in 2015 (pictured).

Clare Woodling
BBC Spotlight

New research on the South West's most grisly and gruesome places is being carried out by a team of academics at the University of Exeter.

So far, they think an old hillfort at Castle an Dinas, near St Columb Major in Cornwall, comes out top.

Tales of violent death and revenge have been associated with the place for centuries.

However, senior lecturer in Victorian literature for the university, Dr Joanne Parker, said some of the stories could just be folklore, such as that of Cornishman John Tremen, who was thought to have been put in a cage and left to die.

The Police Federation, external represents rank-and-file officers up the rank of inspector.

Press Association

Exeter was gripped by the dread of witchcraft for more than a century, new research has found.

Historian Mark Stoyle has discovered the city was not only the last place in England where people were hanged for practising "dark arts", but these were just the last in a series of executions which may have begun as early as 1566.

Image source, Via Mark Stoyle

Exeter may have been one of the first places in the kingdom to sentence a witch to death, he said.

New evidence reveals that, between the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558 and Charles II in 1660, more than 20 women and men were accused of being "witches" or "sorcerers" and denounced to magistrates.

Many were believed to possess "familiar spirits" - demons in the shape of small animals, like rats and toads, which unleashed their evil powers to "waste" both livestock and humans on the witches' behalf.

Andrew Segal
Local Live

A woman is recovering in hospital after being stabbed in Truro, police say.

Officers said the 23-year-old woman was found with two puncture wounds to her abdomen near Lemon Street on Monday night.

Police said they were informed by an ambulance crew at about 20:20 near St John's Hall of her injuries.

The woman was in hospital in a stable condition and was to be questioned later, and inquiries were under way, officers added.

Cornwall Live

A serial stalker from Truro has been sent to a mental hospital, external after a judge ruled he posed a "real risk" to the public.

Andrew Segal
Local Live

The merger of two Devon local authorities could mean council tax bills for some increasing by an extra £25 a year for three years.

South Hams and West Devon councils already share some services but are proposing a full merger, saying it would mean £500,000 in savings annually.

Image source, PA

However, as part of joining forces, council tax bills would need to be the same across the two districts, those behind the proposals confirmed.

It would mean some in the South Hams facing bill increases to bring them in line with West Devon.

Councillors at both local authorities are due to vote on the proposals later.

In a recent consultation, more than three-quarters of respondents said "no" to the idea.

David Fitzgerald
BBC Radio Devon

Image source, David Fitzgerald

You may remember that yesterday we told you about the display to remember people who died in World War One due to be opened at Exeter Cathedral.

Well, the 34,000 handcrafted poppies are now on show.

They form the Devon Remembers exhibition first seen at this year's Devon County Show, with each poppy representing someone from the South West who lost their life during World War One.

The exhibit runs until 14 November.

Labour Cornwall councillor and former Falmouth and Camborne MP Candy Atherton has died at the age of 62.

She was elected to Cornwall Council in the 2013 local elections, representing the Falmouth Smithwick division.

BBC Radio Devon

• In Exeter, on Bonhay Road, near St David's Hill, there are reports of an accident
• In Cullompton, on Station Road, near the M5, there are reports of a fuel spillage
• One lane is closed on the A39 between Barnstaple and the Instow turn-off due to a broken-down bus
• In Torquay, Wheatridge Lane is closed between Barnfield Road and Broadpark Road due to a police incident

Sara Thornton
BBC Weather

If you're planning a trip to the coast or seaside, here are the next high water times around Devon and Cornwall.

We'll have the latest forecast on BBC Spotlight at 13:30.

BBC Radio Cornwall

People from across the political spectrum have been paying tribute to Cornwall Labour politician and former county MP Candy Atherton, who has died at the age of 62.

Ms Atherton served as Falmouth and Camborne MP from 1997 to 2005. She was elected to Cornwall Council in 2013.

St Ives Conservative MP Derek Thomas said it was a "very sad day" as the county had lost someone who "understood what Cornwall needed".

He added: "Cornish politics has lost a very experienced and committed politician."

Ben Bradshaw, Labour MP for Exeter, said he was "extremely sorry" to hear about her death.

BBC Weather

It will be a dry day, with a mixture of sunny spells but also occasional cloudier periods.

There will be light winds, and it will also be feeling warmer than it was on Monday.

Maximum temperature: 14C (57F).

Andrew Segal
Local Live

A man has been charged with attempted murder after a woman was seriously injured in Devon, police say.

Officers said a woman was taken to hospital with head injuries after they were called to a property on Clifford Street in Chudleigh on Sunday.

A 67-year-old local man is due to appear before magistrates in Plymouth later.