Lynne French
BBC News Online

Image source, Met Office

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for snow and ice which could affect parts of Devon and Cornwall on Friday and Saturday.

Adrian Campbell, Environment Correspondent
BBC Spotlight

Highways England is hoping to increase the amount of wildlife along some of the region's roads and reverse a sharp decline in heathland.

The habitat has seen a massive decline in the last 200 years.

The agency says there are several areas in Devon and Cornwall, including the A30 and A38, where road verges are suitable for heathland species.

Steve Hussey, from Devon Wildlife Trust, said: "Restoring what are, effectively, ancient landscapes, is difficult and has taken nature hundreds of years.

"Our land is very fertile. It's often a matter of stripping out that fertility and that gives wild plants and habitats a chance to thrive."

Cornwall Live

Barrowfield Hotel in Newquay has been closed for four days after a suspected outbreak of gastroenteritis, external.

BBC Radio Cornwall

• Slow-moving traffic near Truro on the A390 Union Hill with temporary traffic lights for roadworks, with queues back to Tresillian
• On the A39 Wadebridge bypass, temporary traffic lights for roadworks with busy traffic

BBC Radio Cornwall

Firefighters in Devon and Cornwall are warning people that irresponsible parking is preventing them from quickly getting to emergencies.

On one occasion recently, crews had to respond on foot.

Watch manager Terry Brokenshire said: "It's quite annoying when you can see it [the fire] in front of you, but you can't get there."

Firefighters told the BBC they've sometimes had to carry equipment a long way because they have been unable to get close to the incident.

BBC Radio Devon

• In Totnes, Pathfields is partially blocked around Weston Lane due to an accident
• An accident in Exeter has partially blocked New North Road around Elm Grove Road

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Singer Liam Gallagher has said the crowd at his gig in Plymouth "played hard to get."

The Oasis frontman tweeted his comments after the sell-out concert at the Plymouth Pavilions on Wednesday night.

He added: "We got there in the end, stay dangerous".

A Royal Navy steward from Devon is being given the honour of cutting the cake to accept HMS Queen Elizabeth officially into the senior service.

Callum Hui from Lynton has been chosen because - at 17 years old - he's the ship's youngest crew member.

Image source, PA

"This is my first ship, straight out of training, and just to have the honour of cutting the cake on commissioning day - it is exciting stuff."

He said the service tradition will be a definite peak in his short career, describing it as "probably one of the stories you tell your kids".

The young steward will be joined in slicing the aircraft carrier cake with a sword by the wife of the ship's commanding officer.

Guests at the commissioning ceremony will include Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Philip Jones, as well Steward Hui's mother and brother.

Canadian international back Matt Evans is set to make his first Cornish Pirates appearance for over a year.

Lynne French
BBC News Online

An engineer took four months to recover from his injuries after being badly burned by one of two explosions on a ship in Plymouth.

The Nortrader was transporting unprocessed incinerator bottom ash (U-IBA) from Plymouth's waste-to-energy plant to Beverwijik in Holland when the explosions happened in January.

Image source, MAIB

A report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, external said the blasts were caused by the ash, which had been wrongly classed as non-dangerous, releasing hydrogen and other dangerous gases when it became wet.

It said the explosions could have been avoided if regulations had been followed correctly and has recommended that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Environment Agency work together to identify "reliable methods and protocols for testing non-homogeneous solid bulk cargoes".

It has also recommended the Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Cargoes) regulations 1999 are updated.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Luke Pollard has said sorry for distributing leaflets which said the party would "cancel existing student debt".

Mr Pollard said the Labour Party wants to scrap tuition fees, rather than existing student debt.

Primer Minister Theresa May brandished the leaflet during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday saying the Labour Party should apologise.

Directing her comments at the Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, the Prime Minister said: "What is the Labour Party doing? It is putting around leaflets that say, 'Labour will cancel existing student debt'. It is time he apologised for the grossly misleading Labour leaflets."

Mr Pollard said sending them out was "wrong" and they were "made by volunteers for the local elections".

He said: "As soon as I found out about it, I issued instructions that it shouldn't be delivered. We've got to get those leaflets right. This one has slipped through the net."

One of two explosions which badly injured a ship's chief engineer were caused by unauthorised and dangerous waste from Plymouth's waste-to-energy incinerator, a report says.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch said the Nortrader was anchored off Plymouth with a cargo of unprocessed incinerator bottom ash (U-IBA) when the explosions happened on 13 January.

Image source, MAIB

The ash was not included in the schedule of authorised cargoes of the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code.

Despite this, there had been 34 shipments of U-IBA from Plymouth to Beverwijk in Holland since the incinerator plant started operating in 2015, but no steps had been taken to get approval to carry it, as required by the code.

"Had the explosion on Nortrader not taken place, these unauthorised and dangerous shipments would probably have continued without change," the report said.

A number of recommendations have been made by investigators., external

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Police are appealing for help to find a 49-year-old woman who is missing from Teignmouth.

Rosalind Osbourne was last seen leaving the Wetherspoons pub on Station Road on her red mobility scooter which has a gold bow on the front.

She is described as a white woman of medium-large build and has brown shoulder length hair.

She was wearing a green coat and scarf, black trousers, and black and white spotted shoes.

Anyone with information is being asked to contact Devon and Cornwall Police.

Plymouth Herald

The leaflets made on behalf of Luke Pollard were used by Theresa May as a "prop" while attacking Jeremy Corbyn in the House of Commons, external.

BBC Spotlight

Highways England is hoping to encourage the growth of heathland along some of the region's roads following a sharp decline in the habitat over the last 200 years.

A number of scarce birds use lowland heathland as their primary habitat, such as the nightjar and Dartford warbler.

As well as reptiles, many rare and threatened invertebrates and plants are found on lowland heathland.

Eight road locations across the South West have been identified, including the A30 and A38.

Cornwall Live

The Royal Cornwall Hospital cancelled a total of 87,546 outpatient appointments last year, external - equal to about 240 every single day.

Alex Osborne
BBC Weather

If you're planning a trip to the coast this blustery Thursday, here are the all-important times of high water around the region.

There's a full weather forecast in the lunchtime news at 13:30 on BBC One and also on Spotlight this evening at 18:30.

BBC Radio Cornwall

• An accident has partially blocked the A30 westbound around Bolventor
• Slow traffic in Redruth on the A3047 due to roadworks and lane closures at the Mount Ambrose roundabout
• Reports of standing water on the road from Lanivet to Bodmin - approach with care
• Near Penryn on the A39 there's slow traffic on the approaches to the Treluswell roundabout.

BBC Radio Devon

• On the A39 between Blackmoor Gate and Woody Bay we've got reports there's deep surface water
• Heavy traffic on the A38 around Chudleigh heading towards Exeter
• Slow and queuing traffic on the A380 around Kingsteignton heading towards Exeter due to a lane closure for roadworks
• In Plymouth on Tavistock Road there's busy traffic approaching the Derriford roundabout in all directions due to roadworks
• Lane restrictions for roadworks between the M5 and Tiverton on the A361. Slow-moving traffic towards Tiverton
• Bideford Long Bridge is closed to traffic for resurfacing work. The A39 diversion route is now very busy

Devon Live

A man was airlifted off a ship suffering second degree burns after an explosion, external caused by unauthorised waste from a Devon incinerator.