Sarah Gosling
BBC News Online

A charity says almost a quarter of people seeking help are without basic home appliances.

Turn2us, a national poverty charity, found that of 2,285 people surveyed, 15% didn't have a cooker, 25% were without a freezer, and 21% were without a washing machine.

Simon Hopkins, from the charity, said: "The reality for many households living without essential appliances is an intolerable struggle that’s leaving people further out of pocket and in some instances physically and mentally unwell.

“People living without basic home appliances need to know that help is available."

Image source, Reuters

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

The Environment Agency has set up a pump at Loe Bar as part of contingency plans to reduce the risk of flooding in Helston.

The risk is as a result of damage to the rock tunnel that discharges water from Loe Pool into the sea.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth has welcomed the government ban on microbeads in cosmetics.

As the ban comes into force this summer, scientists at the University of Plymouth have revealed companies appear to have taken action to eradicate the tiny particles from their products.

In August 2015, a study published by the university, external showed almost 100,000 microbeads could be released in every single application of products such as facial scrubs.

But current results using the same methods have so far shown that similar products no longer contain traces of the tiny particles, which measure a fraction of a millimetre.

Increased use of microbeads sparked concerns with scientists when it was shown they were liable to pass through water treatment works and into the environment, where they were likely to be ingested by marine creatures.

Cornwall Live

A new network of cycle trails in Cornwall and West Devon , externalcould add up to £3m per year to the local tourist economy, according to a new report.

East Devon District Council has tweeted to thank residents for recycling more than 1,500 Christmas trees.

Chippings from the recycled trees are being used on muddy paths.

Plymouth City Council is running a similar scheme, in which residents receive a bag of wood chippings for their tree.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

There is interruption to the water supply on Saxon Way in Kingsteignton due to urgent works being carried out.

South West Water says the water network in the area will be turned off for about two hours until 13:00.

Image source, South West Water

BBC Radio Devon

On the A38 by the Tamar Bridge, there are reports of an accident Plymouth-bound.

BBC Radio Cornwall

A village in east Cornwall is welcoming the news that one of its abandoned buildings is to be the new home for an established prep school in the county.

Roselyon School has bought Churchtown Farm in Lanlivery and is vowing to move from its present base in Par to the new site by September.

The farm closed its doors in 2011 and has been empty ever since.

As part of the deal, the school will have to install two new passing places on the narrow road which leads to it from the A390.

Lanlivery Parish Council chair Sam Sinkins said: "It's been very sad to see the site empty so we're really excited that Roselyn are coming to inject new life into the site and the village."

Plymouth and Torbay councils could share some planning services under plans to be discussed later in January.

Plymouth's cabinet will discuss an "in principle agreement" looking at sharing some planning functions with Torbay Council on 16 January.

Torbay requested the partnership after a service review by Plymouth City Council last year made a number of recommendations.

Areas which could be covered under the arrangement include strategic and local planning, environmental policy, natural infrastructure and major developments.

Victoria Derbyshire

Following a "tidal wave of waste" in Cornwall after Storm Eleanor, an expert from Plymouth University has said that reducing plastic waste depends on "extending producer responsibility".

Speaking on the Victoria Derbyshire programme, marine biologist Prof Richard Thompson was responding to the recent ban on microbeads in rinse-off products.

Image source, Plymouth University

He said that producers must "design products so that there isn’t an escape to the environment, and so that single use plastics are designed for end of life recovery for recycling".

Waves caused by Storm Eleanor have washed the waste on to beaches in Constantine, Crooklets and Newquay.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Healthwatch Devon, says it's "concerned" about the "poor practice" at North Devon District Hospital, after a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report said it "requires improvement".

The latest CQC inspection at the hospital in October found it tended to "react to problems after they happened" rather than working to prevent them, and had "failed to resolve issues" raised several years ago.

Incidents outlined in the report include outpatient delays impacting on some patient’s long-term health and four serious incidents within the maternity service over a five-month period.

Colin Potter, Chief Executive of Healthwatch Devon, which is an independent consumer group, said he wants the trust to "provide good management of risk, good quality person-centred care and a positive internal environment where best practice is promoted".

"We would urge patients of the trust and their families to share their experience of care with Healthwatch Devon over the coming days and weeks to help us to get a clear picture of the current situation to help us to promote positive change”.

Jenny Walrond
Health Correspondent, BBC Spotlight

The head of hospital inspection at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) says North Devon District Hospital is a "mixed picture" after its latest inspection.

Mary Cridge said the findings of the CQC report showed it was a "busy hospital" and even though there had been improvements, other areas "needed attention".

Incidents in the report included the death of two babies in the maternity ward and outpatient blindess as a result of follow-up appointments being missed.

Ms Cridge added that although there has been "incredible innovation", hospitals are "complex places and we need them to be always focused on improvement and getting better".

She said there were some "areas of cleanliness that needed attention" and that only 23% of patients turning up with sepsis were "getting antibiotics within the first hour".

The trust says it was aware of the problems that were raised and it has been taking action and has made significant improvements.

Disruption between Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway/Patchway is continuing following a cable theft this morning.

National Rail Enquiries said the following routes are affected:, external

CrossCountry between Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Central / Manchester Piccadilly, and between Plymouth and Edinburgh / Glasgow Central

Great Western Railway between Portsmouth Harbour / Taunton / Westbury and Cardiff Central, between Penzance / Weymouth and Bristol Parkway, and between Swansea / Bristol Temple Meads and London Paddington, and also between Salisbury and Gloucester

Sarah Gosling
BBC News Online

A Royal Navy frigate and helicopter have escorted a Russian task group through the English Channel.

HMS Westminster and the RNAS Culdrose helicopter crew were deployed after the two Russian warships and two supporting vessels were spotted in the Channel on Friday.

It is believed that the ships are returning to the Baltic after operations in the Middle East.

Image source, Royal Navy

This deployment comes two weeks after HMS St Albans and a helicopter from RNAS Culdrose spent Christmas monitoring the new Russian frigate, Admiral Gorshkov.

Cdr Mike Currie, from RNAS Culdrose, said the helicopter and frigate are "always ready to react in defence of our nation's territorial waters."

BBC Radio Cornwall

• In Helston, Clodgey Lane near Trengrouse Way is partially blocked due to an accident
• On the A30 westbound between Scorrier and Redruth a lorry has shed it load. Drivers are being asked to approach the area with care
• On the B3303 Pendarves Road, there are reports of a broken-down vehicle

Cornwall Live

GWR has told passengers not to travel as all lines into Bristol Temple Meads have been closed following a cable theft.

Disruption is expected to continue until later on Tuesday morning., external

BBC Radio Cornwall

The Royal Cornwall Hospital says a 92-year-old woman who was discharged last week was considered "clinically well enough", despite the family's claim her discharge was premature.

Mary Hart fell down the stairs at her sheltered accommodation just before Christmas and her son Ken is "upset and angry" that she was sent home because managers at the hospital in Treliske "are desperate to free up beds".

"We feel very upset that what my mother has done over the years and raised money for different charities and her goodwill and help to others, to be treated like this. It is not, not right."

In a statement, the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust says it is sorry Mrs Hart's family are unhappy about the arrangements for her discharge from hospital and that "all patients are carefully assessed and would not be discharged unless they are considered clinically well enough".

Devon Live

A couple say they won't be coming back to Devon after picking up a dose of Aussie flu on a trip to Plymouth for their 21st wedding anniversary., external

Volunteer beach cleaners face a mammoth task removing tonnes of rubbish.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

A 49-year-old man has gone missing from Newton Abbot, police say.

Andrew Distin was last seen leaving his home in the town on Monday and police are concerned for his welfare.

He drives a silver grey Ford Focus Zetec and is described as white, 5ft 6in (1.7m) tall, of medium build with short grey hair.

He was wearing a bomber jacket, shorts and trainers.

Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team conducted a search near Buckfastleigh last night but he remains missing.

Anyone with information is being asked to call 999 immediately.

Image source, Devon and Cornwall Police