A popular independent Devon theatre is set to close following a fall in profits.

The Bike Shed Theatre in Exeter opened in 2009 and funded by Arts Council England and profits from the conjoined bar.

However, a statement from co-founder David Lockwood said "our bar is not turning over the vast profits it needs to keep the theatre at a high standard".

"With a very heavy heart and after a lot of attempts to find a way to keep on going, we've decided to close up."

The final performance will be on 31 March.

Image source, The Bike Shed Theatre

Work will continue at the company's sister project, The Boat Shed.

Cornwall Live

The first designs of a new boutique hotel in Porthleven, external, which would convert an old stone fish warehouse by the harbour and add another building alongside to form the hotel, have been released.

Council officers may be given the power to issue on-the-spot fines for anti-social behaviour in Bideford.

Fixed penalties of £100 could be issued if a plan to create a new Public Spaces Protection Order is given the go-ahead.

Restrictions are already in place in the town centre, controlling alcohol consumption in public.

A six-week public consultation on the proposal is now under way, and will run until 4 March.

Councillor Philip Hackett said: "By extending the range of options available and allowing council officers to assist the police we want to continue to make our town a place that everyone can enjoy while out and about.”

Image source, Google

Devon:

• On the A30 Exeter-bound one lane is blocked at Cheriton Bishop due to an accident and recovery work
• On the M5 at Exminster heading northbound traffic is reported to be slow moving due to an accident
• In Exeter on Matford Lane near the Marsh Barton Roundabout there are reports of an accident
• In Plymouth on the A38 Parkway at Forder Valley heading towards Manadon there is slow traffic due to an accident

Cornwall:

• On the A30 at Temple heading westbound one lane is blocked due to an accident on a bend. Approach with care
• There is very heavy traffic on the A390 heading from St Austell towards Truro

A fire at the Met Office headquarters in Exeter overnight has affected its services, including those with BBC weather forecasters.

It also holds the contract with the Ministry of Defence. The department has told the BBC the armed forces have not been impacted by the outage.

Image source, Met Office

The fire was in an IT hall, and smoldering cables caused some smoke logging that was quickly brought under control.

The Met Office is working to restore its systems as soon as possible.

BBC Radio Devon

People affected by recent flooding in North Devon are being asked to contact the local council for help.

Heavy rain hit the county on Sunday, causing homes to be evacuated and rivers to burst their banks.

Swimbridge and Combe Martin were among the settlements flooded.

North Devon Council says it can offer assistance with housing, building control and public health matters.

People in the area are also being asked to plan, prepare and protect their homes from future flooding.

Des Brailey, leader of the council, said: "It must be devastating to be flooded - one can only begin to imagine the devastation and the harm one feels."

There was a fire in at IT hall at the Met Office headquarters in Exeter overnight.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service say officers were called to the incident on Fitzroy Road at 02:32, and it was quickly brought under control.

One crew from Ottery St Mary attended and found "smoke logging caused by smoldering cables". The electricity supply was isolated and fire crews were on site for less than one hour.

Services from the Met Office, including those to BBC weather forecasters continue to be affected. It says nobody was hurt and they are "now recovering affected systems and bringing them back online and keeping our customers informed", a spokesperson said.

Cornwall Live

Former St Ives MP Andrew George has waded into a second homes debate, external after calling for what he describes as "industrial scale tax avoidance" by second homeowners in Cornwall to be resolved.

The Met Office has confirmed there has been a "fire related incident" at its headquarters in Exeter overnight.

Its services continue to be disrupted, with BBC weather forecasters among those affected.

Nobody was hurt in the fire, which happened in an IT hall.

A Met Office spokesperson said: “There has been a fire related incident in one of our IT halls overnight which was quickly brought under control.

"No one was hurt and we are now recovering affected systems and bringing them back online and keeping our customers informed.”

Devon Live

Police in Newton Abbot caught a driver with a shed balanced on top of their car, external held on by a single rope.

Devon Live

A man from Plymouth believes he was the victim of a scam after forking out more than £3,000 on Bitcoins, only to receive a copy of a DVD., external

Increasing numbers of invasive species are being seen in South West waters due to pollution, researchers have said.

Naturalist Steve Trewhella says the marine animals are travelling across the Atlantic from as far as the Caribbean and Florida in debris like plastic bottles and fishing gear.

Other scientists fear these species might transport viruses which could affect fish farms.

Steve said he sent one crab he found to the Natural History Museum, and that it could be a new species.

"After two or three years, they still don't know what it is, so that's exciting and interesting as a naturalist."

BBC Weather

Today will start off cloudy with some light rain or drizzle in places, but later this afternoon it'll become brighter with some late sunshine possible in the north.

Max temperature: 14C (57F).

Up to 60 trees with ash dieback are to be felled in Mid Devon.

Devon County Council will close roads early next month, starting with the A396 north of Bickleigh to remove diseased trees alongside the highway.

The process is set to begin on 4 February.

To date, the council has dealt with 22 roadside trees infected with ash dieback, but it says it may have to remove about 7,000 trees in the coming years.

• Ash dieback: Spotter's guide and maps

A Devon charity campaigning for better support for families bereaved by the loss of a baby, is now working with the government, it's revealed.

Plymouth-based charity Little Things and Co is part of an all-party parliamentary group creating new policies to break down the taboo of baby and infant deaths.

It's also working towards making bereavement care more consistent across the country.

Charity founder Leighanne Wright said: "Parents need our help and those in the privileged position of bereavement care should be trying their hardest to help parents through this."

• Information and Support - Bereavement
• Bereavement leave: Should you work while you're grieving?

Urgent action is being called for to protect England's oldest golf course in North Devon, after a chunk of it was eroded into the sea.

The seventh green of the Royal North Devon Golf Club on Northam Burrows is in danger, after a 50ft (15m) piece of land was washed away during recent storms.

Club chairman Mervyn Fudge said: "Natural England said initially they would be drawing a line in the sand and they would protect that line and it would go no further. Now we're told that will not be the case."

Natural England told the BBC it's working with local councils, the Environment Agency and the golf club to consider options and agree the longer term management.

Image source, Golf Breaks

Johnny O'Shea
BBC News Online

The Met Office says there has been an incident in an IT hall overnight at its headquarters in Exeter.

BBC weather forecasters have not been receiving much of the usual data and information, although the company says it is "working to fix any issues as soon as possible".

Image source, Google

The Met Office said nobody has been hurt but described it as a "developing situation".

BBC Radio Devon

Several cars and a crane have been destroyed by a fire in Exeter overnight.

Emergency services were called to a scrapyard in the Redhills area of the city just before 01:00 to reports of a blaze involving a portable cabin and a number of vehicles.

Five crews attended the fire, which took more than one hour to bring under control. The cause is being investigated.

A council's charge of £3,800 for installing a disabled parking bay is branded "completely unfair".