An ex-soldier has been jailed for more than 13 years for abusing a young girl almost 40 years ago.

Ian Joyner, now 70, abused the girl between the ages of five and nine, leaving her with a lifelong legacy of psychological problems, Exeter Crown Court heard.

The victim said Joyner started abusing her in Devon in the 1970s.

The former gamekeeper and deep sea diver claimed the girl and her mother had invented the claims.

However, Joyner, of Higher Sandygate, near Newton Abbot, was jailed for 13 years and six months after being found guilty of two counts of attempted rape, five of indecent assault; plus an unrelated count of causing actual bodily harm to an adult woman.

The judge said Joyner appeared "to have lived a life free from remorse or any suffering".

He said: "The contrast between the perpetrator and the victim could not be more graphic."

Defending, Joyner's legal team said he had lived a blameless life in the 40 years since and was now in poor health.

Neil Gallacher, Business & Industry Correspondent
BBC Spotlight

The leaseholder of the Plymouth airport site, Sutton Harbour, says keeping it for "general aviation" purposes, as currently planned, would not bring back scheduled passenger services.

FlyPlymouth has announced that one of the backers behind its plans for the reopening of Plymouth Airport is United Helicopter Services (UHS).

The group says UHS, which has bases in Brazil, Portugal, Liberia and Turkey, wants to expand into the UK and wants to base itself in Devon.

Government planning inspectors will consider the 113-acre site tomorrow as part of the Plymouth and South West Devon joint local plan.

However, Sutton Harbour Holdings wants to build a "garden suburb" on the land, with three-quarters of the profit going to the council.

In a statement, the leaseholder said general aviation "did not mean scheduled passenger services" and that it would benefit "only the few, not the many", making very little contribution to the city's transport needs.

It added that keeping it as an airport site was also "unsound and represents a very poor and uneconomic use of a strategically important brownfield development site".

BBC Radio Devon

Image source, PA

Commitments by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling to improve the rail line at Dawlish as a "number one national priority" are a "good down payment" to improving local railway resilience, an MP says.

In a letter to South West MPs this week, Mr Grayling promised a strategy to upgrade the region's rail network by the end of next month.

The group of MPs, including South West Devon Conservative Gary Streeter, threatened not to support the government in yesterday's parliamentary vote on the HS2 project unless it made more commitments to rail improvements in the region.

In the letter, Mr Grayling said government would "set out its strategy" for South West rail upgrades in response to a report by the Peninsula Rail Task Force calling for more resilience.

He added that there was an aim to "begin full work at Dawlish quickly" in response to the town's coastal railway line being washed away in storms in 2014.

Mr Streeter said: "It's not perfect. We want more. But it's a good down payment.

"Everybody's concerned about Dawlish, so to get the secretary of state to confirm what he's been saying for some months now that this is his number one priority, I think we've made a big step forward.

"But it won't be the end of the battle. We'll carry on."

BBC Weather

It will remain cold overnight with blustery showers, and a strong westerly wind. The showers will still be heavy at times, with hail and thunder possible.

The occasional heavier shower could also turn wintry, mainly across any hills.

Minimum temperature: 2C (36F).

Thursday will be another day of sunshine and occasional showers.

These giving a wintry mix of rain, hail, sleet or hill snow. It will also be feeling cold in the brisk northwesterly wind.

Maximum temperature: 7C (45F).

Neil Gallacher, Business & Industry Correspondent
BBC Spotlight

FlyPlymouth has announced that one of the backers behind its plans for the reopening of Plymouth Airport is United Helicopter Services (UHS).

The group says UHS, which has bases in Brazil, Portugal, Liberia and Turkey, wants to expand into the UK and wants to base itself in Devon.

As well as investing in FlyPlymouth, it also plans to offer aerospace maintenance and repair engineering services, occupying a hangar and basing helicopter contract services in the city.

Chief executive of FlyPlymouth, Raoul Witherall, says there are now more reasons for Plymouth City Airport to reopen.

"We want to invest a number of millions of pounds into getting this site recommissioned and operations going again," he said.

"And basing engineering and helicopter contractor services here forms part of that approach.

"Not only is it a credible approach to creating real value here, we have a customer and an investor in place who have now signed up to that."

Image source, Sutton Harbour Holdings

Plymouth City Airport was closed by leaseholders Sutton Harbour Holdings in 2011 but it is protected for general aviation use for five years.

Government planning inspectors will consider the 113-acre site tomorrow as part of the Plymouth and South West Devon joint local plan.

Sutton Harbour Holdings wants to build a "garden suburb" on the land, with three-quarters of the profit going to the council.

BBC Radio Devon

BBC Radio Devon

On the A38, just after Ivybridge, there are reports of two multi-vehicle accidents Exeter-bound.

Traffic is at a stand still and there are also reports of heavy hail storm causing major problems.

The 14-year-old male victim suffered a collapsed lung in the attack.

BBC Radio Cornwall

A man from Cornwall says he accepts he is not a paraplegic as he pleaded guilty to fraudulently claiming nearly £250,000 in benefits.

Fifty-one-year-old Brian Matthews, from Rescadghill Park, Heamoor, near Penzance - who arrived in court on a mobility scooter - pleaded guilty to fraudulently claiming £245,000 in benefits.

The prosecution said he made false representations about having an accident at work and claiming disability benefit.

His defence team said Matthews accepted he was not a paraplegic as claimed but he did have weakness and loss of power in his limbs.

The prosecution said Matthews was "extremely manipulative" and "capable of manipulating systems".

The judge postponed sentencing until 13 April so a neurologist could assess Matthews' medical condition.

He said it was "highly likely" Matthews would received a substantial prison sentence - whether the tests find him to be disabled or not.

Andrew Segal
BBC Local Live

A knife used in the stabbing of a teenage boy in Truro has never been recovered, a court has heard.

A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wounded a 14-year-old boy with intent to do grievous bodily harm during an attack outside a community centre on 27 September last year.

The boy was taken to hospital and had to have a collapsed lung treated with a chest drain. He later recovered.

The attacker told the court he had "completely forgot I had a knife in my hand" during the fight and had been using it to "strengthen his hand".

However, the court earlier heard that he had previously claimed he had carried out the attack because he believed the victim had sexually assaulted a friend.

It also heard he admitted the stabbing on Facebook, to a social worker and a family friend. He also said he had disposed of the knife in a garden.

He was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced next month.

Bristol City's Connor Lemonheigh-Evans joins Torquay United on loan until the end of the season.

Andrew Segal
BBC Local Live

A 16-year-old boy who wounded a 14-year-old with intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH) by stabbing him was convicted in less than two hours.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, attacked his victim outside a community centre in Truro on 27 September last year.

Truro Crown Court heard the victim had been at the centre with friends and he had gone outside when the attacker appeared, masked and in dark clothes. He was hit in the side of the head and stabbed in the back.

The boy was taken to hospital with a collapsed lung, which needed "surgical intervention" with a chest drain to treat. He later recovered.

The attacker had already admitted a charge of wounding before the jury of six men and six women found him guilty of the GBH charge.

He was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced next month.

BBC Radio Cornwall

A 51-year-old man from Cornwall has pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraudulently claiming benefits amounting to £245,000.

Brian Matthews, of Roscadghill Park, Heamoor, falsely claimed benefits over a 15-year period using multiple identities, the Department for Work and Pensions told Truro Crown Court.

He is due to be sentenced in April to allow for a medical statement to be prepared.

Del Crookes
BBC News Online

Police were called to reports a man had been stabbed at an address in the Clifton Road area of Exeter just before 03:00.

The man, who is in his 40s, was taken to hospital with injuries to his arms.

Two men, aged 25 and 34 and both from Exeter, have been arrested on suspicion of GBH and are assisting officers with inquiries.

Image source, Google

Devon Live

A Devon landfill site in danger of being washed into the sea contains asbestos, syringes, cyanide, gas canisters and live ammunition, it has been claimed., external

A 16-year-old boy who stabbed a 14-year-old in Truro has been found guilty of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

His victim was injured outside a community centre in the city on 27 September 2017, suffering a injured lung.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had already admitted wounding at Truro Crown Court.

He was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced next month.

Three photos taken by Mullion coastguard show the extent of the landslip above the harbour.

Several tonnes of soil are on the brink of collapse after heavy rainfall over the past few months.

Image source, MullionCG/Twitter

Image source, MullionCG/Twitter

Image source, MullionCG/Twitter

The National Trust has warned people to stay away from Mullion Harbour.

It was built in the 1890s and has traditionally sheltered a small fishing fleet from storms.

BBC Radio Cornwall

Regional manager for Marks and Spencer in the South West, John Dorrington, says there are a "whole range of factors" why the Falmouth store could be closing down.

The firm is "consulting" with staff over the proposed closure of the business on Market Street.

Mr Dorrington said: "We look at sales performance, we look at profitability, we look at where we trade nearby.

"We have two fantastic stores in Truro and Hayle. We've just recently opened a food store in Launceston.

Image source, Google

"So we're looking at modernising our whole estate and it isn't one single factor that brings us to this difficult point. It might be investment costs, it might be lease arrangements.

"So there are a whole range of factors that we will consider in coming to this proposal."

The company says it hopes to redeploy all 60 staff affected and insists that the new M&S store at Kingsley Village in Fraddon will be going ahead despite the potential closure of its Falmouth shop.

BBC Politics

The government has insisted that the owners of holiday homes in Cornwall who break tax rules will be prosecuted.

The Conservative MP for St Austell and Newquay, Steve Double, told the House of Commons that second homes are pushing prices up for locals.

He also said many owners aren't paying their fair share.

"Holiday homes in Cornwall are a mixed blessing," he said.

"They provide important support for our local economy but they also take up vitally needed housing stock and put up prices beyond the reach of many local people.

"In addition to this, many of them avoid paying council tax by switching to business use, then enjoying the benefits of small business rate relief.

"Does my right honourable friend agree with me that this situation is unacceptable and would he use his good offices to help the government close this loophole?"

Cabinet Office Minister, David Lidington, was standing in for Theresa May at Prime Minister's Questions.

"My honourable friend raises a valid point," he said. "Clearly it's right that holiday owners should pay the correct tax.

"Obviously individual decisions over whether the property should be council tax or business rates rest with the Valuation Office Agency, which operates independently of ministers.

"But if a property is available to rent for 140 days or more per year, then it will be subject to business rates and if it does not meet this test, council tax will be due.

"If an individual provides false information in order to seek business rate relief, that person is liable to summary conviction or a fine, or both."

Plymouth Herald

Police are treating a man's sudden death at a Plymouth house , externalas "unexplained" but "not suspicious".