Sarah Gosling
BBC News Online

Devon and Cornwall Police Commissioner Alison Hernandez has "applauded" an anti-slavery operation at a Cornish farm.

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of slavery offences and remain in police custody.

The mission was carried out by police, HMRC, Cornwall Council and the Salvation Army at Bosahan Farm, a flower picking farm near Helston, after suspicions were raised of slavery offences involving migrant workers.

Those affected are mostly male migrants believed to be from Lithuania, Romania and Bulgaria.

PCC Hernandez said: "This is an excellent coordinated response. I am pleased to see police and partners coming together and taking this alleged offence very seriously."

Fourteen of those rescued have opted to receive help from a national scheme.

Sarah Gosling
BBC News Online

Help is being offered to 14 people after an anti-slavery operation in Cornwall.

A police operation on the Lizard today discovered 12 men and two women of Romanian and Lithuanian origin in what appeared to be conditions of modern slavery.

The Council has reiterated that these people are not in trouble or being detained, but have asked to receive help in finding accommodation and work through a national scheme.

In a statement, Cornwall Council said: "Modern slavery is a crime. It is work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the person has not offered him or herself voluntarily."

Other farms in the area have come forward to offer help and work to those affected.

Anyone suspecting modern slavery should contact the Modern Slavery Helpline on 0800 0121 700.

Cornwall Live

The vacant green hut has been demolished, external to clear the area for further development, after the grandson of the original owner of J Barron and Son’s newsagent's, David Barron, retired last year.

BBC Radio Cornwall

A government minister has pledged to examine a so-called holiday homes tax "loophole" after the issue was raised by a Cornish MP.

The member for St Austell and Newquay, Steve Double, says some holiday homeowners avoid paying either council tax, by registering as a business and then claiming rate relief.

Mr Double says that means councils in tourist areas are losing out financially.

"People who are operating legitimate businesses, that's absolutely fine," he said. "That relief is there and available.

Image source, Getty Images

"But we need to make sure that these properties are genuinely businesses.

"The suspicion is that some of them are maybe not businesses, they are private individuals with a second home but who register it as a business.

"We need to look at ways of tightening up on the regulations to make sure that that isn't able to happen."

Del Crookes
BBC News Online

People will be able to hand in knives without fear of prosecution during a week-long amnesty starting on Monday.

Police say the list of items they will accept includes "zombie" knives, swords, kitchen knives, lock knives, unwanted collectibles, replicas, ceremonial items or any other unwanted bladed weapon.

Image source, Devon & Cornwall Police

All police enquiry offices, external which are open to the public will have collection bins in which members of the public can deposit items anonymously.

These are located at:

• Plymouth, Crownhill
• Plymouth, Charles Cross
• St Austell, Palace Road
• Truro, Pydar Street
• Bodmin, Tollgate Road
• Camborne, South Terrace
• Barnstaple, North Walk
• Exeter, Heavitree Road
• Torquay, South Street

Image source, Devon & Cornwall police

Ch Supt Glen Mayhew said: "Our message is clear. There is no excuse for carrying a knife without good reason, and self-protection is not one of those reasons.

"Everyone needs to understand that people who carry knives for that purpose frequently come off worse in any confrontation."

The maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife is four years in prison, external and an unlimited fine.

You will get a prison sentence if you are convicted of carrying a knife more than once.

For the first time, dogs are being used to calm people down before they give evidence in Crown court.

Del Crookes
BBC News Online

A horse has been treated by a vet after being stabbed in the head in Devon.

Police say they were called to an incident in Yelverton over the weekend involving an animal being wounded with a "sharp implement".

The attack is believed to have taken place between last Friday at 17:30 and 09:30 on Saturday.

The horse is now recovering.

Devon Live

A hoard of almost 100 Roman coins and Bronze Age bracelets are among items which have this week been declared treasure, external after being found by detectorists in Devon.

Del Crookes
BBC News Online

Police say they are "scaling down" their operation at a flower-picking farm near Manaccan.

Three people were arrested on suspicion of modern slavery and gangmaster offences after a raid early this morning.

Officers have confirmed that 14 migrants have been taken to a special reception centre.

About 200 people were found working at Bosahan Farm, near Helston.

Police say they were supported by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, HMRC, Cornwall Council, The Red Cross and The Salvation Army.

The people working at the farm were mostly male migrants thought to be from Lithuania, Romania, Poland and Bulgaria.

The National Farmers' Union has released a statement about the raid.

Enter your postcode to see what the air quality is like where you are living in Britain.

BBC Radio Cornwall

The MP for South East Cornwall, Sheryl Murray, is getting married again.

The Conservative has got engaged to her office manager Robert Davidson.

The couple have yet to reveal a date for their wedding.

Sheryl Murray's former husband Neil died in a fishing accident seven years ago.

He was crushed to death when his jacket got caught in a winch on his boat, Our Boy Andrew.

Cornish Stuff

Fresh from pressing the case for fairer funding for Cornwall’s Health services at PMQs yesterday, West Cornwall MP Derek Thomas has been elected on to the influential and powerful Health Select Committee in Westminster, external.

Will Self embarks on a 1000 mile tour of the UK travelling only by bus and coach, exploring urban Britain and British identity at a time of flux.

Bus and coach windows afford Will a different perspective on the nation. He eschews the bright lights of the big cities, heading instead for smaller urban centres. His objective is to speak to Britons about how they view their cities and themselves in 2018.

Will's first trip takes him to Plymouth, once the cockpit of British naval power - a time when national identity was clear and certain.

Over ten programmes, Will takes in Swansea, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, Preston, Middlesbrough, East Kilbride and Derry-Londonderry. In the fish and chip shops, the B&Bs, the pubs and car repair garages, Will debates the state of British identity - and discovers that Britain has become a highly debatable land.

Producer: Laurence Grissell.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018.

Three men are under arrest on suspicion of slavery offences.

Cornish Stuff

As the Royal Institution of Cornwall marks its 200th anniversary this month, a group of volunteers called Citizen Curators have been investigating how the museum’s collections reveal Cornwall and China’s historical links, external.

Plymouth Argyle boss Derek Adams says club owners from the United Kingdom are "more patient" than their overseas counterparts.

Del Crookes
BBC News Online

Police say a modern slavery raid at a flower-picking farm in Cornwall is "exceptional and unusual" because of the volume of people involved.

Three men have been arrested and about 200 workers were found on site near Manaccan.

The workers involved are mostly male migrants thought to be from Lithuania, Romania and Bulgaria.

The raid took place at about 06:00.

A specially-created reception centre has been set up but officers say nobody has been taken away from Bosahan Farm.

There are also interpreters, a Red Cross team, HMRC inspectors and the Gang Masters Labour Abuse Authority at the scene.

BBC reporter in Manaccan, Hannah Stacey, says farm work continues and some workers have told her they do not have concerns about their conditions.

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of modern slavery offences. One man was arrested on suspicion of gangmaster offences.

Del Crookes
BBC News Online

Two new cases of Alabama Rot have been confirmed in Chulmleigh and South Molton.

Across the country there have been a further 10 cases of the disease in January and the first few days of February.

The other cases were reported in Westhoughton, Salford, Brecon, Lydney, Longhope, Tonypandy, Chippenham and Taunton.

Image source, Getty Images

David Walker, the UK’s leading expert on the condition, said: "Unfortunately Alabama Rot can't be diagnosed on the basis of blood tests.

"At the moment we can only provide 100% confirmation of the disease following analysis of kidney tissue.

"This tissue is usually obtained after an animal has died, due to the risks associated with kidney sampling in unwell dogs suspected of having the condition.

"Unless samples of both skin and kidney are analysed, we can't confirm if a dog has had Alabama Rot and, the case will remain suspected and not show on our map."

BBC Radio Cornwall

The RNLI is looking for new recruits to take up a number of roles in their lifeboat crew at Fowey.

The posts include being part of the inshore and all-weather lifeboat crew as well as shore crew.

The main criteria for the roles is to live or work in Fowey.

Local operations manager Chris Ogg says the roles on offer are varied.

"We need a launch authority, we need some inshore all-weather lifeboat crew, fundraisers and some weekend shop volunteers.

"I think we will give them the skills. I think it's about them having the time and the commitment and the willingness to mix and take on new activities and experiences."