Andrew Segal
BBC Local Live

A university in Hampshire says it is "saddened" by the death of a student from Devon who was also Britain’s youngest councillor.

The body of 21-year-old Clarissa Slade was found in a property in Winchester, where she was studying.

Ms Slade became Britain’s youngest councillor when she was elected to Mid Devon District Council authority in 2015, aged 18.

The University of Winchester said: "We are deeply saddened by her death and our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends at this difficult time."

Hampshire Police said officers were called to an address in Thurmond Crescent in the town on Monday afternoon after the body of a 21-year-old woman was found.

"The death is currently being treated as unexplained," the force said.

Chris Baker
Local Democracy Reporting Service

The number of families living in bed and breakfast accommodation in Plymouth last Christmas was six times higher than two years before, according to Labour councillors.

Devonport councillor Kate Taylor said 45 families were in emergency accommodation last December, compared to seven in 2015.

She also said the number of rough sleepers in the city had trebled since 2010.

Labour has urged the Conservative-led council to publish an action plan to tackle homelessness, to stop using bed and breakfasts for families with children, and to investigate "pop-up homes" of a type already pioneered in cities such as Bristol and London.

Housing cabinet member Steven Ricketts said there was already an action plan on homelessness, but bed and breakfasts would continue to be used because there were always going to be exceptional circumstances.

The council was researching the possibility of using shipping containers as a temporary way of getting homeless people off the streets, he added.

BBC Radio Cornwall

Image source, Getty Images

A scheme to offer cash back when drinks containers are recycled is being welcomed by environmentalists in Cornwall.

The government has announced it wants to introduce a deposit scheme on drinks containers in England and hopes the proposal, which could come into force by the end of the year, will cut waste and increase recycling.

The deposit will increase prices - but consumers will get the money back if they return the container. It is expected to cover single-use glass and plastic bottles, and steel and aluminium cans.

The announcement comes after the Blue Planet II television series highlighted the threat of ocean pollution and showed footage of wildlife eating plastic.

Hugo Tagholm, chief executive of Surfers Against Sewage, said the move was a "huge victory for our oceans" and it would "stop millions of plastic bottles escaping into the environment annually, and stem the tidal wave of plastics swamping our coastlines".

BBC Radio Devon

An estimated 5,500 people are problem gamblers in Devon, according to a county council report.

The study suggests people who are not working because they are long-term sick or carers are more likely to have this type of addiction, and that it could lead to depression, homelessness and family breakdown.

But it is not as big a public health issue as obesity and smoking which cause more widespread harm, it added.

The report recommended raising awareness of help available for gambling addicts.

Image source, PA

Andrew Segal
BBC Local Live

A teenage boy has been assaulted in a fight at a train station in Falmouth, British Transport Police (BTP) say.

Officers said, external the 16-year-old was punched three times in the head when he and another older teenager arranged to meet each other at Penmere station.

One of the boys got off a train and approached the other before they had a heated argument at about 15:30 on Wednesday 21 March.

The victim suffered a suspected broken nose and a fractured cheek bone.

BTP have appealed for witnesses, saying: "The assault happened in broad daylight and officers are conscious a number of passengers or members of the public may have seen what happened."

Image source, Google

BBC Radio Devon

• In Plymouth, on Budshead Road, around Dayton Close, there are reports of an accident
• On the A38 Haldon Hill, Plymouth-bound, there are reports that one lane is blocked due to a broken-down vehicle and trailer
• Around Buckfastleigh, there's a wide slow moving load on the A38, heading towards Plympton. Delays should be expected

Andrew Segal
BBC Local Live

The parents of a Mid Devon councillor who has died suddenly at the age of 21 in Winchester say they are "obviously devastated by the loss of our beautiful daughter".

Twenty-one-year-old Clarissa Slade became Britain’s youngest councillor when she was elected to the Mid Devon authority in 2015.

She was attending university in the Hampshire city and her body was reportedly found by her housemate on Monday.

Her father, Colin Slade, said she "showed an interest in politics as a young teenager, got involved in campaigning and was elected our youngest councillor in 2015 aged just 18".

Image source, Mid Devon District Council

Facebook

The RSPB says the lesser spotted woodpecker is one of 67 native UK bird species that is on the Birds of Conservation Concern Red List, meaning urgent conservation action is needed, external.

Populations of the woodpecker have dropped substantially since the 1970s.

It is not clear why the species is declining; although experts say they believe woodland changes may be playing a role.

Dustin Lance Black, the husband of Olympic diver Tom Daley, has said they plan to raise their child in the UK despite a more complicated legal system.

The screenwriter told 5 live's Nihal Arthanayake: “We will take the more difficult path of raising our son here.”

Lance Black and Daley felt they had no choice other than to go abroad to find a surrogate for their baby due to the complex legal system in the UK.

On 5 live Afternoon Edition he asked whether the law should be simplified to make it easier for both gay and straight couples to find a surrogate.

• Tom Daley announces baby news with husband

Image source, Tom Daley

BBC Radio Cornwall

At Bodmin, on the A30 around the A38 Launceston Road, there are reports of an accident.

Andrew Segal
BBC Local Live

Image source, PA

A Cornwall MP says he is to seek a meeting with ministers to discuss a £42m wave energy project off the Cornish coast having yet to produce any electricity despite being up and running for eight years.

Wave Hub, an undersea electrical socket based at Hayle in west Cornwall, installed to test wave energy machines, has hosted just one device since 2010.

Camborne & Redruth Conservative and Environment Minister George Eustice, said: "This is obviously disappointing news. Cornwall has a wave resource that is second to none, however the development of technologies to successfully harness wave energy has taken longer than hoped.

"The government has invested millions of pounds in Wave Hub to date and in the last year I have been arguing for a new system of incentives to try to support some of the pioneering companies working in this sector.

"I will be seeking a meeting with ministers to discuss these latest developments”.

Wave Hub said the wave energy business was "unfortunately taking longer to develop" than anticipated so it was "diversifying" and exploring options for testing floating wind turbines.

Andrea Ormsby
BBC Spotlight

Two baby otters are being trained to hunt and swim for themselves after being found abandoned in the Devon countryside.

The orphans, called Nipper and Hazel, are being cared for by the UK Wild Otter Trust in the north of the county, which has built a special unit just for them.

The pair are not related, but are getting on well and are due to be released back into the wild in about a year, staff say.

BBC Radio Devon

In Honiton, on the A375 Sidmouth Road, around Exeter Road, there are reports of an accident.

Devon Live

The full line up for the first day this summer's huge waterfront music festival, external in Devon has been revealed.

Ella Eyre, Professor Green and R3WIRE & VARSKI will join Bastille on the line-up on day one at this year’s Ocean City Sounds festival in Plymouth, which will take place on Thursday 26 July.

BBC Weather

It'll be a cloudy start to the day with outbreaks of locally heavy rain clearing to the east this morning.

It will become brighter from the west by mid-morning with sunny periods developing along with some scattered and occasionally heavy showers.

Moderate or fresh northwesterly winds will be locally strong around parts of the coast.

Maximum temperature: 6 to 9C (43 to 48F).

Jenny Walrond
Health Correspondent, BBC Spotlight

The waiting list for an NHS dentist in East Devon more than doubled in the year to February 2018, rising from 393 to 983.

In Exeter, the waiting list almost halved, down to 1,748 from 2,992.

NHS England admits accessing a dentist has become more difficult in many parts of Devon due to difficulties filling vacancies.

But it said it was working on a number of initiatives to help, including working with Peninsula Dental School to offer NHS places in its Exeter clinic to patients on the waiting list.

A report published today by Healthwatch Devon, external found patients with NHS dentists waited longer and were less satisfied with their care than patients who had private treatment.

It also found that one patient travelled 27 miles (43km) to see their dentist.

Andrew Segal
BBC Local Live

A Devon council has paid tribute to its youngest member after her "sudden and tragic" death in Winchester.

Twenty-one-year-old Clarissa Slade became Britain’s youngest councillor when she was elected to the Mid Devon authority in 2015 at the age of 18.

She was attending university in the Hampshire town and her body was reportedly found by her housemate on Monday.

Image source, Mid Devon District Council

On the authority's Facebook page, external, Council Chief Executive Stephen Walford said her death was "clearly a great shock to everyone at the council and will affect all those who worked with Clarissa and the community she served."

Council leader Clive Eginton said the "devastating news ... has been deeply felt by myself, fellow councillors and officers across the council".

A book of condolence had been opened at Phoenix House, the council said.

BBC Radio Devon

• One lane is blocked On the A38 Haldon Hill, Plymouth-bound, due to a broken-down lorry
• From Kingsteignton, heading towards the Penn Inn roundabout, one lane is closed on the the A380 southbound due to an earlier vehicle fire. Traffic is slow moving on the A380 and roads through Newton Abbot are also busy due to that incident

Andrew Segal
BBC Local Live

MPs in Devon have paid tribute to a Mid Devon councillor who has died suddenly aged 21 in Winchester.

Clarissa Slade became Britain’s youngest councillor when she was elected in 2015.

She was attending university in the Hampshire town and her body was reportedly found by her housemate on Monday.

Torbay Conservative Kevin Foster tweeted that he was "shocked and deeply saddened" at her death, adding: "My thoughts and prayers are with her family."

Fellow Conservative and North Devon MP Peter Heaton-Jones tweeted: "My sincere condolences to [Ms Slade's parents] Colin and Elizabeth.

He added: "I knew Clarissa well. She was hardworking and always so upbeat, and had a bright future. Such a sad day."

BBC Radio Devon

A car has caught fire on a road after being involved in a crash with a lorry on the A380 in south Devon.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said two appliances from Newton Abbot were sent to the scene after the crash on the southbound lane between Ware Barton and the Penn Inn area at about 06:00

The vehicles' occupants got out safely. There were no casualties reported.