Updates from Monday 23 April until Friday 27 April 2018
Maisie Duncan death: Police seek three witnesses after Looe road crash
Cornwall Council's £46k Cannes trip scrutinised
Ten Devon and Cornwall Police officers assaulted in single night
Parents campaigning to save 'inadequate' Plymouth free school due to close
Parade to call for more affordable housing on Rame Peninsula
Home-schooling stats reveal Cornwall in fourth place in UK
Jenna Hawkey
BBC News Online
Devon and Cornwall Police recorded a total of 100,637 offences in 2017.
The figure is up 23% on 2016.
Overall figures for England and Wales show police recorded 5.4 million offences last year, a 13% year-on-year rise.
Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online
The government is praising thousands of volunteers who came together last weekend to clean up beaches across Devon and Cornwall and the rest of the country.
It was organised by Cornish campaign group Surfers Against Sewage, external, which is based in St Agnes.
In the House of Commons, the Conservative MP for St Austell and Newquay, Steve Double, said it was a "massive operation".
"Thirty-five-thousand volunteers collected 65 tonnes of plastic waste across 571 beaches across UK.
"We now have a grassroots unstoppable people movement determined to rid our coast of plastic waste."
The Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, says vital lessons have been learnt thanks to successful campaigning...
Brownies from Cornwall have received the world's very first Virtual Reality Technology badges.
Second Saltash Division experienced a number of virtual reality worlds, including a trip to Mars and a Japanese garden, thanks to a visit from the University of Birmingham’s Human Interface Technologies Team.
Quote MessageIt's really fun, but I still feel a little bit dizzy!"
Elizabeth, 2nd Saltash Brownies
Image source, Matt Stone, RNLIA senior beach lifeguard from Cornwall has been teaching rescue skills in The Gambia.
Matt Stone (pictured below with local lifesavers) is the founder and chairman of Gyllyngvase Surf Life Saving Club.
He is among a group of RNLI lifeguards who have helped to set up the Red Dolphin Life Guard Association in The Gambia.
The RNLI says drowning claims an estimated 360,000 lives every year in developing countries, many of them children and young people.
Lifeguard training is also being delivered in Kenya, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Senegal.
Image source, Matt Stone, RNLI
Image source, Matt Stone, RNLIHayley Westcott
BBC News Online
A Cornwall councillor wants the government to make it easier for people to charge their electric cars to encourage more to buy them.
Councillor Sue James said the technology needed to be "simplified and improved".
There are 666 such vehicles in Cornwall, the latest figures from the Department for Transport say.
Ministers want to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040.
Here's what these people in Cornwall think about that...
A group of people living in a Devon market town are criticising a local estate agent for marketing local homes to the so-called "lucrative London and international investor market".
Residents in Ashburton have written to the estate agent Sawydye and Harris, and to the town council, saying marketing local homes to London and international buyers increased prices.
Quote MessageWe were just a little bit shocked at the thought of people, particularly foreign investors, eyeing up property that they weren't going to live in. That could well push up the prices and take away the opportunity for local people."
Ann, Ashburton resident
Image source, GoogleQuote MessageOur clients expect us to market their properties using the many avenues that are available to all estate agents in the modern age, and it is our professional duty to secure the best possible outcome for our clients."
Katie Griffin, Director, Sawdye and Harris
A young motorcyclist ignored 'no overtaking' signs , external before clipping a pushchair and sending a four-month-old tumbling to the ground.
In Exeter, there's slow traffic due to a traffic light failure on Cowick Street, around Alphington Street.
There's been an increase in the number of children being home schooled in Devon.
The BBC has found that more than 1,200 children are being home-educated now, up from 766 three years ago.
It's more than twice the national average number.
Across the whole of the UK, the number of children home schooled has gone up by 48% to 48,000 since 2015.
Image source, Getty Images
Chris Baker
Local Democracy Reporting Service
More than 100 housing developments in Torbay that already have planning permission have not started or have been delayed.
Councillors heard there were 107 so-called "stalled" sites in the district: 16 in Brixham, 28 in Paignton, and 63 in Torquay.
Together, they represent approximately 425 new homes.
Some larger developments, such as Devonshire Park and Yelberton Road (pictured) in Paignton; and Torquay Gateway on the outskirts of the town, are also technically stalled because progress has been slow.
Image source, Google
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Emily Wood
BBC Weather
If you're planning a trip to the coast or seaside, here are the high water times around Devon and Cornwall.
We'll have the latest forecast on BBC Spotlight at 13:30.
Cornish Stuff
A councillor says that Cornwall Council will be abandoning any plans to change the way Cornwall’s residents will pay for adult care services, external.
The A38 at Bodmin is partially blocked by a broken-down vehicle near Bodmin Parkway Station. Approach with care.
Jenna Hawkey
BBC News Online
Police are appealing for information following allegations of a rape in Tiverton, external.
The incident took place in Collipriest Road, near the junction with Little Silver at about 02:30 on 22 April.
The suspect - described as a white man, about 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, with a stocky build - is believed to have followed the victim from Tiverton town centre.
Quote MessageWe believe that three people walked past the victim prior to the attack on the way out of Tiverton town centre and got into a car nearby. We are keen to speak to these people as they may hold information vital to the investigation."
Devon and Cornwall Police
The government has being urged to do more to encourage drivers in the South West to go electric.
The latest figures, external show there are about 600 registered plug-in vehicles in Cornwall, and just over 1,200 in Devon.
Ministers want to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2040 and have made grants available , externalto car manufacturers and dealerships to reduce the price of new electric and hybrid vehicles.
But Cornwall Councillor Sue James said the government needed to "get the industry together" to make it easier for people to charge their electric cars, which could give more people the confidence to buy them.
"There's different technologies, different ways to connect," she said. "Some you have a card and some you have an app on your phone, and I think that's a bit of a problem."
A first-ever Transgender Day of Remembrance could be held this year by Exeter City Council, external.
In Ottery St Mary, Mill Street is partially blocked around Winter's Lane due to a two-vehicle collision. It's causing slow traffic.
Emily Wood
BBC Weather
Today will see spells of sunshine for much of the time with the chance of the odd shower.
The sunshine will turn hazy during the afternoon, though with thicker cloud to end the day.
Maximum temperature: 9 to 12C (48 to 54F).
In Milton Abbot, Fore Street is blocked by an accident around Venn Hill, near Milton Abbot School.
