Updates from Monday 30 April until Friday 4 May 2018
Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online
A bathroom has been "100% damaged" after a flat fire in Exeter, firefighters have said.
Crews were called to the property on Melbourne Street at 08:10.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said the fire involved an extractor fan.
It added that the remainder of the flat was "25% damaged by smoke".
The cause of the fire was accidental, the fire service said.
Thanks to Jane for sharing this photo of some goslings in St Erme in Cornwall.
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An NHS nurse from Cornwall, who offers botox injections as a side project, has set up her own charity to help refugees in Iraq.
Anne Norona uses some of the income from her private work in Truro to pay for medical supplies and aid for people living in makeshift camps.
Ms Norona was inspired to help by her extensive voluntary work in Haiti and Greece. , external
She says she's raised £50,000 in the last 18 months, most of it in donations from friends and associates, while a small part was through her own work.
The Yazidis, an ethnic Kurdish group in northern Iraq, were targeted by so-called Islamic State fighters in 2014.
Plans to close HM Prison Dartmoor in five years' time should be reversed, according to South West MPs.
A delegation, including South West Devon MP Gary Streeter and the MP for Tiverton and Honiton Neil Parish, met the prisons minister to ask him to change his mind.
However, they were told there are financial and legal complications because the landowner, the Duchy of Cornwall, was given 10 years notice of the closure five years ago.
Torridge and West Devon MP Geoffrey Cox was also at the meeting and thinks the prison should remain open because "all the fundamentals are good".
Truro City boss Lee Hodges hails his players after they lost in the first round of the National League South play-offs.
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Hundreds of rowers are descending on the Isles of Scilly for the World Pilot Gig Championships, external, which get under way on Friday evening.
More than 150 gigs are registered to take part in the event, which is in its 29th year.
Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online
Cornwall Council wants 2p from every litre of fuel sold at the county's pumps to be spent repairing local roads.
It says it needs the money to meet the maintenance backlog and is currently battling a plague of potholes.
These people in Penryn have been giving their views on the idea...
Jenna Hawkey
BBC News Online
There will be a fifth series of the BBC drama Poldark, it has been confirmed.
Eleanor Tomlinson, who plays Demelza, made the announcement by video at the British Film Institute's screening of series four, episode one last night.
She couldn't be at the event as she is currently filming a new BBC drama of War Of The Worlds.
The fourth series of Poldark is likely to air early this summer., external
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In Brixham, there are reports of a collision involving a cyclist on the A3022.
There's very heavy traffic outbound between Laywell Road and Windy Corner.
Young people in Kingsand and Cawsand in Cornwall can't afford homes in their own villages, external.
The average house price for Kingsand on the Rame Peninsula is more than £500,000.
Twitter
Twelve police officers were assaulted overnight while on duty, a police officer has said on Twitter., external
DCC Paul Netherton said they were "doing their job" but faced "abuse and assault".
In Exeter, a police officer tweeted two female officers were "viciously assaulted" while on duty overnight.
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Brixham Gig Club is embarking on a 14-hour sea journey to get to this weekend's World Pilot Gig Championships, external in the Isles of Scilly.
Twenty-four rowers and their gigs are travelling on a fishing trawler belonging to a family member, and will start their journey tonight.
Quote MessageI think for the first two hours, everyone will be quite excited. I think after that, maybe once they've hit a bit of open sea, they might not feel so well so the idea is to get their head down because most of them will have to race on the Friday afternoon."
Jodie Pine, Chair of Brixham Gig Club
Jenna Hawkey
BBC News Online
A house in Plymouth has been severely damaged by fire, external.
Crews from Crownhill and Camels Head were called to the property in Little Dock Lane at 04:06.
They found a fire in the bedroom of a semi-detached house involving a candle and a mattress.
The bedroom was severely damaged, with the rest of the property suffering smoke damage.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said the cause of the fire was accidental.
Image source, GoogleLittle Dock Lane, Plymouth
On the A38 at Ivybridge, there are reports of a collision heading towards Exeter.
There's very slow traffic in the area.
Twitter
Two female police officers have been "viciously assaulted" while on duty, a Devon and Cornwall Police officer has said.
Sgt Harry Tangye said on Twitter , externalthey were assaulted by a man who was "smashing his way into his house to attack his partner".
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Sophie Pierce
BBC Radio Devon
A war veteran says he's "chuffed" to have been presented with the Legion d'Honneur for his part in the D-Day landings.
Tony Portman, 92, from Kingsteignton, Devon, served on battleship HMS Nelson during World War Two when he was just 15 years old.
He said he "didn't do anything special, I was just in the navy" but was "proud of what I did".
The Legion d'Honneur is the highest French order of merit for military and civil heroism and in recent years the government has issued the medal to all British veterans who fought for the liberation of France during the war.
On the A30 at Carland Cross there's an accident blocking the outside lane of the westbound carriageway.
There's queuing traffic approaching the roundabout from all directions.
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Image source, BBC BLUE PLANET IICornwall Council aims to be the "world's first net extractor of marine plastics, external".
If it achieves the accolade it will mean the county recovers and processes more plastic than it disposes of.
The idea is to build on schemes like Fishing for Litter, which already encourages vessels to collect marine litter and bring it into the harbour to be recycled.
Leaders in the county are asking the government for more incentives to get businesses involved.
Quote MessageIt's the environment that we work in, I want to see it nice and tidy. I don't want to be catching rubbish in my nets. It's not good for the fishing and it's not good for my trawls. It damages my nets.
David Stevens, Skipper of The Crystal Sea, St Ives
Cornish Stuff
A crew of Exeter women hoping to win a rowing race across the Atlantic have reached a milestone in their campaign.
The Row for the Ocean team have been practising in a river boat, but now they've raised enough to get the specialist ocean rowing boat they need to complete the 3,000 mile Atlantic Challenge.
Laura Try, Rosalind Holsgrove-West, Kate Salmon and Kirsty Barker
Quote MessageI'm most human when I'm in an endurance environment, where there's nothing else to think about apart from getting to the finish, away from the rush and panic of the modern world."
Laura Try, Row for the Ocean team member
Rowers start in the Canary Islands and aim to finish in Antigua and Barbuda. The annual race begins in early December with up to 30 teams taking part from around the world.
