BBC Devon & Cornwall Live: 4-8 June

Summary

Updates from Monday 4 June until Friday 8 June 2018

Live Reporting

Mary Wilson dies aged 102published at 08:40 British Summer Time 7 June 2018
BBC Radio Cornwall
Mary Wilson, the widow of the Labour Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, has died aged 102.
She disagreed with her husband about Europe and nuclear weapons, and was widely thought to be dissatisfied with life in politics.
Lady Wilson moved to the Isles of Scilly in later life and published volumes of poetry in the 1970s.
This morning, the MP for West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Derek Thomas, paid his respects.
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Image caption,
Harold and Mary in the Isles of Scilly in 1965
House of Fraser 'needs to adapt' as closure plans releasedpublished at 08:22 British Summer Time 7 June 2018
BBC Business News
Department store chain House of Fraser is to close 31 shops affecting 6,000 jobs as part of a rescue deal.
The Plymouth store is one of the 31 identified.
Quote Message
The retail industry is undergoing fundamental change and House of Fraser urgently needs to adapt to this fast-changing landscape in order to give it a future and allow it to thrive. Our legacy store estate has created an unsustainable cost base, which without restructuring, presents an existential threat to the business.
Frank Slevin, House of Fraser chairman
Closing stores was "a very difficult decision", he said, but "there should be no doubt that it is absolutely necessary if we are to continue to trade and be competitive".
Image source, PA
High tide times for the regionpublished at 08:14 British Summer Time 7 June 2018
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.
Plymouth's House of Fraser store set for closurepublished at 08:06 British Summer Time 7 June 2018
Breaking
Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online
House of Fraser has announced it has identified 31 stores for closure - and Plymouth is one of them.
The company says shutting these stores will help to "reduce costs and secure House of Fraser's future".
As part of the "rescue deal", about 6,000 jobs will be affected.
It's anticipated the stores scheduled for closure will remain open until early in 2019.
Image source, Google
Cornwall travel: Broken-down vehicle on A30published at 07:59 British Summer Time 7 June 2018
BBC Radio Cornwall
On the A30 westbound, there's a broken-down vehicle between the junctions for Tolvaddon and Camborne West.
Woman arrested after flat firepublished at 07:58 British Summer Time 7 June 2018
Breaking
Rob England
BBC News Online
A woman has been arrested in connection with a flat fire in Torquay.
Police were called at about 01:00 to Melville Street, as firefighters were tackling the blaze.
Officers said a 26-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent.
A woman was rescued from the property and taken to hospital with possible smoke inhalation, emergency services said.
Charles and Camilla to visit Royal Cornwall Showpublished at 07:47 British Summer Time 7 June 2018
BBC Radio Cornwall
The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall are due to attend the Royal Cornwall Show later in their respective roles of show patron and vice president of the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association.
Prince Charles and Camilla will take part in The Prince's Countryside Parade to mark his 70th birthday.
The traditional royal walkabout will showcase some of Charles's favourite rural topics including wildlife and conservation, native breeds and rural heritage.
Image caption,
The Royal Cornwall Show is held on a 96-acre site at Wadebridge
The Royal Cornwall Show is an annual celebration of the best in Cornish agriculture and food and has been running since 1793.
The three-day show, this year taking place from 7-9 June, is expected to attract about 120,000 visitors.
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales has been patron of the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association (the organiser of the event) since 2002, and Her Royal Highness has been vice president since 2011.
Cornwall travel: A39 partially blockedpublished at 07:42 British Summer Time 7 June 2018
BBC Radio Cornwall
At Devoran, the A39 is partially blocked near Tarrandean Lane due to a broken-down vehicle.
New gin and vodka distillery opens in Cornwallpublished at 07:39 British Summer Time 7 June 2018
Tamsin Melville
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Cornwall
A fifth-generation potato farm in Lanlivery is the site of Cornwall's first gin and vodka distilling operation.
Everything used in making the drinks is from the farm - from the potatoes to the spring water.
Founder of the Colwith Farm Distillery, Steve Dustow said it has taken eight years to get to this stage - with a lot of red tape and legal hoops to go through - but it has been worth it...
Bovine beauties glam up for Royal Cornwall Showpublished at 07:23 British Summer Time 7 June 2018
Twitter
These cattle are up early, getting ready for the first day of the Royal Cornwall Show.
BBC weather presenter Kevin Thomas has been checking out their strict beauty regimes.
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Cornwall travel: Showground traffic starting to buildpublished at 07:19 British Summer Time 7 June 2018
BBC Radio Cornwall
On the A39, traffic is building in both directions approaching the Royal Cornwall Showground.
Traffic is also starting to pick up on the A389 from the Bodmin direction.
Woman rescued from burning flat in suspected arsonpublished at 06:55 British Summer Time 7 June 2018
BBC Radio Devon
A woman's been taken to hospital after being rescued from a fire in Torquay.
Crews were called to a first floor flat on Melville Street, external just before 01:00.
It's believed the fire was started deliberately - police are investigating.
Image source, Google
Councillor 'furious' over plans for hospital in St Ivespublished at 18:03 British Summer Time 6 June 2018
Richard Whitehouse
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Cornwall Council Cabinet member Andrew Mitchell has criticised the handling of the Edward Hain Hospital in St Ives.
He said he was "disappointed", "angry" and "furious" about the delay in deciding what to do with the building and the options being considered.
Talking about the future of the community hospital, he told health bosses: "You have got to be off your head."
Image source, LDRS
It was revealed last week that a number of choices had been put forward, including using the hospital site for housing, out-patient services or a transport hub.
The hospital had its in-patient beds closed in 2016 after it was ruled to be a fire safety risk.
Since then there have been several discussions on what could be done with the hospital and campaigns from local people for it to reopen.
Quote Message
I came into this meeting quite disappointed, but after the debate I am actually angry. Over two-and-a-half years down the line and nothing has happened. My view and the view of the public is not that community hospitals are failing but they are collapsing."
Andrew Mitchell, Cornwall Council cabinet member for housing and councillor for St Ives West
Weather: The risk of a few showers tonight and tomorrowpublished at 17:56 British Summer Time 6 June 2018
David Braine
Weather Forecaster
Tonight there will be clear periods, but there will also be the risk of a few showers pushing up from the south, mainly during the second half of the night.
It will be a mild night with a light breeze.
Minimum temperature: 9 to 12C (48 to 54F)
On Thursday it will be a warm day with some sunny spells, but also a fair amount of cloud around, with the risk of some scattered showers, which could be heavy.
Maximum temperature: 18 to 21C (64 to 70F)
The Poldark premiere after-partypublished at 17:37 British Summer Time 6 June 2018
Miles Davis
BBC News Online
The Poldark season four premiere in Redruth last night brought a host of stars to the town's Regal cinema.
After all the red-carpet activity and countless selfies the cast headed back to the Penventon Park Hotel for dinner and drinks and a good night's sleep.
Nick Lawson, general manager of the hotel, said: "It was a great opportunity for Redruth to host such a high-profile event and the team at Penventon are honoured to have been part of it.
"This event was a wonderful chance for the community to escape the ordinary and relish such a special event.”
Image source, Penventon Park Hotel
Conman has sentence doubled after not paying cash backpublished at 17:18 British Summer Time 6 June 2018
Del Crookes
BBC News Online
A fraudster who posed as a Royal Marine and a special services operative has had his sentence doubled after failing to pay back the money he stole.
Joseph Birch was convicted on four counts of money laundering and one offence under the Fraud Act 2006 in May 2016, and was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison.
Image source, Devon and Cornwall Police
Following a confiscation hearing last November at Exeter Crown Court, the 65-year-old was ordered to pay £5.8m or have his sentence extended by seven years.
North Devon Magistrates' Court was advised that Joseph Birch had failed to pay any of the outstanding money and imposed the additional seven year default sentence.
It will start when he finishes his current sentence at HM Prison Dartmoor.
MK Dons appoint Tisdale as managerpublished at 17:16 British Summer Time 6 June 2018
Milton Keynes Dons appoint former Exeter City boss Paul Tisdale as their new manager on a "long-term deal".
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'Large amounts' of cannabis seized in Cambornepublished at 16:16 British Summer Time 6 June 2018
Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online
"Large amounts" of cannabis have been seized by police in Camborne.
The force has praised the "proactive work" of the team on Twitter., external
It also urged anyone who knows of drug-related crimes to contact police directly or call Crimestoppers anonymously.
Image source, CAMBORNE POLICE
Snap inspection of struggling Torbay children's servicespublished at 16:08 British Summer Time 6 June 2018
Chris Baker
Local Democracy Reporting Service
The children and young people's regulator is to make another snap inspection of a council's struggling children's services department.
Ofsted inspectors are expected for what will be the sixth visit since children's services at Torbay Council were deemed inadequate in 2016.
After the most recent inspection, in February, the council was told quality of services for children being looked after had declined since the previous visit.
Since April, Plymouth City Council has run children's services in Torbay.
Among Ofsted's criticisms following the February inspection were:
- Improved social work practice for children on the edge of care, and for those being looked after, had been too slow.
- Some children remained in situations of known risk of significant harm for too long, without effective action being taken.
- Social workers were struggling to implement improvements, and widespread poor practice remained.
- Social workers and team managers had insufficient professional curiosity, and there was poor frontline decision making to protect children.
- Senior and middle managers had made little progress in addressing poor performance among frontline staff.
Paramedic stole £1,400 from patient, 87published at 15:58 British Summer Time 6 June 2018
Anna Mogford took Joyce Bealey's bank card from her purse while treating her for eight broken ribs.
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