Updates from Monday 11 June until Friday 15 June 2018
Dan Downs
Weather Forecaster
If you're thinking about heading off to the coast today, here are the all-important times of high water.
There'll be a full weather forecast in Spotlight's lunchtime news on BBC One at 13:30.
Fire crews have tackled a deliberate car fire, external in north Devon overnight.
They were called to Pottington Road in Barnstaple just after 22:00 to a vehicle that was well alight.
Martyn Oates
BBC South West Political Editor
There's been an angry reaction to a new rail timetable consultation document , externalwhich describes parts of the South West as the "extremities of the network" with relatively few passengers.
The government document about CrossCountry trains suggest reducing services on what it calls the "periphery of the network" so it can run more services elsewhere.
Places where services could be reduced include between Plymouth and Penzance and between Exeter and Newton Abbot to Paignton.
MP for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport, Luke Pollard isn't happy...
The consultation by the Department for Transport wants to hear users' views on the current service and their thoughts on how to improve it in the years to come.
The Minack Theatre is uniquely perched on the cliffs high above the Atlantic
Two sites in Cornwall have been put on a national list of places that tell the history of England's art, architecture and sculpture.
The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Park in St Ives and the Minack Theatre at Porthcurno are two of the 10 sites that have been named by Historic England.
The sites have been selected by BBC arts editor Will Gompertz - from hundreds of public nominations.
Other places across the country that have been included on the list are:
Image source, BOWNESS, HEPWORTH ESTATETwo of the sculptures on display at the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Park
Quote MessageThey are symbols of great cultural and artistic achievement, from cathedrals and great houses to iconic sculptures and a theatre in a stunning natural setting. These places all have a strong identity, and bring people together in a spirit of wonder.
Duncan Wilson, Historic England
Trains running between Exeter, London and the north of England will be disrupted later while work to improve flood defences at Cowley Bridge gets under way.
Some Great Western Railway services will be diverted via Honiton and to facilitate that, South Western Railway will make a number of temporary changes to the timetable, external for services between Salisbury and Exeter.
It's hoped the work will increase the rail network's resilience and reduce the impact of flooding on customers.
Flooding at Cowley made national headlines in 2012 when the line was closed for several weeks.
Dams were used on the lines at Cowley Bridge, near Exeter, in 2012
Dan Downs
Weather Forecaster
Today will be a cooler but dry day for most with spells of sunshine and variable cloud cover.
One or two showers are likely to break out though, especially towards southern coasts.
Maximum temperature: 18 to 21C (64 to 70F).
Any isolated showers will move away during the evening, leaving the night dry with clear spells and patchy cloud cover.
Winds will be mostly light.
Minimum temperature: 9 to 12C (48 to 54F).
People who want to identify as Cornish in the 2021 census could get a "tick box or other means" according to the government.
St Austell and Newquay MP Steve Double: 'This isn't just a matter of Cornish identity and pride'
In a Commons debate on the issue last night led by St Austell and Newquay MP Steve Double - the Cabinet Office Minister Chloe Smith said the issue was under consideration.
But with the next census moving largely online for the first time it wasn't clear exactly how identities would be chosen.
Since 2014 Cornwall's been officially recognised as a national minority.
Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online
Two adults and a 15-month-old baby were rescued from rocks in Cornwall after getting trapped by the incoming tide, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has said., external
Coastguards were called to Newquay near Bedruthan Steps at about 13:10 on Sunday.
The family had managed to scramble on to rocks and out of the water.
The RNLI treated the family which had minor cuts and abrasions from the rocks.
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Quote MessageThis was a close call, but the family did exactly the right thing by calling 999 and asking for the coastguard. Thankfully, they did not try and self-rescue themselves by trying to beat the incoming tide or attempting to climb the cliff.
Piers Stanbury, HM Coastguard
John Ayres
BBC Spotlight
A Devon vet will be reunited with her young family later after being separated for a year following a dispute with the Home Office over visas.
Lucy Gutierrez is British and lives in Teignmouth, but her American husband and children have been unable to come to the UK because their initial application was turned down - even though they met the requirements.
Twelve months later, they've finally got their visas - at a cost of more than £20,000.
The Home Office says now the required evidence has been provided, Mr Gutierrez's application has been granted.
Mrs Gutierrez says the family is now planning to celebrate in style...
The singer was criticised by environmental campaigners for using single use plastic as ticker tape.
Read More
Alex Osborne
BBC Weather
Most of today's showers will fade through this evening, leaving a mostly dry and partly cloudy night.
The odd light shower may drift into the north later in the night though.
Minimum temperature: 6 to 12C (43 to 54F).
A mainly dry start for most on Tuesday, with some bright spells.
Through the day, cloud will build in places, giving most areas a day of sunshine and occasional showers.
Maximum temperature: 17 to 21C (62 to 70F).
Miles Davis
BBC News Online
A miniature piglet has formed an unusual friendship with a calf at the Pennywell Farm tourist attraction near Buckfastleigh.
Mr Sparkles, a 14-week-old piglet, has shunned the company of his siblings for that of Dainty the calf.
Pennywell’s owner, Chris Murray, said: “Mr Sparkles has a cosy pen with his brothers and sisters but is a bit of an escapologist. Every time he goes missing, he can be found with his new friend, Dainty."
Image source, Pennywell FarmPlans have been submitted for a drive-through McDonald's, external near Ottery St Mary, as part of a scheme that would also see a roadside service and petrol station built next to the A30.
Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online
A driver had to be rescued from the top of his lorry after it left the road and ended up overturned in a field in Okehampton.
Firefighters were called to Thorndon Cross at about 14:10 after a member of the public reported an accident.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said, external the driver of the lorry had managed to get himself free of the lorry but he was stuck on top of it.
Fire crews helped the driver from the lorry. Nobody was injured.
The "vulnerable" leatherback would have died had it not been cut free, conservationists said.
Read More
Laurence Reed
BBC Radio Cornwall
Animal welfare officers say they are appalled by state of two horses abandoned on Bodmin Moor in two separate incidents.
Both were left on moorland at Minions and one of the animals is said to have life-threatening injuries.
Image source, Julie DowtonJulie Dowton, the livestock welfare officer for the Bodmin Moor Commoners' Association, has appealed for information.
"It's absolutely shocking that people can do this," she said.
"There's no need to do this because, if people can't cope ... there are people out there who can help."
Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online
Police are appealing for witnesses, external after an attempted assault in Porthleven.
A woman in her 20s was followed by a teenager on a bicycle who attempted to assault her, Devon and Cornwall Police said.
It happened at about 16:30 on 7 June on Beacon Road, heading towards Rinsey.
The offender is described as wearing a black motorbike helmet, with a snood covering his face, wearing dark camouflage trousers and with dark eyebrows.
Officers are also investigating a possible link between this offence and an exposure in the area involving a young male offender who was walking a dog, thought to be a Collie.
He is described as a white male, aged between 16 and 18, about 5ft 8in (172cm) tall and of slim build.
Anyone with information about either incident is asked to call police via 101.
An EasyJet passenger from Devon is fuming that his bag was badly damaged, external at Bristol Airport - and an irreplaceable Exeter City football shirt was ruined.
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston has revealed he never entered the race that saw him make history as the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world.
"They announced I was in it ... they hadn't consulted me," Sir Robin said.
Image source, PANavigating Suhali, which he helped build, he set sail from Falmouth on 14 June 1968 and completed the full-circumnavigation of the world in 312 days.
The sailor, who is back in the town as part of events to celebrate the achievement, said he often talked to Suhali, describing her as "stubborn" and one of his most valuable possessions.
Image source, PA"I can't imagine life without her ... I am aware of most of her little foibles, but she can still surprise me on occasions," he added.
To mark the 50th anniversary of his achievement, some of Britain's most historic sailing boats are coming to Cornwall.
