BBC Introducing in Guernsey

Sark-based band The Recks has been chosen to play the BBC Introducing stage at Latitude Festival this summer.

It's the third time in 11 years a Guernsey act has been selected to play a BBC Introducing stage at a national festival.

The Suffolk festival regularly sees more than 35,000 people attend and has seen Noel Gallagher, Ed Sheeran and Alt-J play in previous years.

BBC Radio Cornwall

The British Horse Society (BHS), external is urging riders in the South West to sign up for road safety training to help reduce accidents and fatalities.

The society said that, while it supported a "pass wide and slow campaign" targeting motorists, people on horseback also needed to ensure their behaviour also met expected standards.

Tamsin Banks, from the BHS in Cornwall, said the new scheme was about "helping riders to be safe, to be respectful of other road users, and to make it easy for other road users to be respectful as well".

Luke Bodset, from the motoring organisation the AA, said riders also should take simple steps to be more visible to drivers.

BBC Radio Devon

• In Hemyock, there are reports of a collision on Lower Millhayes, at Station Road
• In Plympton, Ridge Road is partially blocked by an overturned van around Drunken Bridge Hill
• In Winkleigh, there are reports of an accident on the A3124 at Butcher's Moor Lane and Torrington Road

BBC Radio Cornwall

In St Austell, there are reports of an accident on Trinity Street, around South Street. There's slow traffic.

Guernsey Press

Capturing three Asian hornets in the Castel is a big step towards stopping the spread of the species across the island, experts say., external

BBC Spotlight

An ambitious project to create a geothermal-heated spa at Jubilee Pool in Penzance has been given planning approval.

Cornwall Council has granted listed building consent to allow a spa to be created within the existing pool complex.

Drilling has already started to reach hot rocks which will heat the sea water that fills the art deco lido.

Andrew Segal
BBC Local Live

Image source, Delabole CFRS/Twitter

A "much loved" wartime building on a Cornish moor has been damaged in a "shocking act of vandalism", moor supporters say.

Fire crews were called to a tyre fire inside a former World War Two building at the former Davidstow Airfield, on Davidstow Moor, near Bodmin Moor, on Tuesday morning.

The site was in operational use from late 1942 until 1954.

The Bodmin Moor Commons group tweeted their praise, external to firefighters from Delabole and Launceston for a quick response.

It added that anyone who caused the blaze showed a "total lack of respect for our history".

BBC Radio Jersey

People working for the States of Jersey are facing a "significant" amount of bullying and harassment at work, according to an independent review of the civil service.

The report, commissioned by the States Employment Board, cost £22,000 and was produced by HR Lounge.

It found there was a "significant fear factor" in the service, where people are afraid to complain.

It calls on the States to be less tolerant of bad behaviour by managers and more sensitive towards people who are ill treated.

A States of Jersey spokesman said the report showed the States had "fallen short and needs to make improvements". He added it was working to implement the recommendations of the report as part of an organisation-wide culture change and was working on "a new whisleblowing policy and independent hotline".

Sophie Pierce
BBC Radio Devon

Waste collection problems in Torbay have been condemned as "unacceptable' by the local MP.

Conservative MP Kevin Foster said he had been inundated with complaints from people who had not had bins collected for up to three weeks.

Amy, who works in a cafe in Union Street in Torquay, said the collection service had been poor recently.

She said: "The collections seem to be getting later and later ... which isn't nice for the street, the local businesses and people who live here."

Torbay Council and the Kier Group, which run the service, admitted they had had problems with the bin lorries and a shortage of drivers.

Kevin Thomas
BBC Weather Forecaster

We've been talking Russia this morning, what with the World Cup and all.

I took this picture at Kiel in the 80s during a visit of some unlikely bedfellows. Can you guess what nationalities' armed forces these piece of head gear belong to?

If you recognse them, you can email us your answers.

And we need some specifics - we've had one person message us, saying "foreign". That's just not good enough!

Cornwall Live

The controversy over our relationship with seagulls has been thrust into the spotlight this week with two incidents in which birds have been killed, external.

There was a violent attack on one gull in St Ives and a disturbing incident of children luring others into a road in Penzance to get run over.

BBC Radio Devon

Trains between Barnstaple and Exeter St Davids are subject to delays due to a speed restriction in place for a track fault.

BBC Radio Guernsey

Having a high-speed digital infrastructure is as important for Guernsey as having good transport links, according to the vice president of the Economic Development Committee.

Andrew Dudley-Owen wants to provide fibre to business districts, have internet speeds of up to 100Mbps in homes and deliver fifth generation mobile internet.

Deputy Dudley-Owen says it's important the government is involved in developing the infrastructure.

BBC Spotlight

A man behind a controversial campaign in Torquay to photograph and expose people he claims are "street beggars pretending to be homeless" has opened his own bed and breakfast to provide temporary accommodation to help "real" homeless people.

Ashley Sims's fake homeless campaign received national coverage when it started. It outraged some, but was supported by others.

He claims he has "decimated" street begging in the town and now wants to provide help for those who really need it.

The campaign was condemned by police, Torbay Council and homeless charities.

Torbay Council says it plans to spend a £279,785 grant from the government to tackle rough sleeping on supported lodgings for young people, outreach services, a resettlement service, temporary accommodation for women, and a six month "rough sleeping coordinator post".

BBC Weather

A good deal of cloud in general this morning, thick enough in places to give patches of drizzle.

This afternoon, staying mostly cloudy with a few patches of drizzle still possible. Feeling muggy.

Maximum temperature: 15 to 21C (59 to 70F).

Daniel Clark
Local Democracy Reporting Service

A "crucial" new hospital in Exeter specialising in treating patients with mental health issues will help the battle against the lack in provision in the county, planners have been told.

Cygnet Healthcare want to build a hospital at Ribston Avenue, Exeter, after the Devon Partnership NHS Trust identified an unmet need for adult men and women requiring specialist rehabilitation in a safe and structured environment.

Image source, Cygnet Healthcare

The 54-bed independent hospital would have 17 beds for men with acute mental health needs, 21 beds for men who require a period of longer term mental health rehabilitation and 16 beds for women who require a low secure environment for treatment of an emotionally unstable personality disorder.

Documents submitted to Exeter City Council said that the proposed hospital would provide care to those people who lived locally who needed support during vulnerable periods of their life, as this level of care is currently not available within the Exeter area.

Council planners will decide on the fare of the scheme at a later date.

Rob England
BBC News Online

Police say they are "increasingly concerned" for the welfare of two missing girls from the Plymouth area.

Image source, Devon and Cornwall Police

Mia Fifield,14, and Victoria Januskeviciute, 15, were reported missing at about 12:00 on Tuesday. They were last seen at about 22:00 on Monday.

Officers say the girls are thought to be together and may have travelled to London early on Tuesday, possibly by train.

"Mia is approximately 5ft 7in (1.7)] tall and has long red hair. Victoria is tall with long, blonde hair and was last seen wearing a black top and leggings," a spokesman said.

Rob England
BBC News Online

Firefighters were called to a roof fire in Torquay after reports of someone trapped in the property.

Crews were called to Ellacombe Road at 18:40 on Tuesday.

After arriving firefighters confirmed everyone was out of the property.

Officers said the fire involved electrics and insulation.

The loft space was 100% damaged by smoke, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said.

BBC Weather

It looks like it will be a rather cloudy morning with the chance of some mist at times.

The cloud is likely to hold on in to this afternoon but a few glimmers of sunshine are possible. Feeling muggy. Maximum temperature: 16 to 19°C (61 to 66°F).

Jersey

Guernsey

BBC Radio Devon

In Plymouth, on the A38 Exeter-bound between Marsh Mills and the Deep Lane junction, one lane is blocked by an accident. Approach with care.

There are reports a car is on its roof, external.