BBC Spotlight

Image source, The Box

Plymouth's new multimillion-pound arts and history centre, The Box, is facing a £2m overspend due to unforeseen building costs, bosses have confirmed.

The project, still under construction, is now likely to cost nearer £40m instead of its originally costed £38m, although the total will not be known until the tender process to fit out the exhibitions is finalised.

Chief executive Paul Brookes said he was going to the Arts Council and other funders for more money to pay for the project.

The Box is due to include seven large-scale permanent galleries featuring collections from the now-closed city museum and art gallery. Part of the project is being built on the site of the museum.

it is due to open in 2020, in time for celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower from the city to America.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

A defibrillator has been stolen from a primary school in Plymouth, police have said.

It happened on Tuesday at Oreston Community Academy.

The Plymouth Central and University Policing Team said it was "placed there to save lives".

It added it was "angry" it had been taken and estimated the cost to be £960.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101.

Image source, Plymouth Central and University Policing Team

Naomi Dymond
BBC Spotlight

A north Devon passenger ferry has had a busy year and needs to expand, bosses say.

The service between Appledore and Instow has carried almost 10,500 passengers since April.

Now a new, more modern boat is needed to replace the ageing Misty Blue and a £43,000 bid for EU funding is in to make it happen.

A decision on the application is expected in October.

Daniel Clark
Local Democracy Reporting Service

No trains will run between Exeter in Devon and Crewkerne in Somerset for nine days in September - and delays will last until November.

The Waterloo line will be fully closed from Exeter to Crewkerne from 15 to 24 September to allow Network Rail to carry out works to reduce the impact of flooding on rail services in the future.

The closure was first revealed at the Devon and Exeter Rail Project Working Party in July, but in the week leading up to the closure, South Western Railway has confirmed delays will last longer than initially stated.

From 24 September to 10 November, services will be retimed, but, as a result, three Exeter-bound trains will not stop at Feniton, while eight London-bound trains will not stop at Templecombe. Railway replacement buses will be in operation for those stations.

Every weekend between 29 September and 4 November will also be affected by changed train times and reduced station calls.

BBC Radio Devon

The A386 in Bideford is partially blocked and there is slow traffic due to accident at Coach Drive.

Rhoda is just four years old and has cycled 900 miles from Land's End to John o' Groats.

Exeter Airport's managing director says the move is a "significant vote of confidence".

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

The leader of Cornwall Council says he will strongly object to plans for a parliamentary seat which groups Bude and Launceston in north Cornwall with Bideford in north Devon.

The plans from the Boundary Commission include a plan to create a so-called "Devonwall" seat that crosses the River Tamar.

The review has been carried out after Parliament said the number of constituencies across the UK should be reduced from 650 to 600 with roughly the same number of electors in each - between 71,000 and 78,500.

The plans have been previously criticised in both Devon and Cornwall, and protests held against them.

Council leader and Launceston councillor Adam Paynter said the idea completely ignored the wishes of Cornish people.

The commission said it was "confident" in its new map, external and proposals, and added the "Devonwall" area was "unavoidable" if plans to make constituencies more equal in size were to be successful.

Carys Edwards
Correspondent, BBC Spotlight

Budget airline Ryanair is to fly from Exeter Airport for the first time, the organisations have announced.

The Irish carrier will operate routes to Malaga in Spain, Malta and Naples in Italy from April, each operating twice weekly.

The routes mark Ryanair flying from its 21st airport in the UK.

Image source, Reuters

Inspectors are looking for the nests of the bee-killing insect in East Yorkshire and Cornwall.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

A hare sculpture and a painting have been stolen from an art gallery in Dartmouth, police have said.

It happened at Baxter's Gallery in Foss Street between 14:00 and 17:00 on Friday 7 September.

The hare sculpture by Gin Durham is about 36cm (14ins) in height with gold edges to the ears and highlights on the paws.

The painting is described as being on wood and of a bird with the word Ronnie inscribed on the back.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Devon and Cornwall Police via 101.

Image source, DEVON AND CORNWALL POLICE

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

The month of September increases the chances of spotting Asian hornets, environment officials say.

The warning comes after the second sighting of the honey bee-killing invasive species in Cornwall and the first in Hull, Yorkshire.

The hornet has been confirmed as being in the Liskeard area in Cornwall after a sighting in Fowey - the first in Cornwall - last week.

The Fowey nest was "swiftly removed" by the National Bee Unit, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.

Defra added that, during September, the number of hornets in a nest could reach a peak, increasing the chances of seeing an insect.

BBC Radio Devon

In Torquay, the A3022 Avenue Road is partially blocked and traffic is slow, because of a crash.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

A Devon MP has said the Conservatives need to "unite behind one plan" when it comes to Brexit or risk entering "very dangerous times".

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, has said it's realistic to believe there could be an agreement on the UK's exit by the beginning of November.

Mr Barnier said the prime minister's Chequers plan was very important to the chances of striking a deal.

It comes after former Brexit minister, Steve Baker, warned that up to 80 Conservative MPs were prepared to vote against that proposal.

Dr Sarah Wollaston, MP for Totnes, said with "only 200 days to go" and the "clock ticking", the situation is worrying.

BBC Radio Devon

Devon traditions including bale tossing, tug of war and the ever-popular ferret racing are just some of the activities on offer at this year's Widecombe Fair.

The event, which always takes place on the second Tuesday of September, attracts thousands of visitors from across Devon and around the UK.

Farming Through the Ages is the theme of the main display this year - a look at how agriculture has evolved from times ancient to the present day.

BBC Radio Cornwall

• On the A39, near the Treluswell roundabout, there has been a crash and delays are expected
• In Helston, the B3297 is partially blocked near Water-ma-Trout because of an accident

Ed Oldfield
Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plymouth City Council is having to further tighten its belt to avoid overspending by almost £3m by the end of the year - partly driven by the rising number of children in care.

Councillors are being told the budget already takes into account £11m of savings this year, after £18m cuts last year.

The biggest pressures come from spending on the increased number of looked-after children and a rise in the number of adults needing social care. Each service was heading towards being more than £500,000 over budget by the end of the year.

A report says there are currently 38 residential placements with budget for 36, and 25 supported living placements with budget for 15.

There were 432 children in care in Plymouth by the end of June - up by more than a tenth from last year.

The council's annual spending on services - known as the revenue budget - has been set at just over £185.5m. A monitoring report from the first three months of the financial year up to June forecasts a potential overspend of almost £2.9m.

Now the council is planning to bring forward more measures to find the extra savings to balance the books by April next year.

Government funding for the council has fallen by £70m since 2013.

Ed Oldfield
Local Democracy Reporting Service

A Devon council is trialling the use of body-worn cameras after what it says is a rise in attacks on staff.

Torbay Council said it had issued the cameras to three groups of workers who usually operated alone.

It said the aim of using the technology during the two-month trial in September and October was to improve the safety of staff and provide evidence of crime.

There are concerns among civil liberties campaigners about the increasing use of cameras by local authorities, but Torbay said its system complied with data protection law.

The authority said all video was encrypted in the camera so it could not be obtained by a third party, before being securely downloaded to a database which deleted it from the device.

It would be then deleted from the database after 31 days unless it was being used in a criminal investigation or other legal action, it added.

Image source, Ed Oldfield

BBC Weather

Mostly cloudy on Tuesday with the chance of a little light rain or drizzle, and there may be some mist and fog too, mainly over the hills.

However, one or two glimmers of sunshine are quite possible.

Maximum temperature: 17 to 20C (63 to 68F).

BBC Radio Cornwall

• At Dobwalls, the A38 is partially blocked due to an accident at Twelve-woods roundabout
• The A30 westbound is partially blocked at Zelah due to an accident, traffic is slow moving
• In Mullion, there are reports of an accident on Meaver Road, near Tregellas Road. Approach with care