Mum blocks housing site in disability row
Fire safety issues identified at Devon hotel
Sea King helicopters make their final journeys
Devon addresses searched in fuel fraud raid
Planning inquiry to decide on new Devon Eden attraction
City launches £11m funding bid to widen main road
Updates from Wednesday 19 September 2018
Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online
A car has driven into a lamp-post on the A39, heading towards Bideford, at the Roundswell Roundabout.
Police on the scene have cordoned off one lane but it's passable.
Image source, Tucker Times
Image source, Tucker TimesHayley Westcott
BBC News Online
A window in a house in Plymouth has been smashed after strong winds blew a trampoline into it.
The owner woke up to find the damage on Tuesday.
He said it had been "blowing a gale" and had to exit his house via another entrance as the trampoline was also blocking the front door.
Gusts of 49mph (78km/h) were recorded overnight in Plymouth on Monday, the Met Office said.
Image source, Royal Navy - Crown copyrightTwo Sea King helicopters will make a final farewell flypast later after 50 years of service, external.
The aircraft has seen action in the Falklands, both Gulf wars and Afghanistan.
They are due to take off from RNAS Culdrose at 11:00, flying in formation along the south coast to Saltash.
They will fly over HMS Raleigh, then across the Tamar to Plymouth, going round the dockyard and along the Hoe.
The squadron will arrive over Dartmouth at 12:00, then Totnes and Teignmouth, and will be over Burrator Reservoir just before 13:00, then return back into Cornwall to arrive back at Culdrose at 14:00.
The helicopters are being replaced by Merlin Mk2s.
Ed Oldfield
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Plymouth City Council has applied for £11m of government funding to widen the A386 Tavistock Road.
The authority's infrastructure boss Mark Coke said the bid to the Major Road Network Fund was a sign of Labour's commitment to deliver road improvements and vital to unlocking plans for up to 2,000 homes at Woolwell.
Image source, GoogleThe scheme is to create two lanes in each direction between Woolwell and The George Junction - one of the most congested stretches of road in the city.
There's currently a 45-minute wait with two ferries running at Torpoint. The third ferry is out of service for a refit.
The St Mawes, Place and Trelissick ferries are all out of service today due to the forecast weather conditions.
Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online
Four retail premises in Devon have been searched as part of a HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigation, external into a suspected multimillion-pound fuel fraud.
Three men have also been arrested and a suspected fuel laundering plant dismantled.
More than 50 HMRC officers carried out searches of nine businesses and four residential addresses - including the Devon addresses - on 13 September.
A suspected fuel laundering plant was dismantled in south Armagh, Northern Ireland and 22,500 litres of fuel seized, along with specialised equipment suspected of being used in the laundering process.
It’s believed that the suspected laundering plant had the capacity to produce 20 million litres of illicit fuel a year, potentially evading £11m in revenue.
The three men arrested were questioned by HMRC and have been released pending further inquiries.
Investigations are ongoing.
Image source, HMRCQuote MessageThe illicit trade in laundered fuel is a serious crime and one we are determined to detect and disrupt. We remain alert to the often dangerous methods and efforts of criminals to remove the government markers from rebated fuel.
Tracey Noon, HMRC
Richard Whitehouse
Local Democracy Reporting Service
A pensioner says he is devastated after receiving a letter from the Home Office ordering his wife of 13 months to return to the Philippines.
Roy Hunt married Katherine, 63, in August 2016, saying they had received approval from the Home Office.
The Falmouth couple met when Katherine was visiting her late husband's family in Sussex.
The 76-year-old paid for her to return to the UK and they got married after paying for a visa from the Home Office.
Image source, Home OfficeHowever, government officials said Mrs Hunt had entered the UK as a visitor, a category which does not allow a person to switch into another category - such as fiancee or wife - while in the UK.
They said that Mrs Hunt had a multi-entry visa that expires in 2019, but which does not allow the visa holder to remain permanently in the UK from the date it was granted to the date it expires.
Ben Woolvin
BBC South West Home Affairs correspondent
An historic hotel said it was taking action to improve fire safety precautions following a BBC investigation.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said it had identified a number of fire safety issues at the Grade II* listed Churston Manor Hotel.
Its owners said they were dealing with the issues raised "properly and professionally" and they were being addressed by an action plan.
The BBC alerted the fire service after concerns were raised by one of the country's most experienced fire safety consultants.
Alan Cox says shortcomings in fire safety are common in the region's hotels...
It'll be a windy, but a mostly dry start to the day with some bright or sunny periods at first.
However, it'll become cloudy from the west later as outbreaks of showery rain begin to move in for the afternoon.
Fresh to strong southwesterly winds will gradually ease during the day.
Devon
Cornwall
