Owner Linda Cooper pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to her pet Staffordshire bull terrier.

The "unusually tame" starling visited three pubs within the Topsham area.

Johnny O'Shea
BBC News Online

Image source, RSPCA

A woman has admitted causing unnecessary suffering to her pet dog which was so malnourished it had to be put down.

Truro Magistrates' Court heard that 47-year-old Linda Cooper's pet dog, Kano, had to be put down despite six days of intensive treatment.

The court heard a friend of Cooper’s took the animal, which had been in Bodmin, to the vet in February this year.

Prosecuting for the RSPCA, Lindi Meyer said the 11-year-old animal was "completely emaciated from prolonged neglect" and "could barely walk".

He also had a painful chronic liver condition that caused a lack of appetite, the court heard.

Cooper, from Bugle, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

Sentencing has been adjourned until October.

BBC Spotlight

Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez says she doesn't think plans for a merger between Devon and Cornwall and Dorset Police would "provide value for money" for local communities.

It comes as proposals are put on hold because of Ms Hernandez's decision to "not support the submission of the business case to the Home Office", as Dorset Police described.

Ms Hernandez said she was "minded" to reject the merger plan, saying there's a range of issues she's "struggling to support"...

Ms Hernandez is due to bring the case to the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel meeting on 5 October with a final decision due to be made on 8 October.

Alex Osborne
BBC Weather

Wednesday night will be dry with largely clear skies.

A few patches of fog are expected to form later on. Light winds.

Minimum temperature: 3 to 6C (37 to 43F).

Thursday will be another dry day with lots of sunshine.

Feeling a bit warmer again with mostly light winds.

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

Press Association

A South West Member of the European Parliament (MEP) has resigned from UKIP, accusing leader Gerard Batten of moving the party "further and further to the right".

William Dartmouth, who has sat in the European Parliament as an MEP for South West England since 2009, said in his resignation letter that the party had come to be associated with "outlandish people and extreme right-wing groups".

The former Tory and deputy chairman of UKIP said that he would continue to serve as an independent at the European Parliament.

Exeter head coach Ali Hepher says Ben Moon's inclusion in the England training squad shows that anyone can get a chance.

Twitter

John Ayres
BBC Spotlight

A mountain-goat antelope, which escaped from Paignton Zoo earlier this week is safely back in her enclosure, as you can see here.

Devon and Cornwall Police had been involved in the search when, on Monday, the West Caucasian tur jumped the fence at Paignton Zoo and then disappeared into nearby woods.

Since then, she was found and keepers managed to coax her back with food.

Devon & Cornwall and Dorset Police have not reached a unanimous decision about merging.

Plymouth Live

The birthplace of Sir Francis Drake is now a crumbling to ruin, external due to "benign neglect" following a planning debacle.

Richard Whitehouse
Local Democracy Reporting Service

Image source, PA

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has announced that the party will adopt of a policy of putting a levy on second homes.

Mr Corbyn endorsed the policy in his closing speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Wednesday afternoon.

The idea had been discussed earlier but now has been endorsed by the Labour leader, with the party saying the levy could raise as much as £560m and used to help reduce homelessness, particularly among children.

Image source, Andrew Segal

The move will be particularly popular in Cornwall where there is widespread concern about the number of second homes in the county.

Under the plans, second properties used as holiday homes would be subject to a new tax which would be about £3,000 a year. It is believed it could affect up to 174,000 properties across the country.

Cornwall's Conservative MPs have also been raising concerns about second homes and have been calling for a loophole to be closed which means that some holiday home owners avoid paying council tax or business rates.

There have also been moves to prevent new homes being built as second homes with St Ives (pictured) and Mevagissey among those areas which have introduced policies to block new second homes in their neighbourhood development plans.

Twitter

The road has been closed because of a police incident.

BBC Radio Cornwall

The A38 at Bodmin is partially blocked by a two-vehicle crash at the Carminow Cross roundabout.

BBC Radio Devon

A "wider group of people" will now see plans for a merger between two police forces in the South West after both forces failed to reach a decision about whether to submit them to the Home Office.

Proposals to merge Devon and Cornwall and Dorset Police are now on hold as a result.

The aim of the proposals was to increase operational efficiency, the number of officers and deal with funding challenges.

Both forces had agreed the business case and the decision was expected on Tuesday. However Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez's view was "not to support the submission of the business case to the Home Office".

Deputy Chief Constable Paul Netherton from Devon and Cornwall Police says certain groups like local councils will now at least have the chance to get more information on a possible merger...

A final decision is now due on 8 October.

BBC Radio Devon

In Kingsteignton, the A380 has been closed in both directions and traffic is being diverted off the road due to a police incident between the A381 Teignmouth Road and the B3195 Sandygate.

Cornwall Live

The final nail has been hammered into the coffin of a former solicitors firm after a regulatory authority formally closed down its law practice, external.

Furse Sanders Ltd was being probed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The company had a number of offices dotted across the South West, including in Hayle, Helston, St Ives and Penzance in Cornwall, and South Molton in Devon.

Devon Live

Rumours are flying that Devon band Muse could be set for a return to the county, external as part of a promotional tour for their next album.

Social media posts by the band have prompted speculation amongst fans that they will play in Devon this autumn, with Matt Bellamy posting on Instagram with the hashtag #teignville - a reference to their hometown Teignmouth.

Sean Coughlan
BBC News, education correspondent

Head teachers representing schools across England, including in Devon and Cornwall, are writing to parents to explain why they are going on a protest over funding shortages.

An "unprecedented" 1,000 head teachers are expected to march in Westminster on Friday, protesting about "unsustainable" budget shortfalls.

The grassroots campaign by head teachers from about 50 different areas is sending a letter to parents on Wednesday, promising that the protest will be "relentlessly reasonable" and "without any political bias".

They said school budgets had been "slashed" and services were being cut. They also warned of bigger class sizes, staffing cuts, reduced subject choices and a loss of support for special needs and pastoral services.

The Department for Education said: "There is more money going into schools than ever before."

Twitter

The Sea Kings are known as "Baggers" in the Royal Navy, because of the distinctive inflatable black bag on the side of each helicopter which houses radar systems.

They are being replaced in the navy by Merlin Mark 2 helicopters.

Two Sea King military helicopters completed a final farewell flypast, after nearly 50 years of service, across Devon and Cornwall last week.