Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Devon and Cornwall Police is covering two of its police cars in poppies for the first time to mark this year's poppy appeal.

The specially branded cars will be out and about in the region throughout November.

On 11 November, they'll be at Remembrance Day services in Exeter and Bodmin - with officers from each of the local areas.

Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Constable, Shaun Sawyer, said family members of officers from the two counties who lost their lives during World War One, have been invited to join officers at Middlemoor - the force HQ - to "learn about their stories and remember their sacrifice".

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Twenty-two wraps of suspected heroin and £6,000 worth of cash has been seized from a suspected drug dealer, police have said.

Officers carried out the work in Ilfracombe on Monday.

They added the amount of drugs they found could cause "immeasurable" harm to society.

BBC Radio Cornwall

Cornwall Council has apologised and paid compensation to a teenager who came to the authority for help in finding a place to live and was housed in a tent.

The vulnerable boy, who was 17 at the time in 2016, had a history of drug use and mental health problems.

He refused what was offered because he said it was too far away.

He then lived in a tent for five weeks - bought for him by a social worker - before moving into a static caravan and spending several nights sleeping rough.

He was left emaciated and was detained in a psychiatric hospital for 11 months following his ordeal.

The council has been ordered by the Local Government Ombudsman to pay him and his mother compensation totalling £2,500.

Council leader Adam Paynter said the case was not a simple one and they could not force him to take the offered accommodation...

Cornish Stuff

Cornwall is mentioned once by name in the Budget red book, external.

Rob Byrne
BBC News Online

Police are warning people in the South West about drugs circulating containing fentanyl, a drug they say is 100 times stronger then heroin.

In a Facebook post,, external Kingsbridge Police says fentanyl is "highly dangerous" and the pills reportedly being circulated "shouldn't even be touched by skin let alone ingested".

Officers are describing them as "fake xanax tablets" and are asking those in possession of the pills to call them immediately.

Public Health England has previously warned those taking counterfeit xanax pills laced with the powerful painkiller are "dicing with death".

BBC Spotlight

People living in Lostwithiel are stepping up a campaign to get a footbridge installed because they say they are having to wait about 15 minutes an hour at a railway level crossing.

Part of the problem is the added movement of China clay freight at the station, and residents want a bridge built before rail traffic gets even heavier.

Locals said they believed barriers could be shut for up to 30 minutes an hour when new trains come into service next year.

Lostwithiel Cornwall Councillor Colin Martin said the crossing was potentially dangerous...

Network Rail said it was working with Cornwall Council to try and find a solution.

Durham University PhD student Matthew Hedges is accused of spying while on a research trip.

BBC Radio Cornwall

• At Fraddon, on the A30 eastbound, one lane is blocked due to a broken-down car
• On the A390 between Callington and Liskeard, there are reports of black ice on the road in places
• On the A393 at Ponsanooth, there is busy traffic in both directions

Rob Byrne
BBC News Online

Image source, UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

Miss the bits that matter for the South West on Monday? Here's a summary of the chancellor's measures that impact the region.

• "Essential work" to strengthen the cliffs and protect the seawall at Dawlish, with plans for major improvements to be published in summer 2019
• A £13m commitment across the country to improve access to flood information, including an expansion to the flood warning system to an additional 18,000 "at-risk" properties in the South West
• Investment in inter-city transport links to the tune of £23m for the West of England Combined Authority through the Transforming Cities fund
• A £90m allocation from the Future Mobility Zones fund for areas to trial "revolutionary new transport, including self-driving shuttles, digital payments and e-bikes"

• A £10m Fisheries Technology Fund to "transform the UK fishing industry"
• An extra £2m for "fishing safety projects" across England
• £10m air ambulance commitment
• The chancellor has pledged an extra £1bn, between now and the end of next year, to boost the UK's defences.

Theo had just turned 17 when he became homeless. He turned to the council for help - but was given only a one-man tent.

BBC Radio Cornwall

Firefighters in Cornwall have dealt with a third gorse fire in two days.

A blaze at St Agnes on Tuesday at about 20:00 was dealt with by crews from Perranporth and Tolvaddon.

The night before there were two gorse fires, near Padstow and on the Lizard.

BBC Radio Devon

• At Brayford, the A399 is partially blocked due to a broken-down vehicle near Shutscombe Hill
• Between Sourton Cross and Southerly, the A386 is closed in both directions to an overturned car and recovery work. Diversions are in place
• At Horrabridge, on the A386 Plymouth Road, near Old Station Road, there are temporary traffic lights and roadworks. There is slow traffic
• On the A39 between Bideford and Barnstaple there's heavy traffic in both directions

BBC Weather

A cold start on Tuesday, with some frost patches.

After those, a cool but mainly dry and bright day, with broken cloud and sunny spells.

Winds will be moderate north or north easterly at first, gradually backing west or south westerly by the end of the day.

Maximum temperature: 10C (50F)

BBC Radio Devon

Gritters were out across Devon on Monday night as temperatures fell below 0C in many parts of the county.

More than 3,000 grit bins across Devon were also checked and filled in preparation for winter, road managers said.

BBC Spotlight

Supporters of a "Save Appledore Shipyard" petition are heading to London later to push for action.

The GMB and Unite unions said yard owner Babcock failed to win a key order, leaving workers in the balance, with some temporarily redeployed to Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth.

Their campaign to keep the north Devon shipyard open currently has more than 9,000 signatures. It is due to be handed in to the House of Commons, calling on the government to protect shipbuilding work there.

Babcock said it was disappointed not to have secured a contract for the Armed Forces of Malta, and it was reviewing the implication for the business.