A 29-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of making or possessing explosives.

Ed Oldfield
Local Democracy Reporting Service

The number of police community support officers (PCSOs) in Plymouth is continuing to fall despite a call from city leaders for more community policing.

The Devon and Cornwall force has revealed there are currently 43 full-time equivalent posts in Plymouth.

But that number is set to drop to 38 by the end of March 2020.

A year ago, there were 62 posts which was down from the previous level of 80.

That means the number of PCSOs in Plymouth will have halved in four years.

PCSOs do not have the same powers as police officers, but carry out duties including high visibility patrols, resolving problems in the local community, gathering community intelligence and dealing with anti-social behaviour.

Earlier this week, Plymouth City Council voted to write to Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer to oppose the planned loss of PCSOs in the city.

Councillors heard there was a "low buzz of fear" on social media from some communities across the city, after a reduction in community policing due to budget cuts leading to a loss of confidence in police.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Image source, Mark Harris

The owner of a dog that fell 230ft (70m) down a cliff in Cornwall is warning others to keep their pets on leads.

Mark Harris, from Cheltenham, was visiting Portreath on 15 November with his springer spaniel, Dexter. He was off the lead and Mr Harris considered the risk of the cliff "quite low".

However, a "red mist descended over Dexter" when he chased a large bird over the edge of the cliff.

Image source, Mark Harris

Mr Harris said Dexter's body was lying on the beach "sprawled and unmoving" but he eventually managed to stand up.

The coastguard team arrived within about 20 minutes and Dexter was taken to a vets in Cornwall and later, in Cheltenham.

Mr Harris said Dexter had "severe bruising" but "his internal organs were fine and he had no broken bones".

"If he isn’t the luckiest dog in the world, I don’t know one that could be."

Image source, Mark Harris

Safety advice from HM Coastguard:

Dogs can slip down cliffs and steep places while exploring and they can’t always make their way up again. If they do, don’t try to rescue them – they often come back safe and well on their own but you might not.

• Always keep your dog on a lead near cliffs.
• Don’t try to rescue a dog if it is being swept out to sea. You’re likely to get into difficulty yourself.
• If your dog gets into trouble, call 999 for the Coastguard.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

There's a yellow weather warning for rain in place across Devon and Cornwall from Friday morning until Saturday evening, the Met Office has said.

It added bands of heavy, thundery showers will bring a chance of flooding in the South West.

More information can be found here., external

Image source, Met Office

Ed Oldfield
Local Democracy Reporting Service

Image source, LDRS

Overspending on children's services in Torbay is expected to reach £3.5m by the end of March driven by a rise in looked-after children.

The council which runs the statutory service has found an extra £1m of savings elsewhere to reduce the overall deficit, including a recruitment freeze and ban on non-essential spending.

But senior managers are looking for more savings to reduce the predicted £2.4m deficit and balance the books by the end of the financial year.

Meanwhile children's services are set to get an extra £3m in the budget proposed by the elected mayor for next year, to deal with increased demand.

The amount of money allocated has gone up to £34.8m, despite the council needing to find £7.5m of savings from next year's planned spending.

At the end of March, 327 children were being looked after by the local authority, according to figures from the Department for Education. That was up from 288 the year before - a rise of 14%, and the biggest year-on-year increase in four years.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Direct flights from Newquay to Heathrow from the spring will provide a "huge boost" for the economy in the South West, according to the Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, who officially announced the news in the House of Commons on Thursday morning.

It comes after an agreement between Flybe, Heathrow and the government was secured last week.

Richard Whitehouse
Local Democracy Reporting Service

The number of parents in Cornwall fined for taking their children out of school to go on holiday has increased in a year.

Figures provided by Cornwall Council show that 374 penalty notices were issued in 2017/18 - up from just five in the year before.

Schools and local authorities are allowed to issue fines - usually about £60 for a week - to parents if they take their children out of school to go on holiday unauthorised.

Image source, Getty Images

In addition to fines issued for holiday absence, another 13 fines were issued for truancy.

In a statement Cornwall Council said: "Over the past 10 years, school attendance levels in Cornwall have continued to increase, with pupil absence rates lower than the national average at primary and secondary level - according to the Department for Education's statistics.

"We have a robust and fair code of conduct in place, and use a range of interventions to resolve poor attendance and only consider penalty notices after attempts to work with parents have been unsuccessful."

• Parents fined £24m for children's truancy and term-time holidays
• More pupils take term-time holidays, data shows
• Parents' stories of taking term-time holidays

Held in Truro since 1995, the procession coincides with the switching on of its Christmas lights.

More criticism from Plymouth MP Johnny Mercer following BBC Radio 4 Today programme's interview with the wife of jailed Durham academic Matthew Hedges:

One in four people are more embarrassed to be British than they were five years ago, a new study suggests.

A survey of 2,000 adults indicated that Britons take greater pride in their regional roots than in their national identity.

One in six of those polled by family history site Findmypast and Living DNA said they were embarrassed to be from this country and thought it was "boring" to be British.

A quarter said embarrassment at being British had increased in recent years, while one in 10 said they had lied about their nationality while travelling abroad.

The areas people would most like to come from include Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cornwall, the report said, while the least popular included Essex and Kent.

Jenna Hawkey
BBC News Online

Police have raided a property after receiving information that it was being used as a pop-up brothel.

They found two women, who were given safeguarding support.

Officers executed a warrant in Lucius Street, Torquay at about 17:30 on Tuesday.

Police said: "One [of the women] was later arrested on suspicion of immigration offences and was taken into police custody."

Image source, Google

BBC News UK

The UK government has warned the United Arab Emirates of "serious diplomatic consequences", after the British academic, Matthew Hedges - from Exeter - was jailed for life for spying.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Hedges' friend and fellow Middle East researcher Shana Marshall condemned the verdict...

• Briton Matthew Hedges jailed for life on UAE spy charge
• UAE prosecutors say Matthew Hedges admitted spy charges
• Jailing Matthew Hedges is a warning by UAE to academics 'to be careful' says Bob Seely MP

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

The South West's largest light show has returned for its second year.

Illuminate will be displaying at the Royal William Yard in Plymouth from Thursday until Sunday.

The project uses work from international artists as well as creative talent from within the city.

Have a look at what to expect...

Image source, Illuminate

Image source, Illuminate

Image source, Illuminate

Andrea Ormsby
BBC Spotlight

The family of Devon artist, Walter Elliott, are hoping for a revival of interest in his work following his death earlier this year.

Walter exhibited hundreds of paintings at his gallery in Braunton.

His work is being put up for sale and will be put into storage in the meantime.

His family hopes it will not be long before it is on show again in London and valued by a wider audience.

Laura Clarke, Walter's daughter, said he loved explaining the meaning behind his artwork and would want people to talk about his creations...

BBC Weather Watchers

Thanks to our BBC Weather Watchers Sebster and ChrisMc for sharing these pictures of the morning skies over Devon and Cornwall.

If you'd like to share your pictures, please email us.

Richard Whitehouse
Local Democracy Reporting Service

Inspectors have raised concerns in a number of areas at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT), including staff shortages and a lack of a winter plan.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out the inspection of the trust in September.

Preliminary findings have been reported to Cornwall Council, which will discuss the findings next week.

Concerns included:

• Chronic staff shortages continue within medicine and surgery
• The winter plan was not ready/fit for purpose
• Patient flow remains an issue impacting on the front door, too many patients directed to the emergency department (ED)
• Infection prevention and control issues in outpatient departments
• Concerns regarding corridor safety in ED
• The identification and management of sepsis in ED and medical wards remains a concern

However, the CQC did make some positive findings including:

• Significant improvements in maternity
• Impressive clinical leadership in ED and some significant improvements made in ED since the last inspection

RCHT says the final report from the CQC is due at the end of November or the beginning of December.

The inspection followed another visit in June by the CQC which found that RCHT was rated "inadequate".

That came after the watchdog placed RCHT in special measures in October 2017 following another inadequate report from an inspection in July 2017.

BBC Radio Cornwall

Flights from Newquay to Gatwick are moving to Heathrow from April.

An agreement has been reached between Flybe , Heathrow and the government.

MP for St Austell and Newquay Steve Double says the changes have been finalised in the last week.

He believes the new route will boost Cornwall's economy by making the connection to London easier and quicker.

Dan Downs
Weather Forecaster

If you're planning a trip to the beach or coast, here are the high water times around Devon and Cornwall.

We'll have the latest forecast on BBC Spotlight at 13:30.

Dan Downs
Weather Forecaster

This morning will start cold and sunny, with a chilly wind.

The odd shower is possible - particularly towards the west.

Maximum temperature: 10C (50F).