BBC Spotlight

Image source, Devon & Cornwall Police/Twitter

A fire which broke out at Torquay's former Cockington School on Saturday was caused deliberately, according to the fire service.

Twenty firefighters tackled the blaze in temporary classrooms at the former primary school on Old Mill Road.

Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Service were alerted shortly after 14:30 on Saturday, with four fire engines required to extinguish the blaze., external

"The cause of the fire was deliberate," the fire service added.

Millicent Cooke
BBC News Online

Image source, Google

A Croatian man has appeared in court accused of a series of robberies and thefts in Plymouth.

Andreas Babic, 41, of no fixed address, Plymouth, appeared before Plymouth magistrates on Monday.

The charges relate to two robberies at an ice cream parlour and a convenience store, along with a number of alleged burglaries and thefts of shops and businesses in the city between 8 and 23 November.

He was remanded into custody and will appear at Plymouth Crown Court on 7 January.

The famous 58ft (17m) ocean racer has set off for India following repairs.

The nine-and-a-half-tonne installation will stand 7m tall and is inspired by an actor's pose.

Cornish Stuff

One of Cornwall's most popular Christmas outings - the famous Harbour Lights at Mousehole - is threatened with major disruption due to a broken sewage pipe, external.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

A 71-year-old cyclist has a "suspected broken hip or pelvis" after being hit by a car, police have said.

It happened at about 08:40 on Embankment Road in Kingsbridge.

Police said the man was being looked at by an off-duty nurse when officers arrived on the scene.

It's believed the "bright, dazzling sunshine" was a factor in the crash, officers added.

The man was taken to hospital where he remains.

Andreas Babic, 41, will appear before magistrates on Monday following a series of burglaries in Plymouth.

Ed Oldfield
Local Democracy Reporting Service

Almost 500,000 illegal cigarettes have been seized in a raid on a shop in Torquay, which now faces losing its licence.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the joint operation with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and Trading Standards on 10 November resulted in the seizure of 478,000 non-duty paid cigarettes, plus 137kg of hand-rolling tobacco and 181 litres of vodka.

One man was arrested and interviewed on suspicion of excise fraud.

An investigation is ongoing, police said.

BBC News UK

The Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has thanked the UAE for pardoning British academic, Matthew Hedges - from Exeter - who was jailed for spying.

Twitter

BBC Radio Cornwall

Some South West food producers reliant on migrant labour say uncertainty around Brexit is making planning for the future very difficult.

Cornish grower Jeremy Hosking said he was concerned about getting the 100 pickers needed for his daffodil crop.

Cathy Case grows cabbages, broccoli and cauliflowers at her farm in south Devon, and also relies heavily on foreign workers for the harvest.

She said she had to plan at least a year ahead, buying in plants for future seasons, but was worried they could end up rotting in the ground if there were no migrant workers to pick them...

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BBC Spotlight

A man is due to appear before magistrates in Plymouth, charged with a string of burglaries and two robberies in the city.

His arrest followed an incident at an ice cream parlour on the Barbican on Thursday evening and at a shop in North Road West on Friday.

Police have arrested a 41-year-old man who is facing nine charges under the Theft Act.

The alleged offences include a theft, six burglaries and two robberies that occurred at businesses across the city between 8 and 23 November.

Cornwall Live

A fire was just “millimetres” from ripping through the doorway of St Mary's Church after an arsonist targeted the historic building, external.

Camborne unveils an "amazing" new tree after last year's fake one was branded "absolutely rubbish".

Jenny Kumah
BBC South West politics reporter

The number of children with special educational needs and disabilities being excluded from school in Plymouth is on the rise.

Temporary exclusions have gone up by 40% over the past five years. Permanent exclusions have more than doubled from nine to 22 over the same period.

Labour city councillors said a lack of government funding was driving up the rates. They added that they also believed it was behind the trebling in the number of families home educating in Plymouth over the same period, to nearly 300.

The government said it was giving Plymouth £29m this year for services, and that ministers had written to schools to remind them that exclusions should be reasonable and fair.

BBC Radio Devon

• In Barnstaple, the A39 Belle Meadow Road is partially blocked by a broken-down vehicle near Victoria Road
• On the A358 at Abbey Gate, near Axminster, there are reports of sheep on the road
• The A35 at Wilmington is partially blocked near Ridge Lane where a lorry has hit a tree

BBC News UK

The British academic jailed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after being accused of spying has been given a presidential pardon, the UAE says.

Matthew Hedges, 31, who completed a Masters degree at Exeter, was jailed for life last week for "spying for or on behalf of" the UK government after being arrested on a research trip for his PhD in May.

He denied spying and said he had been researching, but prosecutors said he confessed.

Image source, EPA/Daniela Tejada

BBC Weather

Monday looks set to be dry and bright with good spells of sunshine and some patchy cloud cover at times.

Feeling chilly.

Maximum temperature: 6 to 9C (43 to 48F).

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

Image source, Handout

An inquest into the death of a Muslim convert who was jailed for life over a failed suicide bomb attack at a restaurant in Exeter, is scheduled to begin later.

Nicky Reilly accidentally set off a home-made nail bomb in a toilet cubicle inside the Giraffe restaurant as he prepared to target customers in May 2008.

Image source, Via Devon and Cornwall Police

He admitted attempted murder and preparing an act of terrorism and was jailed for a minimum term of 18 years in 2009. He said he decided to carry out his attack on the restaurant after being encouraged by others on the internet.

The 30-year-old Plymouth man, who had changed his name to Mohammed Saeed Alim, was found dead in custody at HMP Manchester in October 2016. He was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and had learning difficulties.

His inquest will be held in Heywood, Greater Manchester, before a jury and is scheduled to last up to eight days.