Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

The government is indicating there could be extra money to refurbish Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.

Health chiefs have asked for additional cash - making the point the hospital building hasn't been modernised for 40 years.

The Conservative MP for Plymouth Moor View, Johnny Mercer raised the case in the Commons...

The Health Secretary Matt Hancock - who visited the hospital recently - said an announcement would be made shortly.

Hamish Marshall
BBC Spotlight

A new vision for a £300m redevelopment in Exeter city centre has been backed by councillors.

Members of the City Council's Leisure Complex and Bus Station Programme Board approved the vision for the redevelopment at the bus station site.

They also backed an increased budget to build the state-of-the-art new leisure complex at St Sidwell's Point, and a new Exeter bus station, which are both being funded by the City Council.

A meeting of the full council will be asked to give final approval in December.

Image source, Via LDRS

Lucy Wilson
BBC Radio Devon

Children at a school in Exmouth are taking a step back in time today and acting out the part of World War Two evacuees.

The Exeter Road Primary School pupils - from years three and four - will take a trip on the train and see sites affected by the Blitz.

They said goodbye to their parents just after 09:00 - dressed in period clothes and carrying gas masks and identity cards - and boarded the train.

Robin James is one of the teachers behind the idea and says children need to know what others went through...

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Julie Skentelbery
BBC Radio Cornwall

Image source, Fistral Beach Clean

Image source, Fistral Beach Clean

A 34-year-old crisp packet and a bag of peanuts have been unearthed during a beach clean at Newquay.

They were found by some of the 33 volunteers from the Fistral Beach Clean group and had best before dates of October and November 1984.

They were part of four sacks of litter they cleared from the beach.

Andy Goodhall, from the group, said the packets could could end up on display in the town's museum as a warning about litter dangers...

Plastic manufacturers have said they are working to produce more environmentally-friendly bags.

Twitter

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for wind, external from Wednesday 09:00 until 23:59.

Another warning is valid from 03:00 until 15:00 on Thursday.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Golf buggies were used by the Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team to help find a missing man.

The team was called out to the Dartmouth area at about 13:30 on Tuesday.

In a Facebook post, external, team members said: "Sometimes it’s all about using any assets available to us to best search an area".

They thanked Dartmouth Golf Club for the loan and added the buggies sped up the search and "saved a few extra miles in the legs".

There was no sign of the man they were looking for and the search was stood down just after 17:00.

Image source, Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team

BBC Radio Cornwall

Christmas in Cornwall results in a 20% rise in the amount of rubbish thrown away, waste managers say.

This year a new campaign is asking people to think carefully before going overboard on buying food and gifts that might end up in the bin.

Cornwall Council said it was not trying to spoil the party, but there were simple things which could be done to cut down on waste.

Council waste and recycling officer Esther O'Bearagh said a just a little thought could reduce what is thrown away...

Exeter Chiefs and England winger Jack Nowell is ruled out for eight weeks with a 'significant' hamstring injury.

Daniel Clark
Local Democracy Reporting Service

Image source, Grenadier

Celebrity chef Michael Caines, who grew up in Exeter, will be opening a restaurant with a bar and cafe area as part of the new waterfront development in Exmouth.

Grenadier wants to turn part of the seafront into a new facility for the community with planning permission granted earlier this year.

Edge Water Sports, run by a world champion kite surfer, has already been announced as the first key tenant for Exmouth's new multimillion-pound centre.

Work is expected to begin on site late next summer after East Devon District Council has completed the diversion of Queen's Drive.

The restaurant is expected to open in 2020 and will include a restaurant with an upstairs terrace and a dog-friendly cafe offering a lighter menu and serving homemade ice-creams, local coffee and snacks.

It will use quality locally-sourced produce, including fish from Exmouth docks and meat from local farms.

Twitter

Three people explain how it feels to be a young divorcee in 2018.

BBC Radio Devon

Plans to extend a quarry near Tiverton look like getting the go-ahead.

Devon County Councillors are being recommended to approve the expansion of Westleigh limestone quarry, near Burlescombe, subject to a series of conditions.

However, there have been dozens of objections to the idea, with many people worried about the effect of more lorries on the roads.

The decision is due to be made on Wednesday.

Image source, Google

BBC Spotlight

Five years after some of the most powerful storms to hit Europe's Atlantic coastline, many beaches in the South West have still not fully recovered.

Image source, Getty Images

New research involving the University of Plymouth, external shows many beaches on the north coasts of Devon and Cornwall have only recovered to about 75% of their previous states.

In the study, scientists say it could take several calm winters before the coastline fully recovers, particularly when it comes to eroded dunes, which have seen hardly any recovery.

A large amount of the sediment that was eroded and taken offshore by the repeated storms during the winter of 2013/14 remains stored offshore below low tide level.

Kevin Thomas
BBC Weather Forecaster

The Isles of Scilly have topped the gust league in the South West on Wednesday, with recent gusts to 62mph.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for wind, external from Wednesday 09:00 until 23:59.

Another warning is valid from 03:00 until 15:00 on Thursday.

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

Rail passengers through Devon and Cornwall are facing delays to services until 18:00 on Wednesday because of bad weather, rail bosses say.

National Rail Enquiries said forecast high winds meant trains would "have to run at a reduced speed in the Devon and Cornwall area".

Passengers should check before they travelled and could be entitled to compensation if they experienced a delay in completing their journey, it added.

"Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim," staff said.

BBC Business News

There is a "real prospect" of "major disruption" at UK ports in the case of a no-deal Brexit, according to MPs.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said government preparations for avoiding disruption around major ports were "worryingly under-developed".

Committee members also said there was a "real risk" the Department for Transport (DfT) would not be ready for a hard Brexit.

The DfT said the committee's conclusions were not "accurate".

BBC World News

Image source, AFP/GETTY

A British radio host who presented a popular breakfast show in Lebanon has been found dead at his home, local media report.

The body of Gavin Ford, who joined the Lebanese station Radio One in 1995, was discovered on Tuesday in the town of Beit Meri, east of the capital Beirut.

The cause of his death is unclear and police have launched an investigation.

"We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear Gavin Ford," Radio One wrote in a social media post.

Devon Live reported, external that Mr Ford was a DJ on Exeter, East Devon and Torbay station DevonAir in the 1980s.

John Ayres
BBC Spotlight

Image source, Paignton Zoo

A knab of rare and endangered South American toads has moved in to Paignton Zoo.

The harlequin toads are at risk from fungal disease called chytrid and were featured on David Attenborough's Life in Cold Blood documentaries.

Paignton Zoo is the only place in the UK to keep them and is trying to get them to breed.

Head of amphibians at Paignton Zoo, Dr Katy Upton, says they are trying to come up with a treatment for the toads...

BBC Weather

It will be very windy on Wednesday with the risk of gales, especially on the high ground and along the coasts.

Spells of rain in the morning, the rain will then clear to leave sunny spells, but also some showers.

Maximum temperature: 12 to 15C (54 to 59F).

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for wind, external from Wednesday 09:00 until 23:59.

Another warning is valid from 03:00 until 15:00 on Thursday.

While they are in force, people should expect:

• Some delays to public transport being likely, and journey times could take longer
• Delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges likely

Image source, Met Office