Tracey Clayton says police missed chances to find out how her son Josh died on the Isles of Scilly.

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BBC Weather

It will become dry overnight with a few clear spells, but still a lot of cloud. The renewed chance of a few spots of rain by morning. Minimum temperature: 3 to 6°C (37 to 43°F).

Thursday will be cold and windy. The morning will be mostly cloudy with the chance of a few spots of rain. However, cloud should break up to give some sunny intervals during the afternoon. Maximum temperature: 5 to 8°C (41 to 46°F).

Andrew Cotton broke his back last year and has been injured by another big wave.

Press Association

British fishermen "must be treated fairly" the Tory MP for South East Cornwall has said, as she dismissed "weak words" over fishing in the prime minister's Brexit deal as "completely wrong".

Image source, Getty Images

Sheryll Murray called on the government to send a message at next week's European Council's Fisheries Council meeting that once the UK leaves the EU on March 29 2019, "only the surplus of fish that the UK fleet cannot catch will be made available to other nations".

Mrs Murray last month sent a letter of no confidence in the prime minister to chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady, over concerns the UK may "leave the Common Fisheries Policy in name only".

Speaking during her Westminster Hall debate on the UK fishing industry, Mrs Murray said: "The weak words that I've heard like we will negotiate with our European partners is completely wrong, because under international law we have control and we should decide how much surplus our fishermen or other member states and other nations - it's not just other member states of the EU - are allowed to take.

"British fishermen must be treated fairly."

UK Prime Minister Theresa May faces a vote of confidence in her leadership later after 48 of her Conservative MPs called for one to be held.

BBC Radio Devon

Social housing homes in Plymouth have ended up being advertised on Gumtree because no-one bid for them, it has been claimed.

Image source, Gumtree

People are being urged to get bidding for any suitable home to avoid properties at affordable social rents going to people not on the waiting list.

Chris Penberthy, the city council’s cabinet member for housing, said new applications for housing were coming in at an average of 150 a week, putting the total at 12,632 households waiting for social housing in the city.

He said: "We have managed to reduce the backlog – I would like to remind households on the waiting list they have a duty to bid for properties.

"In conversations with a number of housing providers recently, I have heard about properties ending up on Gumtree because people have not been bidding for them.

"We do encourage everyone on the waiting list to be bidding for all suitable properties, not just their dream property, in order that we don’t end up with properties going to people off the waiting list."

BBC Radio Devon

In North Molton, East Street is blocked in both directions due to an overturned car around Bendle Lane

BBC Radio Cornwall

Bude Tunnel Christmas lights have been given another three days of twinkling before they are turned off.

The lights which have wowed visitors to Sainsbury's supermarket in the seaside town were due to be turned off on Thursday.

But a petition and "overwhelming response" on social media has prompted a turnaround.

Now the 30,000 LED lights will continue until Sunday.

Store manager Stephen Gent said he was "delighted to have had such a positive reaction".

"Visitors have travelled from all over the UK to see the lights so we're thrilled to be giving even more people a chance to visit this weekend," he said.

The plastic tunnel, which gives weather protection for people coming from a car park to the supermarket, was voted the unlikely number one tourist attraction in Cornwall this year.

Johanna Carr
BBC News Online

Police officers which looked into claims that a bar worker who vanished from a party on the Isles of Scilly after a row, carried out a "comprehensive investigation" and "kept an open mind throughout", a senior officer says.

Josh Clayton’s body was found on rocks near Tresco, Isles of Scilly, 10 days after he went missing in September 2015.

Investigations have failed to establish what happened to the 23-year-old but an inquest jury in Plymouth returned a conclusion of accidental death by drowning.

Image source, Family photograph

Det Ch Supt Steve Parker, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said after the inquest in Plymouth that there was "no evidence of any suspicious activity or indeed any evidence of third party involvement in his death, and therefore no suspects were identified".

Mr Clayton's family has vowed to keep investigating his death, saying an initial police investigation after he was reported missing "missed opportunities" to secure evidence.

Ch Supt Parker said officers acknowledged "questions have been raised about the initial investigation".

He added that the family had raised their concerns and "these have been dealt with by way of a formal complaint against police" which was ongoing, so he could not comment further.

Josh Clayton's mother says the inquest conclusion of accidental death was "meaningless".

Johanna Carr
BBC News Online

The mother of a bar worker who vanished from a party on a private island has vowed to keep investigating his death.

Josh Clayton’s body was found on rocks near Tresco, Isles of Scilly, 10 days after he went missing in September 2015.

Investigations have failed to establish what happened to the 23-year-old but an inquest jury in Plymouth returned a conclusion of accidental death by drowning.

Coroner Ian Arrow told the jury police were unable to corroborate claims Mr Clayton had been involved in a row at a party before he disappeared, nor had they found any evidence of third party involvement in Mr Clayton’s death.

In their conclusion, the jury said Mr Clayton “may have had a fall” and “may have suffered a minor head injury" after leaving a party.

However, speaking afterwards, Josh's mother, Tracey Clayton, said all of that was "pure speculation".

Mrs Clayton said the first police investigation into her “kind and considerate son’s” death “missed opportunities” to secure evidence, meaning the inquest result was “meaningless and of no comfort”.

Care workers visiting clients in their homes across Devon will soon be permitted to park for free on single and double yellow lines for up to an hour if alternative parking is not available.

Devon County Council's cabinet has approved extending the care workers parking exemption scheme, external.

The proposals follow a recent online consultation when 90% of those who replied said it would make their jobs easier and help them care for their clients.

It is expected the change will come into force in the next financial year.

Johanna Carr
BBC News Online

The death of a bar manager who disappeared from a private island was accidental, an inquest jury has concluded.

Josh Clayton, 23, was reported missing after vanishing from a staff party on Tresco, on the Isles of Scilly, on 13 September 2015.

His body was found 10 days later but investigations have been unable to find a cause of death or information about how he ended up in the sea.

However, a conclusion of drowning was reached by the jury after a three-day hearing at Plymouth Coroner’s Court.

Image source, Handout

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

A heroin addict who imprisoned and beat another man is to spend longer behind bars after the Court of Appeal increased his jail sentence from three years to five, the solicitor general says.

Steven Brown, 40, attacked Vincent Rutter in his own flat in Park House (pictured), St Austell, in December 2017 in a row over drugs.

Mr Rutter suffered life-threatening injuries, sustaining 17 fractured ribs, collapsed lungs and a lacerated spleen.

Brown was jailed by Truro Crown Court in September after being found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent

Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP referred the case to the Court of Appeal after deciding it was unduly lenient.

Mr Buckland said: "The original sentence failed to take proper account of the seriousness of the offence and the harm drugs can do to people's lives. I am pleased the court has now seen fit to increase the prison term."

BBC Radio Devon

Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was arrested for murdering a woman in Torquay.

Image source, Google

Police were called to Temperence Street at about 22:30 on Tuesday following "reports of concern for welfare of a woman".

The 45-year-old woman, from Torquay, died at the scene and a 47-year-old man, from Torquay, was arrested on suspicion of murder and taken into police custody.

He remains in custody and is assisting with inquires.

The road remains closed and a scene guard remains in place at this time.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting CR/114501/18.

BBC Radio Devon

Plymouth City Council is taking action to stop care providers cashing in on vulnerable children.

Image source, Getty Images

One case recently highlighted in Plymouth was a care package for a child with complex needs that was costing £50,000 a week.

There was no suggestion that the level of cost was unjustified, but it was reported to councillors as an example of the pressure on children's social care from rising costs and an increasing number of complex cases.

The young person needed to be looked after by teams of five specialist care staff, including a nurse.

The placement was being jointly funded by the NHS, councillors were told.

Councillor Sue McDonald, Cabinet member for Children and Young People, said the authority, which is working with others in the West Country, would not be "mugged off".

"We need to avoid a race to the bottom - and pay a price for care that means that well trained and supported staff are paid a reasonable wage for caring for our vulnerable children properly," she said.

BBC Radio Cornwall

Bude community leaders have hit back at the "cynics" that criticised the Bude Tunnel and its festive light show.

The tunnel, voted a top tourist experience by Trip Advisor, has been lit by lights for a week in the run-up to Christmas, but some have poked fun at it.

The plastic tunnel connects a car park with a supermarket to keep shoppers dry.

Bude Continues to Bleed Internet-Famous Supermarket Tunnel Dry, external was the headline in Gizmodo which angered local people.

Others said the money spent on the lights would have been better spent on helping the homeless.

Dawn Robinson-Walsh,editor of Bude and Beyond, external, told the "cynics, the nasties" that volunteers who put up the lights were "saddened and distressed" by the criticism.

The tunnel had provided "much fun, laughter, merriment and even joy".

She added: "People flock to Oxford Street to see the lights, so what is the problem with Bude having something a little different?"

"For those who say we should focus on more important issues like homelessness, obviously, homelessness is a massively distressing problem, one which is structural in origin.

"Bude community helps where it can," she said citing a Christmas Fair collection for the local foodbank.

"Having some fun at this dark time of year does not mean people are blissfully unaware of poverty and its accompanying social issues."

For anyone wanting to see the lights you'd better hurry as they are due to be taken down on 13 December.

Ed Oldfield
Local Democracy Reporting Service

A Devon council has been asked to help shed pension fund investments in the fossil fuel industry because of global warming.

In a public question submitted to Torbay Council, Jo Corrall made the plea at a meeting, pointing out the authority along with national government had made a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases and carbon emissions.

She also highlighted the recent report from the IPCC – the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – saying it outlined “the urgent need for action in order to avoid the catastrophic worst effects of climate change” and elected representatives needed to "show real climate leadership".

She said investments in the fossil fuel industry were becoming increasingly risky and said the Peninsula Pensions fund, of which Torbay Council was a member, held more than £20m of direct investments in fossil fuel companies, with £170m of indirect investments.

Elected mayor Gordon Oliver said the council shared the concerns and the council’s representative on the joint pension authority would ask that the points about fossil fuel investments were considered in future decisions.

Ed Oldfield
Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plymouth’s council leader has been in talks with the government in a campaign to save more than 350 jobs due to be lost with the closure of Barden’s ball-bearing factory.

The city council’s Labour leader Tudor Evans met the defence procurement minister to warn that the plant closure could harm the country’s sovereign capability – its ability to produce important defence equipment in the UK without having to rely on imports.

Councillor Evans said there was now a cross-party campaign involving the city’s three MPs in an attempt to reverse the closure plan for the factory at Estover, which has been in the city for more than 50 years.

The 365 staff were told in early November that the Barden plant was due to close within two years.

The German parent company, global automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler, said that Brexit was a factor in the decision.

The factory produces precision bearings for cars, aircraft, the nuclear industry, missiles and satellites. It is the specialist nature of the parts used in defence equipment that the city council is highlighting to try to persuade the government to step in.

Mr Evans told members of the council’s ruling Cabinet on Tuesday that about 10% of the Plymouth plant’s output was "fundamental to a lot of defence equipment that we need in this country".

He said one option that could be explored was a sale of the factory, if closure could not be halted.