BBC Spotlight

Image source, St Columb Fire Station

A gymnastic club in Cornwall is celebrating moving into its new building after the old one was destroyed by fire.

The Kernow Gymnastics and Acro Club lost their training building a year ago, leaving all 400 members without a place to practise.

Two buildings were completely destroyed in a blaze at Carvynick Country Club in Summercourt, near Newquay - the gymnastics club is based there.

This Christmas, the club has not only rebuilt its facilities, but has plans to make it bigger.

Bethany Fowler is the director at Kernow Gymnastics and Acro Academy...

Exeter scrum-half Stuart Townsend is likely to miss the rest of the season because of a serious knee injury.

Victoria Snell, who has a prosthetic limb, has just run a 5k race. She explains why she chose to have her leg amputated.

BBC Spotlight

Royal Marine commandos from Lympstone in Devon have given an early Christmas surprise to a 14-year-old boy from the Midlands who has arthritis in his eyes.

Royal Marine commandos from Lympstone in Devon have given an early Christmas surprise to a 14-year-old boy from the Midlands whohas arthritis in his eyes. M alachi Neat, from Coventry, wants to become a Royal Marine but fears his hopes will be dashed due to his condition.

So the marines gave him the chance to spend the day with them.

Plymouth Live

A family has been left shaken after their new home was burgled while their children were upstairs., external

The family, from Stoke, Plymouth, estimate between £3,000-£4,000 worth of goods were taken, including a distinctive custom-built computer, which had been bought for Christmas.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

A 19-year-old woman is in hospital in a critical condition after she was hit by a car in Exeter, police have said.

Officers were called to Alphington Road - underneath a railway bridge - at about 21:20 on Saturday 15 December.

The driver of the car fled the scene and was located a short time later following searches by the dog unit, Devon and Cornwall Police added.

A 26-year-old man from Exeter was arrested on suspicion of driving whilst unfit through drugs, driving a motor vehicle dangerously and being the driver of a vehicle which failed to stop after a road accident.

He has since been released on bail.

Any witnesses are being asked to contact Devon and Cornwall Police via 101.

Ed Oldfield
Local Democracy Reporting Service

A new mini part-time power station has been approved in Devon – but its operating hours are still to be decided.

Image source, Google

City council planners voted narrowly to allow the gas-fuelled plant on the industrial estate at Valley Road, Plympton, after hearing noise and air quality assessments were within legal limits.

Local councillors and residents told of concerns about the possible impact of noise and air pollution on people living in the area, and the planning committee decided to review the plant’s proposed operating hours.

After a discussion lasting almost two hours, the planning committee voted seven to five in favour of the scheme for the two part-time electricity generators going ahead, designed to work as back-up at times of peak demand or when renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are not producing.

The proposed hours of operation were initially between 07:00 and 23:00 with a limit of 2,500 hours a years. But the decision included a condition for a team to consider a shorter period and fewer hours.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

A 29-year-old man remains in hospital with "serious injuries" after either falling or jumping from a truck, police have said.

It happened between Tintagel and Camelford on Sunday 2 December between 00:00 and 03:00.

Officers said the incident involved a French-registered flatbed truck which had a white cab.

Any witnesses are asked to contact Devon and Cornwall Police via 101.

Bringing you the news, sport, travel and weather for Devon and Cornwall

Tamsin Melville
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Cornwall

An urgent need for more on-call firefighters across the South West is forcing services to look at measures such as reduced crewing of appliances or shorter hours.

In Devon and Somerset, an average of 14% of pumps are unavailable at any one time due to crewing shortages.

On one occasion this year, 40% of pumps were off the run.

Now the service is piloting a scheme allowing on-call appliances to attend incidents with three firefighters when four are not available.

But the Devon and Somerset Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is advising its members to boycott this.

James Leslie Devon is from the FBU...

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said it had already completed a pilot and staff would be specially trained.

Kevin Thomas
BBC Weather Forecaster

Thanks to David 007 and Rainbow for sharing these photos of the skies over Teignmouth and Bude earlier on Monday.

If you have pictures to share, please email us.

BBC Radio Cornwall

A woman from Cornwall has become the new world champion in a surfing competition.

Melissa Reid won the gold medal in the Visually Impaired Women division at the ISA World Championships at La Jolla, California.

It was her first international surfing competition.

She's better know as a triathlete - winning a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games in Rio in 2016.

On becoming world champion, Melissa said: "I hope that my performance gets more visually impaired girls and guys out in the water."

Image source, British Paralympic Association

Owner Karen Corbett said seven-month-old Jack was "lucky to be alive".

Millicent Cooke
BBC News Online

Image source, Devon and Cornwall Police

A man from Cornwall who went missing in Plymouth last week may be "disoriented", police say.

Stuart Nugent, from Launceston, can be forgetful due to a previous head injury and doesn't know the area well.

Police said he was last seen in Bilbury Street, Plymouth, at about 15:00 on Wednesday 12 December.

The 33-year-old had travelled to the city that day was planning to stay the night.

Image source, Google

Mr Nugent is described as 6ft 1in (1.9m), of medium build, with a long ginger beard and brownish ginger hair.

He also has a distinctive "Catch 22" tattoo on his forearm and other tattoos.

He was travelling with a black wheelie suitcase.

Twitter

BBC Radio Devon

Plymouth's MPs have joined forces to fight to save 400 jobs at a Plymouth factory whose German owners say they are being forced to close due to Brexit.

Labour's Luke Pollard and Conservatives Johnny Mercer and Gary Streeter said they would work together for the good of the city following the announcement that Barden will wind down its operation in Plymouth over the next two years and move work overseas.

The company, which makes precision bearings, has had a base in the city for 50 years.

The MPs are offering to fly to Germany for face-to-face meetings with owners Schaeffler.

Millicent Cooke
BBC News Online

Image source, Dan Brenchley

A wheel came off a police van as it was being driven around Devon after its bolts were deliberately undone, officers say.

Sgt Dan Brenchley, of Devon and Cornwall Police, shared a picture of the damaged Police Support Unit (PSU) after the wheel came in the early hours of Sunday.

He added that no police officers were injured.

Richard Whitehouse
Local Democracy Reporting Service

A formal application is set to be made to increase the cost of crossing from Cornwall into Devon by 33%.

Cornwall Council’s cabinet will be asked to approve a bid to the Department for Transport (DfT) to increase Tamar Bridge tolls and the cost of using the Torpoint ferry by a third.

It currently costs £1.50 for cars to cross the bridge or use the ferry. However, under the new charges, it would jump to £2.

In addition, Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council – which are jointly responsible for managing the bridge and ferry – are set to ask the DfT to allow them to carry out annual reviews of the charges and increase them in line with inflation without having to go to the government for approval.

The two councils leaders are also going to ask the DfT for more funding for the maintenance, improvements and operation of the bridge which would “reduce the burden on users”.

The report to Cornwall Council’s cabinet said stated that the increase was needed because in the last year the bridge has been operating at a deficit.

It added that expenditure had exceeded income and, as a result, reserves were said to be “depleted”.

Explaining the increase in costs, the report highlighted inflation costs, growth in the capital programme and increased maintenance on the bridge and ferry.

The report also stated that the level of traffic had also grown relatively slowly and, as a result, so had income.

Cornwall Council’s cabinet is to meet on Tuesday.

BBC Weather

A fine start to Monday with spells of sunshine.

However, winds will start to pick up towards midday.

It will then become increasingly windy in the afternoon, with cloud thickening to eventually give a few patches of rain.

Maximum temperature: 12C (54F).