Summary

  • Cornwall fire service response times 'inadequate'

  • Police 'watch out' warning to drink drivers

  • Cornwall Council leader hails 'positive' Brexit meeting

  • Factory bosses 'don't know what impact no-deal will have'

  • Over the Moon: Exeter player gets England call-up

  • Updates on Thursday 20 December 2018

Live Reporting

  1. Cornish couple fail to get poultry ban overturned

    Hayley Westcott
    BBC News Online

    Two poultry keepers from Cornwall, whose animals were kept in shocking conditions, have failed in their appeal to overturn a 10-year ban on keeping poultry.

    In October, Michael John Thomas Jackson and partner Joanna Caroline Lutey, of Boldventure Close, St Austell pleaded guilty to a number of animal welfare offences.

    They were handed a 10-year ban on keeping poultry and were both issued with a 12-month community order.

    They were also ordered to pay Cornwall Council £4,000 towards costs.

    In Truro Town Court on Wednesday, the couple offered no evidence to show the court that conditions on the premises have improved.

    The judge agreed the ban on keeping poultry was the correct sentence and dismissed the couple’s appeal - as well as ordering them to pay another £700.

    poultry in cagesCornwall Council

    The upholding of this ban on keeping poultry sends a strong message to those that keep birds commercially or as a hobby that they must take animal welfare seriously. The public can rest assured that council officers will use all available legal options to make sure animal welfare is protected.

    Sue James, Cornwall Council

  2. Police appeal to find driver of a Silver Ford Focus

    Twitter

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  3. Torbay company facing job losses over Christmas

    BBC Radio Devon

    Nearly 20 jobs could be lost at a company that provides rubbish collections, street cleaning and other essential frontline services in Torbay.

    Tor2 - which is a joint venture between the council and Kier Group - has been told it must find £500,000 worth of savings.

    The GMB Union is pointing its finger at Torbay Council, saying the savings are part of the mayor's budget cuts.

    Paul Raybould, from the union, says some of the workers are long-serving and the news will affect others if the threat of more job losses continues...

    A spokesperson for Torbay Council said: "We have been advised by Tor2 that due to an internal restructure there will be some job losses to their back office functions. This is not related to the mayor's budget."

  4. Flights between Newquay and London Gatwick cancelled

    Millicent Cooke
    BBC News Online

    Flights between Newquay and Gatwick have been cancelled after drones were seen flying over the airfield in the capital.

    Tens of thousands of passengers at one of the UK's busiest airports are experiencing flight disruption.

    Gatwick's runway remains closed after two of the devices were seen nearby.

    Flights are unable to take off or land and Gatwick said 110,000 passengers on 760 flights were due to use the airport on Thursday.

    Cornwall Airport NewquayCornwall Airport Newquay
    Cornwall Airport NewquayCornwall Airport Newquay

  5. Bus shelter among listed buildings

    A bus shelter, a cattle trough and a Rolls-Royce test hangar are among places gaining listed status.

    Read More

  6. Underfloor heating starts house fire

    Millicent Cooke
    BBC News Online

    Underfloor heating sparked a house fire in Cornwall on Wednesday.

    Fire crews were called to St Ervan at about 21:53 after the heating system caught fire, Cornwall Fire Service said.

    Two crews from Padstow and St Columb tackled the blaze before making the area safe.

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  7. Cornwall fire service response times 'inadequate'

    Richard Whitehouse
    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    fire engine

    Inspectors said they had "serious concerns" about the service's response times

    A first ever inspection of Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) has found its response times to fires and emergencies are "inadequate".

    The inspection report was carried out by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMIC) in July.

    After the initial findings were given to CFRS, there was a follow-up visit in October.

    There are 11 specific areas which the fire service has been inspected on. Six were rated "good", four were rated "requires improvement" and one was rated "inadequate".

    'Geography and rurality'

    The inadequate rating was for responding to fires and other emergencies - of which the inspectors said they had "serious concerns".

    "The service consistently doesn't meet target response times for fires, especially in remote areas served by on-call stations," the 45-page report stated.

    In the 12 months to 31 March 2017, the average response time to primary fires in Cornwall was 12 minutes and 28 seconds - which was an increase from the same period in 2016.

    This is the highest response time of all services in England, according to inspectors.

    Chief fire officer of CFRS, Paul Walker said that while the service always wanted to improve response times he believes the inspectorate had "not fully recognised the challenges which face the service due to Cornwall's geography and rurality".

    Chief fire officer of Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, Paul WalkerCornwall Council

    Chief fire officer of Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, Paul Walker said he was "really proud about how we look after our people"

    I think the inspectors are city-centric. The inspectors are from metropolitan brigades, there isn't a clear understanding of rural risks. People in Cornwall understand and recognise the challenges that we face in our geography and the seasonal changes in the summer. We understand that we didn't hit the target and we can and will do something about that.

    Paul Walker, Chief fire officer, Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service

  8. Somewhere over the rainbow...in Grampound

    BBC Radio Cornwall

    This rainbow was spotted over Grampound earlier - giving some colour to an otherwise cloudy sky.

    If you have any pictures to share, please email us.

    rainbow

  9. Two women rescued from 'lift cage'

    Millicent Cooke
    BBC News Online

    Fire engine on the way to a shoutGetty Images

    Two women were trapped in a lift cage in Dawlish on Wednesday.

    Rescuers were called to Exeter Road at about 17:24 after an alarm went off.

    Fire crews used small tools to release the women before making the lift safe.

    Neither was injured in the incident.

  10. Cornwall Council leader hails 'positive' Brexit meeting

    Del Crookes
    BBC News Online

    Cornwall Council leader Adam Paynter said his meeting with the European Commission's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, was a "positive step towards building a successful future for Cornwall" after the UK leaves the EU.

    The meeting in Brussels was attended by a small delegation of leaders from regions across Europe called the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions.

    Adam PaynterCornwall Council

    The council said the key outcomes were:

    • Sharing Cornwall’s preparations around Brexit including in the event of a no-deal scenario.
    • Reaffirming the county’s commitment to continue working with the leaders of Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, France and Spain to forge social economic and cultural ties after Brexit.
    • A productive one-to-one meeting with Andreas Lervik, councillor and leader of the Otsfold Region in Norway, which participates in EU programmes despite the country not being a member.

    The persisting climate of uncertainty around the UK's Brexit negotiations with the EU only underlines the fact that we cannot rely on Government to stand up for Cornwall. We need to be putting Cornwall’s case forward ourselves."

    Adam Paynter, Leader of Cornwall Council

  11. Police warning to drink drivers

    Twitter

    Police caught a 20-year-old man driving himself home from the pub in the early hours of Thursday morning.

    Officers said they are especially focused on catching drink drivers at this time of year.

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  12. Factory managers 'don't know what impact Brexit will have'

    Neil Gallacher, Business & Industry Correspondent
    BBC Spotlight

    Interfluid Hydraulics in Callington

    A number of factory bosses in Cornwall say it is impossible to prepare for a no-deal Brexit because there is no way to know what crashing out of the EU would mean in practice.

    The boss of one engineering business near Callington, Keith Ingram of Interfluid Hydraulics, admits he has a Eurosceptic streak.

    But he says he is hoping for an outcome that protects free movement of goods with the EU...

    Cornwall business owners 'not sure about impact of Brexit'

  13. Moon 'on bouncy castle' when England called

    Exeter's Ben Moon reveals how he missed a call telling him he had been picked for England as he was on a bouncy castle.

    Read More

  14. Firefighters receive 'multiple calls' to car fire

    Millicent Cooke
    BBC News Online

    St Efrides Rd, TorquayGoogle

    Firefighters in Torquay were scrambled to a car fire on St Efrides Road on Wednesday.

    Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said that they received "mutiple calls" at about 19:25 from concerned members of the public.

    The car was made safe at about 19:47 and duty of care was left with the police.

    It is not known what caused the fire.

  15. Weather: Sunshine and showers

    BBC Weather

    Weather map for Devon and Cornwall

    It will be partly cloudy at first on Thursday morning with showers crossing the area on a brisk south west wind.

    Through the day, there will be increasing amounts of sunshine, along with further isolated showers.

    Maximum Temperature: 8C (46F).