BBC Spotlight

A 93-year-old woman from Cornwall is appealing for somewhere to live after a fire badly damaged her home.

Pat Plumbridge has been left homeless after a fire started in a neighbouring pub in Newlyn.

It started in the middle of the night and brought her roof down.

BBC Spotlight

Scientists are looking for cat owners to take part in a major study into their hunting behaviour.

The University of Exeter wants to find out how it can cut the amount of wildlife killed by domestic cats., external

Contributors will be asked to keep a basic log of what prey their pets bring home, while others will track their cat's movements through GPS collars.

Alex Osborne
BBC Weather

Bright periods at times this morning but there will be the chance of a few showers as well, driven in on brisk winds. A few further showers this afternoon with bright spells and areas of cloud.

Maximum temperature: 7 to 10C (45-50F).

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

A town that began printing its own money more than a decade ago is pulling the plug on the currency.

BBC Weather

There will be clear spells on Wednesday evening and overnight, but also further scattered showers, which could be heavy.

It will remain breezy and the winds are expected to strengthen towards dawn.

Minimum temperature: 2 to 5C (36 to 41F).

It looks set to be a windy day on Thursday with spells of sunshine, but also further scattered showers.

The showers could continue to be heavy in places. Feeling chillier too.

Maximum temperature: 8 to 11C (46 to 52F).

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

A car was one of a number of items stolen in a burglary in Torquay, police have said.

It happened between 04:30 and 06:00 on 4 March on Higher Erith Road.

It was reported that an offender had gained access to the property and took a number of items, including a number of electrical items, two car keys and a BMW.

One of the car keys was later located nearby by a member of the public and handed in to police, officers added.

The suspect was described as being between 5ft 10in (1.77m) and 6ft (1.82m) tall and of stocky build.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Devon and Cornwall Police via 101.

A directly elected leader would benefit the county, according to St Austell and Newquay MP Steve Double.

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

Image source, Totnes Pound

An experiment in a south Devon town which saw it print its own currency to encourage local shopping is ceasing after 12 years, organisers say.

Totnes pounds were initially printed in March 2007 in a month-long experiment before it was extended.

Totnes Pound Steering Group said it was finishing because of a decline in their use "partly due to an increasingly cashless economy".

People would be able to spend or redeem the pounds before 30 June, they added.

The project saw more than 30,000 Totnes pounds circulated among local businesses over the years.

The city of Exeter also started a similar scheme in 2015. It stopped last year, external.

Daniel Clark
Local Democracy Reporting Service

A new riverfront beer garden for Barnstaple's waterside Wetherspoons should be refused over concerns about crime, anti-social behaviour and intoxicated patrons crossing the road, planners say.

North Devon Council's planning committee will meet next week to determine an application by the pub chain to change the use of the land opposite The Water Gate to allow it to be used as a beer garden.

The plans would see the existing green space and quadrant area opposite the pub and next to the River Taw become a beer garden for the pub - although it would be physically separate from the pub by The Strand.

Image source, Via LDRS

Council planners, though, are recommending the application be refused saying the "proposal is not designed to provide a safe place and minimise anti-social and criminal behaviour".

Benefits to Barnstaple if the scheme was approved are recognised by the report to the planning committee.

Points include helping the town centre to support its vitality, viability and economic prosperity - including a vibrant and diverse evening economy.

North Devon Council's planning committee meets on 13 March to determine the fate of the application.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

A dead whale has washed up in a creek off Falmouth, the Cornwall Wildlife Trust has said.

The pilot whale was fully examined in situ by the trust's volunteers, but, because of its location, it was not possible for it to be taken for a full post-mortem examination.

This meant it was unlikely the cause of death would ever be determined, the trust said.

The trust added if anyone finds a dead, stranded marine animal around the Cornish coast, to get in touch on 0345 201 26 26.

Image source, Kerry Holbrook/Cornwall Wildlife Trust

Devon Live

Patients and visitors have been unable to access the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital after a group of travellers padlocked themselves into a park and ride site, external on Wednesday morning, closing to the public.

BBC Radio Cornwall

Plans for a large state of the art skate park in Perranporth appear to be one step closer.

A meeting has taken place this week to discuss the scheme, which could cost almost £250,000.

If approved, the park would be located near the town's football and rugby pitches in the Ponsmere Valley.

Members of Perranzabuloe Parish Council said that the area already had a "thriving board-riding culture" and they hoped to harness "this local potential to provide board riding facilities of the highest standard".

Ben Woolvin
BBC South West Home Affairs correspondent

The jury in the trial of a 17-year-old accused of raping and attempting to murder a 10-year-old girl has retired to consider its verdict.

The boy, who was 16 at the time, cannot be named for legal reasons.

He denies the charges but has admitted choking and sexually assaulting the girl in Exmouth, Devon, on 4 October 2018.

Emma Thomasson
BBC Spotlight

A couple in Cornwall that makes and paints fairy doors to leave around their local town say they want to "keep the magic alive" for children.

Danny Saville and Demelza Cremin leave the fairy doors out overnight in and around Hayle for children to find...

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Tickets have gone on sale for a new Exeter festival this summer.

The Hoosiers will be headlining the three-day event in July, which will also include screenings of films Bohemian Rhapsody, The Greatest Showman and Mary Poppins Returns.

Set in the surrounds of Northernhay Gardens, organisers said local musicians would perform and a community and family day was also planned across the three days.

Brent Pilnick
BBC Sport

Plymouth Argyle manager Derek Adams has been nominated for the League One Manager of the Month award for the second successive month.

Image source, Getty Images

The Pilgrims were unbeaten in February, winning two and drawing two of their four games.

He is nominated alongside Luton boss Mick Harford, Daniel Stendel of Barnsley and Sunderland manager Jack Ross.

Exeter second-row Wilhelm van der Sluys leaves the club to join Johannesburg-based Super Rugby side the Lions.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Cornish businesses are being asked to join the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce at a festival celebrating the county's "pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit".

The Cornwall Festival of Business will take place from 28 October to 1 November.

The event looks to provide opportunities for the local business community to "connect, share best practice and collaborate" for the benefit of the region and for their own business.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Two women were treated for smoke inhalation after a fire in a three-storey building, firefighters say.

Crews were called to Solsbro Road in Torquay at about 03:35.

The building consists of five separate flats and one of the bathrooms was "severely damaged" in the blaze, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said.

The fire was extinguished and the cause is not known.