The weights narrowly missed Allan Jones at Devonport Dockyard where HMS Vanguard is being refitted.

The weights narrowly missed Allan Jones at Devonport Dockyard where HMS Vanguard is being refitted.

Lifeboat crews pull a man from the sea off Devon but are unable to resuscitate him.

Daniel Clark
Local Democracy Reporting Service

A Labour councillor failed to treat others with courtesy and respect and brought the council into disrepute with her conduct, a standards investigation has concluded.

Emma Brennan, who represents the Heavitree and Whipton Barton ward on Devon County Council, has been ordered to issue a formal and robust apology for her action and undertake anger management training, as a result of events which took place at a meeting on 25 April.

Four complaints were made about her conduct alleging that she had breached the members’ code of conduct.

An investigation was carried out by the county solicitor and monitoring officer and Devon County Council’s standards committee reviewed the findings when they met last Tuesday.

Councillors found that she had failed to treat others with courtesy and respect and that she conducted herself in a manner or behaved in such a way so as to give a reasonable person the impression that they had brought their office or the council into disrepute.

But the committee agreed that she did not breach the code of conduct in relation to allegations of bullying.

The committee agreed that Ms Brennan should have anger management training and issue a formal and robust apology to the complainants.

She has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Image source, DevonCountyCouncil

Jurors say they are struggling to concentrate despite using a fan and opening windows, as UK temperatures soar.

Charley Adams
BBC News Online

A paraglider has died off the coast at Start Point near Kingsbridge.

Police said the man was recovered from the sea by a lifeboat crew but was pronounced dead at the scene earlier on Tuesday.

BBC Spotlight

Image source, National Trust

Conservationists say barn owls are thriving in parts of Cornwall, partly thanks to nest boxes installed in barns and outbuildings.

The National Trust is working with a team of volunteers to monitor activity and check that the boxes are set up properly.

The Cornwall Ringing Group has official licences permitting it members to inspect the boxes and ring the chicks.

You can listen here about how efforts to cultivate better habitats and install nest boxes for barn owls in west Cornwall are proving a success.

Byron Moore becomes the fifth player to join Plymouth from Bury this summer.

Morris dancers and bikers are protesting against the moving of the May Bank Holiday in 2020.

Ed Oldfield
Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plymouth City Council was at fault for refusing to accept complaints about its debt collectors says an inspector's report.

The Local Government Ombudsman said the council was wrong because the enforcement agent was acting on its behalf.

A debtor, identified in a report as Miss X, complained that the bailiffs turned down a reasonable offer of repayment without giving a reason.

She also complained that the same bailiffs broke regulations by charging multiple enforcement fees.

The agent was used to collect the debt after magistrates issued a liability order for unpaid council tax.

The watchdog upheld two cases against the council, saying it was wrong to refer complaints about the agent’s behaviour back to the agent.

A Plymouth City Council spokesman said: “We accept the findings of the ombudsman in both cases and have already implemented all of the recommendations.”

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

Resident and holidaymakers in the South West are being asked to be "water smart" by regional utility South West Water (SWW).

SWW said its total reservoir storage was currently about 73%, compared to 75% at the same time last year, "reflecting the relatively dry winter and spring".

Head of Water Resources Rob Scarrott said: “Even though it often seems to rain a lot, the South West has actually had the second lowest amount of rainfall in the UK over the last six months.

“We have no immediate concerns, but we expect demand for water to increase as we head into the peak summer season."

The company provides water and sewerage services to Devon and Cornwall, plus small parts of Dorset and Somerset.

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

Hamish Marshall
BBC Spotlight

Emergency repairs are continuing on a gas leak underneath the A38 near Plymouth that caused miles of traffic jams.

Wales & West Utilities said engineers were working on the issue but it was a "complex job" and they did not know how long the work would take.

Teams worked through Monday night after the leak was identified. They have closed one lane each way to allow for the work.

After tailbacks of up to five miles on Tuesday morning, there have been delays of about 15 minutes since 12:00.

BBC Spotlight

Travelodge wants to open seven hotels in Cornwall as part of its £165m expansion plans.

The company says collectively the expansion in the county would represent an investment of £45m for third party investors and could create about 175 new jobs.

The sites include Bude, Falmouth, Fowey, Newquay, Penzance, St Ives and Truro.

Miles Davis
BBC News Online

A thunderstorm is expected to hit Devon and parts of east Cornwall on Tuesday evening.

The Met Office has issued a warning, external of scattered thunderstorms moving north moving north from 18:00 which "could lead to some power cuts and travel delays".

Image source, Met Office

BBC Radio Cornwall

Dog owners should keep their dog on a lead on Cornwall's coast path, they are being told, after a dog died in north Cornwall after falling down a blowhole.

The pet fell down the Round Hole near Trevone on Tuesday morning, coastguards said.

A blowhole is a vertical fault in a cliff that is widened after exposure to strong waves - creating water pressure that can escape up through the hole.

The Round Hole was formed by a collapsed sea cave and can be seen on a sloping field above the east side of the beach.

The 4.4lb dog has not been seen since the bird snatched him from a garden in Devon.

BBC Radio Cornwall

An operation is under way to remove a group of travellers from a site near Lanhydrock in Cornwall.

Travellers pitched camp on the Lanhydrock Car Boot's field on Monday afternoon, at the junction of the A38 and the A30, and are refusing to leave.

Another group of travellers has been in a car park overflow in St Ives (pictured below) since Saturday night.

Cornwall Council said on Monday that an official was visiting those involved in the St Ives camp to "establish the group’s circumstances and intentions".

Meanwhile, Cornwall Live has reported that urgent action is being taken to remove travellers from site near Bodmin Hospital, external who have been on site for nearly a month.

An annual fund-raising fete for charity was postponed from July until September as a result.

BBC Radio Devon

Two operating theatres at Torbay Hospital which were closed in November because of technical problems will not re-open until at least September.

Hospital bosses originally said they would re-open in May but the work, which is costing £2.7m, is taking longer than expected.

About 70 patients have been sent to two private hospitals in Torquay and Plymouth to have procedures because of the closures - at an extra cost to the NHS of £370,000.

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

Repairs on a gas pipe underneath the A38 between Plymouth and Ivybridge are causing major delays, utilities and highways bosses say.

Wales & West Utilities said it had closed a lane on both the eastbound and westbound lanes in the Lee Mill area "to repair a leak on a gas pipe running beneath" the A38 Devon Expressway.

Highways England said "long delays" had been reported up to five miles away from the scene.

Drivers from outside the South West have also been advised to "plan ahead if travelling in the region this morning".