Fatal motorbike crash victim named
Sharks 'at risk from industrial fishing ships'
Exeter Fringe Festival gets under way
Teenage swimmer rescued by Exmouth lifeboat
Updates from Friday 26 July
Two more hospital patients with Covid-19 have died in Devon hospitals.
The latest deaths were recorded at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, bring the Devon total of such deaths to 327.
The three teenagers have been released under investigation.
Read MoreStaff at coronavirus vaccination hubs are making final preparations.
Refrigerated containers holding the vaccine doses have been arriving in the UK from Belgium and are being prepared to be moved from secure locations to the hospitals.
Vaccinations will be co-ordinated across the South West region at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, as well as at the Royal Cornwall in Truro, Yeovil and Dorset county hospitals.
People aged 80 and over as well as care home workers will start getting the vaccination, along with higher risk NHS workers.
Dr David Strain, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School, said it was great news.
Image source, Reuters/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationQuote MessageWe can be fully confident that this vaccine is going to be safe for all of our residents as it starts to roll out. The only question is whether it will be lasting for three months, six months, 12 months or decades. That's the bit we still need to find out - whether this will be an annual booster programme or a 'let's get it all over and we're sorted for the next 10 years.'"
Dr David Strain, University of Exeter Medical School
The latest Covid figures for the last week of November continue to show a slow fall in the infection rate in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
There were 25 cases in every 100,000 people, compared to the England average of 129.
The number of new cases fell by 141 compared to the previous week.
Donations to replace gifts lost in the fire have surpassed £25,000, the Salvation Army say.
Read MoreThe car lost control on the bend of a road near Tiverton, police say.
Read MoreThree teenagers are in custody on suspicion of supplying of drugs, police say.
Read MoreAround 100 toys and 80 hampers for families in need were destroyed in the fire on St Ives seafront.
Read MoreCrews from around Cornwall rush to the blaze in St Ives which broke out near the lifeboat station.
Read MorePart of a £500,000 European grant is going towards stilt walkers who will patrol Cornish towns in the run up to Christmas.
Cornwall Council said the "visible" and "entertaining" teams would remind shoppers to stick to the hands, face, space message whilst they're shopping.
The first stilts walkers will be out on Friday evening in St Ives and Camborne, with further towns due to receive visits over the next two weeks.
Gyms, leisure centres and pools have reopened in Cornwall - but many swimmers are still choosing to swim in the sea, despite the onset of colder weather.
Tina Riggall is a member of the Battery Boys and Belles who swim from the Battery Rocks in Penzance.
Ms Riggall said she doesn't wear a wet suit for her shorter swims, but recommended one for most people taking a dip at this time of the year.
She said a bright swimming hat was a "must" for swimmers, and offered up a final top tip.
"If you're going to go down at 7 o'clock in the morning when its slightly dusty dark, you can also get a little light that clips on to the back of your goggles."
Rebecca Thorn
BBC News
Street marshals will patrol Cornish towns at night as coronavirus restrictions are eased in the run-up to Christmas.
The teams will operate between 18:00 and midnight on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Covid marshals will give advice and support to businesses and members of the public on the necessity of social distancing and the latest covid-related restrictions, Cornwall Council said.
They will mostly work in pairs and will initially cover Penzance, St Ives, Helston, Camborne, Redruth, Truro, St Austell, Newquay, Falmouth, Launceston, Bude, Wadebridge, Bodmin, Liskeard and Saltash.
Jenny Walrond
Health Correspondent, BBC Spotlight
The number of cases of Covid-19 has fallen in nearly every area across the South West.
Only in Torridge, where the figures are still relatively small, has the number of cases increased.
When comparing the week up to 22 November with the week up to 29 November, the number of known active cases fell from 2,087 to 1,490, including:
The marshals will offer support to businesses and the public as the county emerges from lockdown.
Read MorePolice report more than 2,000 Covid-related "engagements with the public" during the second lockdown.
Read MoreThe manager of a residential care home in Cornwall has described the announcement of a new covid vaccine as a "huge relief".
On Wednesday the UK approved the Pfizer/BioNTech jab as safe for use.
Assistant manager at Perran Bay Care home in Perranporth, James Godolphin, said his residents and staff had confidence in it.
"We've had a really positive reaction from residents and staff," he told the BBC.
"We know that this is a scary thing for a lot of people to do, they haven't had a lot of time to look at this vaccine.
"However our government and country are very strict on absolutely everything."
The traditional English orchard is in trouble. Once a prized feature of many farms, earning its keep through sales of cider and fruit, it has been undermined by cheap apple imports and incentives to grow other crops. It's estimated that two-thirds of English orchards have disappeared since 1950. Now a young couple in Devon have come up with a way of saving remaining orchards from abandonment and further decline. Polly and Mat Hilton harvest the apples usually left to rot and turn them into cider. In exchange they foster and take care of the orchard. Rachel Lovell joins them during peak harvest season, to hear how they have created special ciders using wine-making techniques, and to talk about their hopes for the future of forgotten orchards all over the country.
Produced and presented by Rachel Lovell.
Changes are being made to the NHS 111 service in Devon to reduce the number of people attending A&E unnecessarily.
People calling 111 will now get booked into a Minor Injury Unit, a GP or given access to A&E if appropriate.
But Plymouth GP Dr Dafydd Jones has urged people to continue to call 999 in an emergency.
He said this includes, but is not limited to, medical traumas such as a heart attack, a stroke, or someone being unconscious.
Torridge was the only place in the South West which recorded an increase in new cases of Covid-19 in the week to last Saturday.
There were 70 new cases, which takes the infection rate per 100,000 to 103.
East Devon has the highest rate in the region at 123, while Teignbridge, the South Hams and Cornwall are in the lowest 10 infection rates in England.
Jenny Walrond
Health Correspondent, BBC Spotlight
Another eight hospital patients with coronavirus have died in the South West, the latest figures show.
They include three at Yeovil District Hospital, two in Plymouth's Derriford Hospital, two at Dorset Healthcare, and one each at Dorset County Hospital and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
The latest figures show 578 hospital patients have died in the South West who tested positive for Covid-19.
They include 317 in Devon and 96 in Cornwall.
