Five people who died of carbon monoxide poisoning were using similar ovens. an inquest hears.

BBC Radio Cornwall

At least 200 people in Cornwall are being asked to take part in trials for a new Covid-19 vaccine.

It will be the world's first phase three study testing the safety and effectiveness of a promising new vaccine developed by US biotechnology company Novavax, organisers said.

More than 2,400 people in Cornwall have already registered their interest in taking part in vaccine studies through the NHS Vaccines Research Registry.

In Devon, 500 people are being sought for a trial of a different potential new vaccine being carried out Plymouth's Derriford Hospital.

Organisers said they had 80 people who had signed up for the phase three trial so far, but added that they were looking for hundreds more over the next five weeks.

Nationally 15,000 volunteers are needed to take part in the study, organisers said.

BBC Radio Devon

There are calls in the south west for the government to urgently introduce more fairness over which shops can open during lockdown.

Only shops selling what are deemed essential items can open - but they can sell other non-essential items alongside them.

Traders forced to close say they’re unfairly losing out on business.

The petition was started by Nicky Edmunds who runs two gift shops in Devon.

She said: "If it was an even playing field, and all essential retailers weren't able to sell non-essentials, it would give everyone a fighting chance of survival.

"I feel that the fact that they're capitalising and really using this opportunity to their advantage is really wrong, it's exploitation."

Jenny Walrond
Health Correspondent, BBC Spotlight

There have been further deaths in Devon and Dorset as a result of coronavirus.

Ten patients died at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.

This means the South West has recorded 490 deaths of patients who tested positive for the virus, with 259 in Devon and 95 in Cornwall.

Meanwhile, there have been a further two coronavirus-related deaths at care homes in the South West, according to the latest weekly figures from the Office for National Statistics.

The figures are for deaths that occurred in the week to 6 November where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

One of the care home deaths was in Plymouth, the other was in Dorset.

The figures also showed a further two people with the virus died in their own homes: one in Torbay and one in the East Devon Council area.

Gordon Sparks
Presenter, BBC Radio Devon

A senior member of the University of Exeter Medical School who is recovering from coronavirus has said everyone should follow the mantra of "hands, face and space" as it is essential in getting through the pandemic.

Senior Clinical Lecturer Dr David Strain said it was vital people followed Covid guidelines.

BBC Spotlight

Researchers involved in a trial of a potential new vaccine for Covid-19 in Plymouth say they need a broad spectrum of people to take part.

Organisers said they had 80 people who had signed up for the phase three trial at Derriford so far, but added that they were looking for 500.

Volunteers are to take part in a study to test a new two-dose vaccine, bosses said, external.

The study, co-funded by the government’s Vaccine Taskforce, is testing the safety and effectiveness of a new two-dose regimen for a vaccine candidate, developed by The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.

It uses a genetically-modified common cold virus to train the immune system.

The study is recruiting up to 30,000 people worldwide, with at least 500 people - all over the age of 18 - needing to take part at the Plymouth hospital, researchers said.

Recruitment into the study was being carried out until March 2021 and the study is due to last for 12 months, they added.

Consultant immunologist Dr Claire Bethune, who is leading the study locally, said: "It's likely that we will need a range of treatments to prevent Covid-19: some may work better for different scenarios. Trials like this are key in unlocking these potentials.”

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust Director of Research Dr Gary Minto said they hoped the number of volunteers - including over-60s and people of working age - "will continue to grow", and "we'll have an intensive five -week period ahead where we're trying to get 500 participants involved."

The hospital provides services to about 450,000 people in Plymouth, north and east Cornwall, as well as the south and west Devon areas.

A group of penguins made homeless by the coronavirus pandemic when their zoo closed move to Wales.

A Devon village has come up with a creative way to fundraise for their local primary school.

An inquest is taking places into the deaths of five people linked to gas cookers in Cornwall.

A judicial review will be held into planning permission for the house at a protected beauty spot.

BBC Spotlight

Cornwall and Devon are to be part of a pilot scheme where visitors will be able to go into care homes to see their relatives.

It comes after pressure on the government to allow contact with care home residents.

Visitors will have to wear PPE and have regular testing for Covid-19.

James Godolphin, the assistant manager of the Perran Care Home in Perranporth, said recent visits which had to be made behind screens or through windows were not the same for families and this was an "incredible idea".

In Devon, Castle Grove in Bampton is another one of the 20 homes across England where Covid tests will be offered to one family member or friend for each resident.

Manager Lucy Bull also welcomed the plans because "at the moment, it's very hard".

She said: "Just to have the touch of a loved one, to hold their hand, to see them smile or laugh would be amazing."

BBC Radio Cornwall

The number of cases of Covid 19 in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is now 70 in every 100,000 people

In the week to last Monday, there were 403 new cases - up by 106 on the previous seven days.

The England average is 196 per 100,000.

Matthew Smith and Bonnie Marie Smith died after being caught in huge waves at Mullion Cove.

Latest news and updates from Devon and Cornwall.

Richard Whitehouse
Local Democracy Reporting Service

A north Cornish village famous for Cornish slate is to get its own parish council for the first time in its history.

Delabole has come under the umbrella of St Teath Parish Council to date, which currently has an electorate of about 700 people, yet Delabole has an electorate of approximately 1,400.

In May 2021 elections for Delabole Parish Council will be held for the first time, alongside elections for the slimmed down St Teath Parish Council. Delabole will have nine elected councillors and St Teath will have seven under the proposals.

For Cornwall councillor Dominic Fairman the elections will be the culmination of four years’ of work following his initial request to Cornwall Council for a new parish council to be formed.

Successful trials suggest they could provide electricity on a mass scale.

Six macaroni penguins have moved from Devon to Wales after their zoo was forced to close.

Food bank manager Don Gardner says two years worth of funding was donated in four days.

Luigi Palmas admitted the manslaughter of Katherine Bevan at the horse-breeding farm in Devon.

H&A Recycling received a £200,000 fine after Dale McClelland was crushed to death.