Western Morning News
‘IMPORTANT MOMENT’ IN CORNISH MINE REVIVAL
MORE than 400 metres of mine shafts have been cleared of water so mining for tin at Cornwall’s last operating mine can start again. The owners of South Crofty mine in Pool near Redruth and Camborne, have announced that while new mining and processing...
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COUNCIL STUMPS UP CASH FOR FARMS HIT BY BLUETONGUE
TORRIDGE councillors have agreed a £10,000 grant to help support farmers affected by the devastating bluetongue livestock virus outbreak amid calls for more government support. Devon has now seen 1,269 cases of bluetongue BTV-3, as of October 12,...
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Rural areas will lose out under NHS shake-up
AFIFTH of England risks facing a “rural penalty” of access to fewer doctors and less NHS funding under Government plans to shift more care into the community, according to a new report. Rural surgeries are already closing, while hospitals experience a...
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MADE IN CORNWALL: AND WORTH £8MILLION
HOMES across Plymouth have been targeted by burglars stealing car keys. The incidents have been reported across the city, from Barne Barton to Plymstock, and Devon and Cornwall Police believe the thefts may be linked. Police are investigating...
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Burnham’s £48m bid to beat dementia
ANDY Burnham has pledged to make dementia research a national priority as he announced a £48 million industry partnership to accelerate the search for a cure. The Prime Minister, whose father Roy died last month after suffering from Alzheimer’s, said...
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Widdecombe suspect accused of Farage plot
THE man accused of murdering Ann Widdecombe allegedly carried out research into a number of prominent people and individuals before a terror plot at Nigel Farage’s home. Joshua Kerry, 28, from Rotherham, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on...
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No confidence vote at crisis-hit hospital
SENIOR doctors have issued a no confidence vote in the leaders overseeing North Devon’s maternity crisis-hit hospital. Consultants at North Devon District Hospital passed the vote against the executive board that oversees the healthcare site, which is...
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Mystery of tragic boat sinking is solved
THE final resting place of a fishing boat which went missing with its crew nearly 50 years ago after departing the Westcountry has been discovered. Mystery had surrounded the disappearance of Belgian fishing vessel Z.592 Hosanna (pictured) with five...
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Badenoch unveils new ‘Bible’ for Tory party
THE Conservatives will “win the next election” because the party will follow a set of key principles set out by Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader said at the opening of the party’s conference. Mrs Badenoch cast her party as a “new” Conservative outfit to...
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92-year-old admits killing his wife
A92-YEAR-OLD man has admitted killing his wife. Laurence Billam pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 87-year-old Shirley Billam by reason of diminished responsibility, but denied murder. Exeter Crown Court heard Mrs Billam was found dead at her home...
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Met Office warns of autumn storms
THERE is “heightened potential” for wet, windy, stormy weather and flooding this autumn, the Met Office has said. With a third of people at risk of flooding not aware of the threat, the Environment Agency (EA) is urging households to check their flood...
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South West Water must pay record £7.8m fine
SOUTH West Water has been handed a record fine for environmental offences in the region, the Environment Agency has said. The company was fined £7,867,733 for 18 charges relating to incidents in Devon and Cornwall over a six-year period. District...
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Arrests as migrants dock at SW harbour
TWO Albanians were among 10 people arrested after a boat reportedly carrying migrants turned up at a tiny Cornish harbour. A number of people were spotted getting off the boat at Mylor Harbour near Falmouth, before getting into a van and leaving the...
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PYTHON CAN’T GIVE EXPERTS THE SLIP
AN escaped python spotted in a tree close to Plymouth’s waterfront has finally been captured – after initially eluding rescuers. Believed to be a carpet python, a species kept as a pet by enthusiasts, the serpent was photographed basking in a tree on...
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Residents return home as bomb towed to safety
HUNDREDS of residents in Cornwall were able to safely return to their homes after an unexploded World War Two device was towed from the waterfront. More than 300 homes were evacuated after the 250lb US-made device was found in water near Falmouth...
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Davey: We’re in fight of our lives
LIBERAL Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has pledged tax cuts that the party plans to pay for with the economic growth they expect to see from rejoining the EU single market and customs union. He said his party is in the “fight of our lives” amid the...
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HOMES EVACUATED AS BOMB FOUND
> A 300m cordon was in place yesterday afternoon and a number of properties evacuated after a suspected unexploded bomb was found at Falmouth Docks. Devon and Cornwall Police said emergency services, including Specialist Explosive Ordnance Disposal...
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Shoppers warned over online scams
FEARS about falling victim to scams are causing one in three UK consumers to abandon online purchases, according to a study. Some 31% of consumers have stopped at least one online purchase because they were concerned that a website was not genuine,...
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Shocking abuse faced by local councillors
TWENTY seven crimes against councillors have been recorded over the last 12 months under the police’s Operation Ford initiative in Devon and Cornwall. But more needs to be done to better protect elected representatives, a police and crime panel...
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Unesco status at risk from data centre
AWORLD-LEADING environmental organisation has confirmed that a special designation in the Westcountry could be at risk if plans for a massive data centre are progressed. Unesco has said that if prospective plans for what would be the UK’s largest data...
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Cameron: rural areas ‘must fight together’
FORMER prime minister Lord Cameron has urged rural communities to “fight together” as part of a new campaign calling on the Government to reset relations with the countryside. Speaking at a launch event led by the Countryside Alliance in Westminster...
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Maternity unit date to reopen is postponed
THE reopening of birthing services which were controversially suspended at a Devon hospital has been delayed, a health trust has announced. Services were temporarily closed on August 11 at North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple due to staffing...
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Prince to launch £250k community fund on visit
THE Prince of Wales is to launch a new regeneration fund tomorrow to help the isolated rural community next to Dartmoor prison. William will visit Princetown on Tuesday to unveil The Princetown Community Fund – which will make at least £250,000...
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Summer was ‘busiest ever’ for the NHS
THE NHS faced the “busiest summer in its history” as the UK experienced a series of heatwaves, health officials have said as the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has risen to its highest level for nine months. The Health...
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Hundreds of criminals in Westcountry ‘tagged’
MORE than 400 people across Devon and Cornwall have been fitted with electronic monitoring ‘tags’ according to the latest figures. A total of 420 people had the tags across the two counties at the end of June this year. The Metropolitan Police in...
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‘We can’t rely on rest of the world to feed us’
THE UK’s self-sufficiency in key foods such as wheat, meat and fresh veg has fallen in the last 30 years, farming leaders warn as they call for action to reverse the trend. Self-sufficiency in 10 out of 11 everyday foods has fallen, while much of...
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Carve-up of county will be paused
AMASSIVE overhaul of Devon’s councils could be scrapped under a review which has been confirmed in Parliament. The forthcoming shake-up would have been the biggest change in the way local councils operate in half a century. It would have slashed the...
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SURGE IN YOUNG NATIONAL TRUST MEMBERS
THE National Trust said it has seen another record number of young people joining the charity, with more than 50,000 taking out its membership for 18 to 25-year-olds in a year. In the conservation charity’s annual report, published today, figures show...
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SW airport is costing taxpayers £10m a year
IT is now costing Cornish taxpayers almost £10m a year to run Newquay airport. The eye-watering amount was revealed at an extraordinary Cornwall Council meeting to discuss how the loss-making airport can be operated more efficiently. “We can be under...
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Jail inmates caught out by national phone alert
THE Government’s surprise wildfire mobile phone alarm last week led to the discovery of several illegally-held smartphones in Devon’s jails. The national alert last Friday evening was designed to warn about the dangers of disposable barbecues, as...
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CAMILLA’S STRUGGLE OVER KING’S DIAGNOSIS
THE Queen has spoken for the first time about the difficult emotional experience of keeping the King’s cancer a secret before it was announced to the world. Camilla carried on with her royal duties by visiting a Maggie’s cancer support centre in 2024...
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No time limit on free travel for pass holders
DISABLED bus pass holders will be able to travel for free at all hours from April next year. Time restrictions are to be lifted on their concessionary bus passes in a bid to ease cost-of-living pressures. At the moment, disabled bus passes are valid...
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Approval will be ‘default’ for housing near stations
THOUSANDS more homes could be built near railway stations, pubs will be given extra protection from being closed and the planning system will be streamlined under new measures set out by the Government. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said the shift...
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Burnham takes drive for growth to Westcountry
THE Prime Minister is visiting the Westcountry today with a message that he is backing local businesses as part of his devolution drive to see ‘growth in every postcode’. Andy Burnham will tell small business owners he ‘has their back’, as he...
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Women and midwives hit by birth unit closure
AHEALTH trust said it was making sure it had staff and space to cope with up to a quarter more babies being born at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, following the temporary closure of birthing services at North Devon District Hospital. Many staff...
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Support our farmers facing outbreak crisis
CASES of the livestock virus bluetongue continue to spiral in the Westcountry, prompting calls for emergency Government support. Latest Government figures show that Devon and Cornwall are the worst-affected counties for the potentially fatal livestock...
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Councillors could carry alarms amid safety fears
EFFORTS to make local politicians safer are being considered by Devon’s largest council after a renewed push following the death of former MP Ann Widdecombe. Options including a device, such as a personal alarm, or even an app on each councillor’s...
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PM vows to give public ‘fixes’ for rising bills
PRIME Minister Andy Burnham sets out on a summer tour of the UK this week, pledging to give the public ‘breathing space’ on bills. He will be given an extra spring in his step by a latest economic forecast which says the country is expected to have...
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WE’RE GOING ON A BOOK HUNT...
CHILDREN’S author Michael Rosen has said writers have got to “try harder” and create “special pleasures” from reading a book that youngsters cannot get from a screen. On Wednesday, Rosen read his popular book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt to a small...
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Urban ‘go-slow’ zones for e-scooters roll-out
A HIRE scheme for e-scooters being rolled out in the Westcounty uses GPS technology to automatically slow the devices in busy pedestrian areas. Electric scooters have been appearing at Beryl docking bays in Cornwall this summer and are now on the...
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‘THE WORLD’S GONE MAD TODAY, AND GOOD’S BAD TODAY AND BLACK’S WHITE TODAY, AND DAY’S NIGHT TODAY...’
> Applause for the cast members during Monday’s opening performance of Anything Goes at the Minack Theatre in Porthcurno, Cornwall. The show runs until Friday at the open-air venue built into a cliffside. This month’s productions also include The Sea...
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GIANT WATER TANK PLANS FOR SCIENCE PARK
A MASSIVE £150 million water tank on the outskirts of Exeter will give high-tech firms the chance to test new underwater drone technology. Pictures circulated with the announcement of the ‘extreme environment centre’ include one showing a sci-fi-style...
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Hosepipe ban ‘would be ignored by one in ten’
MORE than one in 10 householders who are currently living with a hosepipe ban do not intend to abide by it, according to a survey. Some 11% of households said they did not intend to fully abide by the ban, while 5% said they did not yet know, the...
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Heatwave sparks demand for cash
BUSINESS cash deposits reached their highest level on record, up by almost £69 million year on year, the Post Office said. Heatwaves and sports events have driven a record demand from consumers for cash to spend on Britain’s high streets, latest...
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DROUGHT DECLARED – PUBLIC WARNED
A DROUGHT has been declared in Devon and Cornwall after the Environment Agency said swathes of England are suffering from “flash drought”– one that has come on quickly despite a very wet winter – due to very low rainfall and high temperatures in recent...
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A SOLUTION TO THE GREAT SCONE DEBATE?
THERE are few things more classically British than enjoying a traditional afternoon cream tea. However, nothing divides opinion quite like the great scone debate – about which topping should be applied first. Now, according to a nationwide poll, the...
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Father and daughter die in sea at SW beach
TWO people who died after getting into difficulty at sea were father and daughter, police have said. Officers were called to Fistral Beach in Newquay at about 9.45pm on Sunday following reports that two people had been pulled from the water. A man in...
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Warnings of wildfires ahead of 4th heatwave
THE Westcountry and parts of southern England will yet again meet their heatwave criteria on Wednesday, which could see highs of 32C or 33C. A fourth heatwave is to hit the UK this week, bringing a risk of exceptionally severe fires. Temperatures...
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City facing major NHS and university job cuts
HUNDREDS of job losses across Exeter will have a knock-on effect on services across the city, councillors have been warned. The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Exeter have both announced major redundancy...
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New Defra Secretary pressed on food security
NEWLY appointed Defra Secretary Dame Angela Eagle has met with the President of the National Farmers’ Union on her first day in office to debate the key challenges facing the sector. The NFU said discussions with Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s new...
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Widdecombe attacked with hammer, court told
AMAN allegedly hit Ann Widdecombe 21 times over the head with a hammer in a “planned and targeted” attack carried out with a “ferocity of violence” in her kitchen, prosecutors say. The Reform UK spokeswoman and former Tory minister was having lunch at...
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All change at Number 10
ANDY Burnham took the keys to Number 10 Downing Street yesterday as he replaced Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. The Makerfield Labour MP promised to win over voters “fed up with politics” and show the world that the UK can once again be a source...
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Burnham urged to tackle social care
ANDY Burnham has been urged to work with other parties, after vowing to “grasp the nettle” of reforming social care. The incoming Prime Minister has promised to “spend political capital” on addressing England’s “broken” social care system, describing...
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U-TURN OVER FUTURE OF DARTMOOR PONIES
DARTMOOR pony populations will be protected at their current levels, ministers have said amid fears a livestock-counting method would lead to a cull. Campaigners had previously warned that requirements to cut grazing on the moor’s commons under new...
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DONKEYS SPORTING SUMMER WEAR
FLARED TROUSERS are all the rage in some corners of East Devon this summer as grooms at The Donkey Sanctuary help their resident herds combat the seasonal arrival of biting insects. Like many equine owners, the sanctuary experiences the annual...
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It’s the end of the climate as we know it...
THE UK climate as we knew it from the 20th century is no more, experts have declared. The Exeter-based Met Office, in its newly published annual ‘state of the UK climate’ report, says rising temperatures, more extreme heat episodes, marine heatwaves...
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Widdecombe suspect ‘not known’ to anti-terror police unit
THE suspect being held by police on suspicion of murdering veteran politician Ann Widdecombe was not known to the antiterrorism Prevent programme, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said. Counter-terrorism police are now leading the investigation into...
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Widdecombe killing: no other suspects sought
POLICE investigating the alleged murder of former MP and MEP Ann Widdecombe have said they “are not looking for anyone else”, after a 28-year-old man was arrested. The former Conservative minister, and later Reform UK spokeswoman, was found dead at...
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Heatwave hits harvest, water and transport
EXTREME heat across the UK is causing early harvests and forcing local authorities to introduce hosepipe bans, as forecasters confirmed that last month was western Europe’s hottest June on record. Temperatures were expected to peak yesterday and today...
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Get pupils outside to tackle mental health
CHILDREN should spend half an hour outside during the school day to help tackle a “vicious mental health crisis”, a Westcountry MP has argued. Pitching a new law, Caroline Voaden said more opportunities for outdoor learning and playtime would have...
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Automatic penalties to tackle water firms
WATER firms that flout environmental rules will now face faster penalties of up to £500,000 under fresh reforms, Government ministers have announced. The Environment Agency will be given stronger powers to hold companies to account as part of the...
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CAR ON LINE HALTS TRAINS
A TRAIN line in Cornwall was blocked all day after a car “careered through fencing” and landed on the tracks. Great Western Railway (GWR) said the car was blocking the railway between St Erth and St Ives, in the Carbis Bay area. Reports of the...
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THE PRINCESS OF SALES
THE Princess of Wales greeted tennis fans who had queued for hours in the hopes of securing a ticket to Wimbledon, as she attended the fourth day of the tournament. Kate wore a blue linen suit as she spoke to hopeful attendees who had waited outside...
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