Homes & Gardens

As the days start to get warmer, but the nights can still be cold, Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service remind you to make sure your chimneys are safe and secure as possible, especially when lighting up fires that haven't been used for a while.

Be extra careful if your home is a thatched property as 80% of thatched properties in the UK are within Devon & Somerset.

Marc House, Community Safety Prevention Manager explains: “Fire in a thatched roof is difficult to detect and once started is difficult to control. Once a fire has taken hold within a roof it will...

A new poll reveals the negative perception that Brits have of becoming a landlord, with 36% of UK adults saying it's extremely risky being a buy-to-let landlord.

Despite the negative perception, millions of buy-to-let landlords are reaping the benefits with data from HM Revenue & Customs showing that the number of buy-to-let investors in the UK is around 1.6 million, after an increase of 120,000 in 2014.

The research asked 2,000 people what their biggest concerns would be with investing in buy-to-let property. Making repairs to toilets (63%), and risking tenants...

Blundering adults in the South West have over 6 million home accidents each year, each one causing physical injury or property damage, with Saturday at 6.30pm the most dangerous time to be at home in the region.

A study by Electrical Safety First has identified that our risky behaviours are leading to a huge number of accidents, with the most common accident in the South West calculated to be cooking burns. With support from property expert Phil Spencer, the Charity is launching ‘Home Safe’, a campaign to remind residents in the South West that even the smallest mishap can lead to...

New research identifies emerging social tribes –‘first time flyers’, ‘first time triers’ and ‘renting lifers’

Families in the South West who are never able to get on the property ladder will be more than £603,800 worse off over their lifetime than those who can buy a home in their twenties, new research from Shelter shows.

The unique study by the housing charity paints a picture of the huge financial, social and psychological implications of England’s housing shortage on people left locked out of a home of their own.

By analysing the income and assets of ‘first time...