Local News

Private tenants such as students looking for new digs ahead of the autumn semester are being warned not to get caught out by costly rental fees which have now been banned.

The warning, from the Heart of the Southwest Trading Standards Service, which covers Devon, Plymouth, Somerset, and Torbay, follows a recent audit carried out by the Service, of 81 lettings agents across the service area.

The Service worked in partnership with The Property Ombudsman and found that 70 per cent of the letting agents checked failed the audit because of a range of issues relating to tenant...

Families affected by dementia in Exeter, Torbay and Teignbridge are being invited to take part in an award-winning programme, to help train the healthcare professionals of tomorrow and improve dementia care.

Supported by Alzheimer’s Society, the project Time for Dementia pairs families affected by dementia with undergraduate students, to better educate the students about life with dementia and the challenges that come with it. From September, the University of Exeter’s incoming Medical Imaging and Nursing students will be taking part in the programme, and are now seeking families...

Arrests of children by Devon and Cornwall Police have been reduced by 75 per cent over the last decade, figures reveal today (Monday 23 August) in another major step forward for a successful Howard League for Penal Reform campaign. Since 2010, the Howard League has been working with police forces across England and Wales to reduce child arrests, helping to ensure that hundreds of thousands of boys and girls do not have their lives blighted by a criminal record. Data provided by police forces show that arrests of children aged 17 and under were reduced by 13 per cent last year – from 72,...

A Devon-based business that makes jigsaw puzzles has doubled its production workforce, increased its premises and invested for future growth as a result of soaring demand for its popular picture puzzles during the last eighteen months.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, All Jigsaw Puzzles has grown its workforce in Hatherleigh, acquired a neighbouring business to expand its warehouse storage and, most recently, invested £200k in new equipment to sustain its rapid growth. The expansion of its warehouse has created more space for staff to socially distance, and the business...