The European credentials of Exeter Chiefs will be put firmly to the test this weekend when Rob Baxter leads his side into battle at Connacht this Sunday (3.15pm).

After a difficult month of action in the Aviva Premiership, the switch to European Challenge Cup action could not have been better timed for the Devon club, who head into this weekend’s tussle top of Pool Two and two points clear of their Irish hosts.

Connacht, though, are a tough nut to crack at the Galway Sportsground and their impressive European record - which reads 10 wins in their last 12 home games - means...

The Donkey Sanctuary is this week celebrating the 50th birthday of Tessa, its oldest donkey!

Tessa arrived at The Donkey Sanctuary in 1985. She has since spent 30 years living happily on its farms with various donkey friends. With the average UK donkey life expectancy at 27, Tessa has outlived many of her peers- but she is still going strong!

Born in 1965 amid The Beatles and Top of the Pops era Tessa has a zest for life, a healthy appetite and a love of being groomed. She lives amongst a group of 27 donkeys and is friendly with all of them, and she has a favourite...

InnovateWest invites ambitious entrepreneurs to Dartington Hall on 29th January 2014 to discover the radical business management methodology 'lean start-up'.

Ready! Fire! Aim! is an intense, hands-on, one-day workshop that demonstrates the strength of doing over deliberating and experimenting over estimating.

Utilising the latest thinking, local case studies and the power of peer-to-peer collaboration participants will acquire lean start-up skills, increase business awareness and take-away resources to use back at the coalface.

Devon County Council have supported...

A fugitive drug trafficker who headed a crime group that supplied huge amounts of heroin to the South West, including Exeter, has been arrested in Tenerife.

Stephen Blundell, aged 36, of Leathers Lane, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin but fled to Spain before he could be sentenced in April 2013. He was later jailed for nine years eight months in his absence.

Blundell (pictured in 2013) controlled a crime group which included a Cornish grandmother caught transporting £50,000 heroin under pasties in her shopping bag.

He was apprehended on a...

Exeter Chiefs have bolstered their front-row options with the signing of young prop Alec Hepburn from Australian club Perth Spirit.

The 21-year-old forward, who has previously enjoyed spells with Wasps and London Welsh, has signed a deal that will keep him at Sandy Park until 2017.

Brought into the Chiefs this week by head coach Rob Baxter, Hepburn was a member of the victorious England Under-20s side that won the Junior World Championship in France two years ago, lining up alongside current Exeter young guns Luke Cowan-Dickie, Joel Conlon, Sam Hill, Henry Slade and Jack...

Physical inactivity may be associated with twice as many deaths as obesity, according to research.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that just a modest increase in physical activity, such as a brisk 20 minute walk, could have significant health benefits.

Researchers, from University of Cambridge, studied data from 334,000 European men and women, and measured height, weight and waist circumference, and measured levels of physical activity using self-assessment.

Using data on European deaths, they estimated that 337,000 of the 9...

The opportunity to explore the British Empire through stories of the individuals who contributed to its rise and fall and the themes of money, violence, race, religion, sex, propaganda and power is now available through a free online course. Ruling over a quarter of the world’s population and paving the way for today’s global economy, the British Empire continues to cause enormous disagreement amongst historians. It raises many questions and areas for debate which will be explored over six weeks, in three hour slots of interactive online participation, starting from 19 January. Experts...