The Christmas season has started at Otter Nurseries with the opening of the ever popular Santa’s Grotto.
Visitors to the garden centre on opening day enjoyed additional family fun with free face painting, magic from George the Magician and entertaining characters from Cinderella. There was also the chance to meet donkeys from The Donkey Sanctuary.
Children took the opportunity to have an early chat with Santa and put in a hopeful word for this year’s most-wanted Christmas presents.
“November may seem early for a trip to meet Santa, but dates get booked up very...
Local families and children have just a few more days to donate their pre-loved toys to the Argos Toy Exchange in support of children’s charity Barnardo’s, which ends on 25th November.
The Argos Toy Exchange, a fundraising initiative which kicked off in October, encourages parents and children across the county to donate unwanted toys to their local Argos or Barnardo’s store, and in return they will receive a £5.00 gift voucher to redeem when they spend £35 or more on toys at Argos up until Christmas Eve. The money raised from the sale of the donated toys will go directly to...
An eBay seller from Exmouth who was convicted of supplying fake and unsafe cosmetic products has been ordered to pay almost £25,000 following a financial investigation into the profits made from the sales under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Deborah Hamber received a four month suspended prison sentence plus 150 hours of community service at Exeter Crown Court in May after being prosecuted by Devon and Somerset Trading Standards Service.
She now has six months to pay £24,720.02 and if she does not she faces a 14 month prison sentence.
Art-lovers are lining up to be part of an exciting new project that sees Exeter and its people taking a starring role in a series of artworks.
The project – TOPOS – is taking over an empty city-centre office space and through its crowdfunding campaign offers the opportunity to be part of a living landscape – digital recreations of famous landscapes - or even to commission an original piece of art.
Deborah Clark, owner of Southernhay House was one of the first to sign up. She said: “I've been bitching about the lack of a serious contemporary art scene in Exeter since I...
A new report, released today by renewable energy experts Regen SW, reveals that 16,000 people are employed by south west construction businesses in making our homes more energy efficient – but with, the right backing, this could be much higher.
The report – ‘The South West Retrofit Market Study’ – warns that, if we don’t act to support the sector now, the region could miss the opportunity to increase the 16,000 jobs and £1.1billion in economic benefits that the sector already supports.
“The south west has some of the oldest, most energy-inefficient houses in Europe, which...
Top South West zoos are marking the anniversary of a key global conservation tool. Staff and volunteers at Paignton Zoo, Living Coasts in Torquay and Newquay Zoo in Cornwall are celebrating 50 years of the Red List.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species is the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species and their links to livelihoods.
Simon Tonge, the Executive Director of the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, the charity that runs the three zoos, said...
As Christmas approaches, local charity Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau is helping people avoid a Christmas debt hangover by sharing their top ten tips for keeping festive finances in check.
Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau Chief Executive Steve Barriball, said:
“We all want to have the best possible Christmas. It's important to be savvy when shopping and to be aware of how spending pans out.”
The top tips are:
1. Plan early Be realistic and budget accordingly. Work out how much you are going to spend on each person– and stick to it. Manage expectations as to what...
Police are currently dealing with three separate collisions on the A38 Plymouth to Exeter road.
A woman was treated at the scene following a single vehicle collision on the Exeter bound A38 near Rattery. The collision took place at 11.20am and police, ambulance crews and the fire service attended scene. She was taken to Derriford Hospital with a shoulder injury.
Both sides of the carriageway are closed while the air ambulance lands.
A short time later, at 11.25am, police attended a two vehicle collision at South Brent on the Exeter bound road. A van and lorry were...
The first Green MEP for the South West, Molly Scott Cato, is in line for a ‘Green Ribbon’ award for European Parliamentarian of the Year today. She is nominated for her ‘impressive performance as a newly elected MEP’.
The Green Ribbon Political Awards are awarded to politicians, businesses and NGOs both in the UK and abroad for their environmental achievements. The awards are decided by a high profile panel of judges, which this year include Baroness Parminter, environmentalist Jonathan Porritt and environmental journalist Geoffrey Lean.
Devon residents are being asked to mark European Antibiotics Awareness Day (November 18) by adding their pledge to those of over 4,000 antibiotic guardians, in an effort to help slow the resistance and cut the use of unnecessary antibiotics.
Devon County Council’s Public Health, NHS Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group, Devon Local Pharmaceutical Committee and Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust have come together to support the campaign, and are asking residents to add their support.
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats facing us...
