Devon

Teignbridge’s beaches have once again been recognised as being amongst the best in the UK as Dawlish Warren celebrates a 20th consecutive year of receiving the coveted Blue Flag award.

Leading environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy today also announced that Teignmouth Town Beach, Dawlish Main Beach, Coryton Cove at Dawlish and Shaldon’s Ness Cove had retained their Seaside Awards.

The independently assessed seal of approval is awarded to beaches which achieve very high quality standards excellent cleanliness, safe access and appropriate signage.

By being awarded...

Plans for the ongoing rollout of broadband across Devon and Somerset have been discussed with MP Mel Stride.

The MP for Central Devon met with the team from Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS), and broadband provider Gigaclear, at Sandford, near Crediton. He was briefed on the roll-out of Fibre to the Home in his constituency by Gigaclear’s Chief Executive Matthew Hare and representatives from CDS. Gigaclear also provided a demonstration of its LIDAR laser imaging vehicle being used to survey roads where ultrafast fibre will be installed. As part of the CDS programme, Gigaclear...

Dementia-friendly Red Coat guided tours of Exeter look set to be introduced in the city.

The tours are just one of a whole raft of measures being introduced by Exeter City Council as it strives to help people living with the condition.

More than 180 taxi drivers in Exeter have now received dementia-awareness training from the City Council as part of the wide-reaching initative.

As more and more people are being diagnosed with dementia, the City Council has once again revealed its commitment to the challenges faced by arguably the biggest health crisis facing the UK...

A unique way to discover the gardening community around you has been launched by Candide, an innovative gardening community app, at Toby’s Garden Festival. Places is the brand new and unique functionality which allows you to locate your nearest gardening centre or public garden wherever you are in the South West. This regional launch comes ahead of a national roll out at BBC Gardeners’ World Live in June.

Thousands of people visited Toby’s Garden Festival held at Powderham Castle in Exeter, where the Candide team were on hand to demonstrate the app and its full capabilities, which...

The links between caffeine, physical activity and mood will be examined by a new University of Exeter study.

Researchers need volunteers to help them explore whether caffeine and physical activity might be useful tools to help people manage their mood.

The focus of the study is bipolar disorder, but it will also include people with depression and a control group of people with no mood disorder.

The call for participants comes at the start of Mental Health Awareness Week (May 14-20).

“Caffeine and physical activity are often used for the management of mood or...

Home furnishings retailer, IKEA, yesterday unveiled a striking sculpture made from over 500 pieces of colourful IKEA glassware as the finale of its “Wonderful Everyday Tour” – a series of unique mini-events and installations that were created to give Exeter and Devon locals a taste of the ‘Wonderful Everyday’ to celebrate IKEA’s arrival in the city. The retailer has partnered with talented local artist, Roop Johnstone, on the design of The Glass Boat, to pay homage to Exeter’s rich maritime history and the city’s unique heritage. The sculpture will be on display at Princesshay Shopping...

Staff at the international animal welfare charity, The Donkey Sanctuary, have taken on the task of hand-rearing a new born foal after it was rejected by its mother, who herself had been rescued by the charity.

Leyla Anstee, farm manager, The Donkey Sanctuary’s Brookfield Farm, says: “The mare and foal were not together or showing any signs of the bonding process which would normally take place. We carefully tried to encourage her to accept him, but this young and inexperienced mum simply did not want to let her foal suckle - it was clear that she had rejected him.”

The mare...

Acclaimed storyteller Matthew Crampton unites with American folk music legend Jeff Warner in a new show based on Crampton’s book Human Cargo: Songs & Stories of Emigration, Slavery & Transportation. The show comes to Exeter Phoenix on Tuesday 12th June as part of a national tour which culminates in UK Refugee Week (18-24 June).

Human Cargo gives voice to past exiles – emigrants, slaves, transportees – to shed fresh light on today’s migrations. Through the accompanying Parallel Lives project, it includes – wherever it performs - local stories of migration and partnership...

A Devon home care service has been rated outstanding for the quality of care and support it provides to vulnerable people.

Bay Care has received the highest accolade from the Care Quality Commission after an inspection carried out in March.

The 100-strong team at the Paignton-based company were praised for the quality of the service provided across Torbay and the South Hams, with the commission proclaiming the company to be an ‘excellent role model’ for the caring professions.

The inspection looked in detail at how safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led...