Devon

Officers are appealing for information following an assault at Digby and Sowton railway station in Exeter on New Year’s Eve.

At around 9.30pm on Sunday 31 December, a woman was waiting for a train at the station when she was approached by an unknown man. He assaulted her, shoving her to the ground.

The assault is believed to have been completely unprovoked. It left the victim with a bump to the back of her head, and cuts on her hands and knees.

A number of people on the station intervened, including many fans who had been attending an Exeter Chiefs rugby game....

More than 660 homes and businesses in Starcross and Cockwood will be better protected from coastal flooding as work starts (8 January 2018) on a new £4 million flood scheme.

In Starcross the Environment Agency will install two new floodgates at Church Road and Generals Lane slipway. They will also raise the car park levels at the Fishing and Cruising Club.

In Cockwood the harbour wall will be improved with a raised level along Dawlish Road in line with predicted sea level rises. Work is expected to take around six months and be finished by summer.

An Environment...

A grant scheme to support rural businesses in Mid and East Devon is being expanded to support more applications from the farming community.

The LEADER REAL (Rural Enterprise and Local Livelihoods) Devon programme, which is being overseen by Devon County Council, is providing £1.2 million to boost the rural economy and generate new jobs. So far, £400,000 has been allocated in support of 17 businesses – and more applications are being sought. In particular, the eligibility of items for farmers now encompasses more capital equipment. Applications for grants could include equipment and...

A man has been seriously injured following a collision in Kenton on Friday 5 January 2018.

The incident happened at approximately 6.20pm on unclassified road near Black Forest Lodge in Kenton and involved an Isuzu pick-up vehicle.

The vehicle collided with trees resulting in the driver, a man in his 30s, becoming trapped in the vehicle.

Ambulance, Police and Specialist Fire and Rescue crews attended the scene and the man was taken to hospital with life-changing injuries.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident and ask anyone with information to...

South West businesses plan to increase recruitment in the coming year despite a dip in confidence, according to the latest Business in Britain report from Lloyds Bank. Business confidence in the South West – calculated as an average of respondents’ expected sales, orders and profits over the next six months – fell to 19 per cent compared with 27 per cent in July 2017. However, the net balance of firms looking to hire more staff rose by 21 points to 17 per cent, compared with July 2017, while the net balance of businesses expecting to increase investment held firm at five per cent. And the...

Monday 8th January sees the largest amount of divorce enquiries compared to any other day, with financial pressures (22%), especially over Christmas, cited as leading reason for increased relationship tensions.

Rows about money could cause more than one in 10 married couples to split in 2018, a new study shows – as divorce lawyers prepare for their busiest day of the year.

Twenty-two per cent of people have considered separating or divorcing their partner, with family finances cited as the main reason for relationships falling apart.

One in five (21 per cent) blame...

Thousands of people in Devon have signed up to take part in high-quality research, accelerating meaningful benefits to patient health.

The Exeter 10,000 project has reached a milestone of 10,000 people providing their data and samples of blood and urine which are used anonymously for health research.

The majority of participants also agree to be contacted again if their health or lifestyle profiles match the requirements of future research studies. This means researchers can move swiftly from identifying a specific health research question, to recruiting large numbers of...

Your essential guide to What’s On in and around Exeter this weekend, 5-7 January.

THEATRE

Dick Whittington Friday, Saturday & Sunday, Exeter Northcott Theatre With his faithful Puss by his side Dick leaves his Exeter home for the bright lights of London in search of fame and fortune. Follow his adventures as he reaches the big city and travels the high seas. Will Dick find his fortune? Can he and Puss defeat the evil villain King Rat and return home triumphant? Expect plenty of audience participation, live music, magic, mayhem and lots of laughter – the perfect recipe...

Put your best foot forward! Don’t delay and sign up for the Men’s Walk 2018 – that’s the message from Hospiscare. The 2017 event was a sell-out success, so would-be walkers are being urged to sign up as soon as possible so as not to miss out on a place on next year’s walk.

The walk, which will take place on Saturday, 17 March in Exeter, will follow a new 7-mile route starting and ending at the Double Locks canal-side pub. To keep spirits high there will be live entertainment and refreshments along the way.

Following the walk, participants will enjoy a pint and a pasty and...

With the Christmas season over, many will have received unsuitable or unwanted gifts. Instead of throwing them away or leaving them unused, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) is urging the public to donate their unwanted gifts to any of the 730 BHF shops nationwide and help raise vital funds for its life-saving heart research.

The BHF is happy to take good quality unwanted Christmas gifts as donations to help continue the fight for every heartbeat. BHF shops sell a vast array of items from clothes, shoes, handbags, jewellery and accessories to DVDs, CDs, vinyl, books, homewares and...