The Fire Service is urging people to take care today (Friday) and throughout the weekend as firefighters prepare for a fresh round of strike action. While firefighters will continue to respond to 999 calls sue to a reduced workforce, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service have asked that people check their fire alarms and take extra care with fire safety. Due to a long-running pensions dispute with the government, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) will be staging two separate five hour strike actions today between noon and 5pm and on Sunday May 4 between 10am and 3pm. On Saturday FBU...
The National Campaign for the Arts (NCA) has published figures for the South West as part of its 50p for Culture campaign which aims to safeguard and increase local authority investment in arts, museums and heritage.
The campaign brings together new research, data analysis and a website ( www.50pforculture.org ) where residents in England can find out how much local authorities plan to spend on culture in their area this year.
In a recent poll by Ipsos MORI co-commissioned by the NCA, 63% of people - almost two thirds - said they believed that even in these difficult...
Stagecoach South West is offering one lucky passenger the chance to win a year's worth of free bus travel by finding a golden ticket hidden underneath a seat on a bus somewhere in Devon.
The competition, running throught the week, celebrates the second annual 'Catch the Bus Week' to promote sustainable travel in county.
The initiative has seen Stagecoach South West joining forces with sustainable transport group Greener Journeys and Devon County Council to encourage local people to ditch their cars in favour of taking the bus.
During the Exeter Blitz of May 1942, citizens took shelter in the Underground Passages whilst the city was heavily bombed. 160 high explosive bombs and 10,000 incendiary devices were dropped on the city. The damage inflicted changed the face of the city forever.
To commemorate the anniversary of this devastating event, there will be a rare opportunity on Bank Holiday Monday 5 May to experience the highs and lows of the air raid in the same setting.
The brick section of Exeter’s Underground Passages was licensed to shelter up to 300 people during the raids, and this document...
Police and fire crews have begun investigating the cause of major blaze at an Exeter car show room. At its height around 40 firefighters tackled the fire, at Hendys Car Supermarket on the Marsh Barton Industrial Estate, which was reported to be under control by 7:45am. Crews remain at the scene and the incident is still causing major traffics delays due blocked roads on the estate. Arriving on scene at around 5:34am firefighters found smoke coming from the commercial building, which measures 20 metres by 10 metres, and was well alight. Five fire appliances, along with support from an...
More Scattered heavy showers and thunderstorms are likely to develop north of Exeter later from noon today, forecasters say. The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning due to the risk of surface water flooding caused by the showers but have cautioned that th location of the showers is still uncertain. Due to the uncertainty in the likely distribution of showers, Met Office forecasters are advising the public to monitor the website for possible updates. A chief forecaster at the Met Office said:”A slack area of low pressure will move eastwards across southern Britain on Thursday. “...
Professor Nick Talbot of the College of Life and Environmental Sciences has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), the premier scientific accolade in the United Kingdom.
Professor Talbot is distinguished for his role in determining the mechanisms by which fungi cause disease in plants. His discoveries have led to new insights into fungal developmental biology, cellular differentiation and, in particular, how fungi have evolved the capacity to cause some of the most important crop diseases.
Professor Talbot’s research group are best known for their studies on rice...
Friends of a Devon woman killed in a car crash while on a fundraising cycle challenge have pledged to help raise her target goal of £10,000.
Sharon Bridgman, 38 was killed last Saturday (26 April) after she was struck by a motorist whilst cycling across the Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia, with her husband Tim.
Sharon and Tim Bridgman, from Zeal Monachorum near Okehampton, were in Bolivia as part of a round-the-world cycle challenge to raise £10,000 for the international disaster relief charity, Shelterbox.
Their two-year journey had already taken them from Norway...
Two men, who pleaded guilty to fraud and consumer protection offences, have received prison sentences for conning elderly and vulnerable people for thousands of pounds.
Rogue traders, James Doran of Quedgely in Gloucester and Patrick Conners of Hatfield in Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to a variety of offences committed in the summer of 2012 in Plymouth and Exeter.
Trading as South West Drives and Patios, the two approached an elderly Plympton resident to install a block paved driveway at his home.
Pressure was put on the man who reluctantly agreed a contract for £6...
