Devon and Cornwall’s Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg will today (Wednesday 5 March) sit down with major supermarkets and retailers to discuss the availability of cheap alcohol and the impact it has on crime and disorder. Partly due to the rise in cheap supermarket deals, alcohol is now 45% more affordable than it was in the 1980s, which experts say has lead to a major change in how people drink socially- most notably through the relatively new practice of ‘pre-drinking’ or ‘pre-loading’.
The growing prevelence of 'pre-loading', the practice of drinking heavily before...
Redrow Homes will open a new West Country division on 1st July 2014 from new premises on Pynes Hill in Exeter, as it looks to further extend its operations in the south west of England.
Currently celebrating its 40th year, Redrow Homes is one of the UK’s leading house builders, operating across England and Wales, with a strong emphasis on high quality family housing in prime locations.
Covering the Somerset, Devon and Cornwall counties, the West Country Division will be headed up by newly promoted Regional Director, Keith Miller. Keith is joined by an experienced team; a...
Rugby posts have started springing up around Exeter in the build up to the Rugby World Cup 2015.
Exeter is one of 11 host cities for the tournament and will host three matches at Sandy Park.
As part of this, the city has been awarded ten full size rugby posts by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) as part of its “Posts in Parks” legacy programme.
Nine out of the ten posts have now gone up in prominent locations around the city, with the tenth scheduled to go up at Exeter Airport in the next few weeks.
They are located in: Southernhay (next to Giraffe restaurant)...
A Devon-wide project which hopes to save the NHS time and money while ensuring patient safety has been shortlisted for a national award The scheme simplifies the process under which trained staff such as nurses or pharmacists can give medicines or vaccinations without the need for a GP prescription.
Until now, there have been a whole range of different processes (known as Patient Group Directions) across Devon – 17 for vaccinations alone. But these have been replaced by a single working framework for clinicians, pharmacists and NHS managers to use when writing these documents....
Nearly half of the South West’s businesses plan to take on apprentices in the next five years according to a survey of employers across England. The study of 601 businesses, released to coincide with National Apprenticeship Week, also shows how Apprenticeships are growing in popularity, with half of all employers in the South West (50%) reporting that they are now more likely to offer an Apprenticeship than they were two years ago. A quarter of employers also reported that they would be taking on apprentices within the next 12 months indicating that more companies are seeing the advantages...
Today officially marks the one-month anniversary of the closure of the South West’s main rail link after line at Dawlish was left in tatters by extreme storm damage on the 4th February.
The closure has badly hit the South West’s economy as businesses face severe disruption to their normal activity. The region’s tourist industry thought to have been hot particularly badly seeing significantly lower bookings than expected. Since the destruction, Network Rail engineers have been working hurriedly to repair and reinforce the broken track often in very difficult circumstances. The...
Fire services in the south west have joined together to identify the seven fatal factors that link most home fire deaths in the region. The report has been compiled using research data from a total of 88 deaths from 2008 to 2013.
The results show that there are seven common factors in most house fires resulting in death
The seven most common linking factors include: living alone, poor mental health and limited mobility as well as smoking, alcohol, poor housekeeping and use of both prescription or illegal drugs. Station Manager Andy Justice, Fire Investigation Manager for...
The Bishop of Crediton, Nick McKinnel, has pledged to buy and eat only local food this Lent, wherever possible.
Bishop Nick and his wife Jan will buy only food grown and produced in Devon and Cornwall throughout the six weeks of Lent, which begins this week on Ash Wednesday.
He said: “I am hoping wherever possible to buy food sourced only in Devon and Cornwall. This helps to cut food miles and carbon emissions, as well as supporting local farmers. There are farm shops and farmers markets across the county which we hope to frequent, and by shopping for local produce, we are...
Lycra-clad cycling enthusiasts are being called to take part in the second Kitsons Devon Classic Bike Ride which is supporting local charity Hospiscare in 2014. The popular bike ride, taking place on Sunday July 20, features a challenge for all cycling abilities across a choice of three routes, adding a different element to the event and allowing individuals to pick between 55, 85 and 100 mile routes. Each course starts and finishes at David Lloyd Club, Exeter, and will take the cyclists out into the beautiful Devon countryside. Another added element to this year’s event comes at the end...
A possible outbreak of mumps at Clyst Vale Community College in Broadclyst has seen health authorities ask the public to check they have had two doses of the MMR vaccine. In all twenty possible cases have been reported at Clyst Vale affecting both students and teachers and has been connected to Cullompton Rugby Club who cancelled games on Saturday 1st March to reduce the risk of further infection. The Public Health Team at Devon County Council are now working with Public Health England to inform people that two doses of the MMR vaccine are needed to protect against the virus causing mumps...
