Exeter

Baxter expects big impact from Lees

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter admits he and his coaches are looking forward to unlocking the raw potential of new signing Mitch Lees next season.

Baxter today added the imposing 25-year-old Australian to his playing ranks on a two-year deal from Championship club London Welsh - and he feels the versatile Lees will offer a significant presence within the Exeter pack.

Equally at home in either the second or back-row, Lees follows internationals Moray Low and Thomas Waldrom, as well as Tomas Francis in signing onto the Chiefs ahead of the 2014/15 campaign.

As...

Exeter Scientist's pioneers MRSA predictions

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Wed, 04/09/2014 - 5:53pm

Scientists from universities in the South West have proposed a pioneering technique to help predict the severity of MRSA infection, which could lead to more personalised treatment for individual patients.

MRSA or meticillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, is a type of bacterial infection that is resistant to a number of widely used antibiotics sometimes known as 'superbugs'. This means it can be more difficult to treat than other bacterial infections. An international collaboration of scientists, including Dr Mario Recker from the University of Exeter, have used genome sequencing...

Public Urged to Change Passwords as Major Security Bug Revealed

Authored by Huw Oxburgh
Posted: Wed, 04/09/2014 - 5:34pm

Major tech firms are urging people to change all their passwords after the discovery of a major security flaw affecting around 66% all internet sites.

The flaw dubbed the ‘Heartbleed Bug’ by major web security firms Google Security and Codnomicon, affects a widely used piece of data safeguarding software called OpenSSL.

The software is reportedly used on around 66% of all internet sites and while not all are thought to be vulnerable several major sites including flickr, okcupid and the video games forum steam community were vulnerable as of yesterday.

The Yahoo...

Concerns for man's welfare closes A379 UPDATE

Authored by Huw Oxburgh
Posted: Wed, 04/09/2014 - 4:34pm

Further update 7:30 - The road is now fully open in both directions

UPDATE - As of 5pm the ring road was closed between Countess Wear and the Tesco traffic lights as negotiators deal with the incident on Rydon Lane

Police have closed the A379 closed between Exeter and the Rydon Lane junction, because of concerns for a man spotted on the wrong side of the railway bridge.

Police were called to the scene at around 3:45pm after reports that the man was lying on the pavement.

The man was later spotted on the wrong side of the railings on the bridge over...

Farmers call on Government to Cut Red Tape Quicker

Authored by Huw Oxburgh
Posted: Wed, 04/09/2014 - 4:03pm

Farmers from the National Farmers Union (NFU) have called on the the Government to act with more 'urgency' on removing 'red tape' from the industry.

A report published today by an independent group led by former NFU Director General Richard Macdonald, suggets that by cutting red tape the government has already helped the boost UK Farming industry.

Changes inclding An ‘earned recognition’ scheme has reduced the number of dairy farm inspections by over 8,000 a year. Earned recognition means that the scheme limits the number of inspections on farms that have excellent track-...

Rural Broadband Still Not Good Enough

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Wed, 04/09/2014 - 3:37pm

Nearly 50 per cent of people experience problems with their Internet at least once a day, new research has revealed.

The figure paints a worrying picture of the UK’s rural broadband provision. In total, the Government has already invested £530million in to fibre broadband and former Culture Secretary Maria Miller has been reported as wanting the UK’s Internet to be among the best in the world.

According to the research which asked 142 people about their broadband the most common problems include slow Internet and a dropped connection, with 64.7 per cent reporting the former...

Police find body in search for missing man

Authored by Huw Oxburgh
Posted: Wed, 04/09/2014 - 1:26pm

Police searching for missing Honiton man, Damian Hart, have found a body near Feniton.

The body was found in a rural outbuilding near Feniton at around 10:40am on Tuesday (April 8).

Police are not treating the death as suspicious and a file is being prepared on behalf of HM Cornoner.

Mr Hart, 38, was reported missing by a family member on Saturday afternoon after going out to a local pub in Feniton at around 8pm on the Friday night.

Police had been growing increasingly concerned for his welfare after an extensive search of the area had proven unsucessfull...

Domestic Violence Reports Rise

Authored by Huw Oxburgh
Posted: Wed, 04/09/2014 - 11:44am

Police in Devon have seen a significant rise in the reporting of Domestic violence offences in new figures announced today.

The rise in domestic violence reports, of 22.8% or 886 more reports on the previous year, follows from an effort by officers to encourage victims of domestic violence to report abuse.

While potentially a sign that this effort has been successful police have cautioned that, while these figures are only one indication of how the Force is doing and overall figures rarely show the true picture.

Devon commander, Chief Superintendent Paul Davies,...

Calling All Bikers!

Devon Wheels 2 Work has been very busy over the last 12 months, and there have been some exciting new developments for the not-for-profit Social Enterprise.

Having outgrown our old location at Halwill Junction, Devon Wheels 2 Work has just moved to outstanding new premises in the former ATS building at the entrance to Holsworthy Industrial Estate. We continue to offer our scooter and motorcycle loan scheme, and our new, larger workshop provides servicing, MOT and repair for all makes and models of motorcycles.

We are also pleased to launch the brand new ‘Devon Moto’...

Free Easter Eggs at family day

Authored by Lucy
Posted: Wed, 04/09/2014 - 10:28am

Free Easter eggs will be handed out to the first 500 children at Exeter Racecourse’s family day which takes place next Tuesday (April 15). Widely regarded as one of the best free days out for children in the Easter holidays, this year the annual event will feature Tractor Ted and his inflatable bouncy castle, as well as the brilliant Kids Love The Races Roadshow.

Three separate zones, Jockey School, Racehorse Zone and Let’s Go Racing, are sure to encourage children to fall in love with the races. A running race down the home straight, questions and answers with the country’s top...

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