Exeter

Firefighters were called to Isca Road in Exeter during the early hours of this morning (Saturday) after fire broke out in the roof space of a house.

Fire appliances from Exeter (Danes Castle and Middlemoor) were called to attend the blaze shortly before 4am.

On arrival at the incident crews reported smoke and flames issuing and requested a further appliance which was mobilized from Topsham.

The incident involved a severe fire in the roof space of a two storey terraced house.

Six breathing apparatus wearers, two hose reel jets, two main jets were used to...

A Cranbrook school’s library is set to invest in a range of new books after receiving a cash boost from a leading South West housebuilder.

Persimmon Homes South West has awarded the Cranbrook Education Campus with a £1,000 cash influx, naming them as a Community Champion.

The Community Champions initiative supports two charities in the South West each month, with donations up to £1,000. Nationally, the scheme has seen over £1million handed to good causes.

Cranbrook Education Campus opened in September 2015 and is used as a through school for pupils from two to 16...

This January SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, is urging the people of Devon to build on their New Year’s resolutions and learn new skills, whilst giving something back to their local Armed Forces community, by becoming a new volunteer.

In 2016, volunteers for SSAFA Devon supported 585 veterans and their families in need in the county. The military charity, which has supported currently serving members of our Armed Forces, veterans and their families for over 131 years, is seeing the requests for support from this group increase and become more complex.

SSAFA Devon operates...

Bridge Road in Exeter will be closed from 10pm on Friday 27 January until 5am on Monday 30 January for ongoing widening improvements.

The closure is needed to enable a bridge to be lifted into place over the mainline railway in the early hours of Sunday morning. The bridge lift is weather-dependent and may be subject to cancellation in the event of high winds.

The bridge is one of the project’s key pieces of new infrastructure for walkers and cyclists, which will create more space for motorists on the carriageway.

The diversion route will be signed via Topsham Road...

Researchers in Exeter are to receive £5m in funding to improve the early detection of cancers in GP surgeries, Cancer Research UK has announced. The CanTest is part of Cancer Research UK’s Catalyst Award which aims to help researchers deliver trailblazing progress in their field with long-lasting results. The CanTest team, led by Professor Willie Hamilton - from the University of Exeter will work with researchers in three UK sites and across the globe on a five year project that will help GPs to detect cancers in a primary care setting and reduce the burden of referrals. This research will...

Building relationships is key to stopping the cycle of violence, says UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and Emmy and Peabody award-winning documentary film director, Deeyah Khan.

Born in Norway to immigrant parents of Pashtun and Punjabi ancestry, she experienced many of the difficulties Muslim children growing up in European countries can face today. Aged 17, she fled from Norway confused, lost and torn between cultures. She chose film and music as the language for her social activism, not a gun.

Deeyah’s first, award-winning film, Banaz, explored a so-called ‘honour killing” in...

The RSPCA is appealing for information after an injured buzzard was found to have been shot in Devon.

The animal welfare charity is investigating after finding an air gun pellet embedded in its foot.

The buzzard was discovered in a very thin condition at the roadside in Tedburn St Mary near Exeter on Friday, 20 January by a concerned member of the public.

He was taken to the RSPCA’s West Hatch wildlife centre near Taunton, Somerset where the shooting injury was confirmed from a post-mortem investigation after the buzzard sadly had to be put to sleep because of his...

Your essential guide to What’s On in and around Exeter this weekend (27-29 January).

THEATRE

Dick Whittington and His Magical Cat Friday & Saturday, Victory Hall, Broadclyst A tale of mischief, peril and a resistance movement led by Max the Cat! The story follows the fortunes of the hero Dick as he leaves Broadclania to seek his fortune in London where he’s been TOLD the streets are paved with gold. What he finds is poverty, discontent, London under great threat from an evil genius, Rumplestiltskin who is bent on taking over the world. Tickets are on sale at Broadclyst...

A team of knitters from a leading Exeter law firm has produced 242 hats for its office charity Age UK Exeter’s Big Knit campaign. Kate Evans, a trainee solicitor at Stephens Scown LLP set up a knitting club in 2015 when it first took part in the Big Knit for Age UK Exeter. The club was so popular that it has become a regular fixture at the firm, with knitters of mixed ability meeting each Wednesday lunch time. This is the second consecutive year the firm has participated in the Big Knit. Speaking about the campaign Kate said: “We really look forward to our weekly knitting club, which is a...

Companies from across the South West have come together to shape plans for the region’s fast growing technology sector at Exeter Science Park. Tech South West Connect on 25 January saw more than 80 people, representing technology organisations, discuss and agree plans to develop the sector and help it thrive across the region.

Hosted by global procurement platform blur Group, whose headquarters are at the Science Park, the event saw organisations from Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Bristol get involved.

As well as discussing and deciding activity, to support the tech sector’...