Exeter

Citizen science game is “Big Brother for bugs”

A citizen science website game akin to “big brother for crickets” allows participants to take part in important hands-on research using insects to understand the ageing process.

Biologists at the University of Exeter have set up the online interactive project, to put a fun twist on an appeal for help from the public in analysing hundreds of thousands of hours of video footage.

People taking part in the Cricket Tales game, which involves watching snippets of video and labelling various cricket behaviours and experiences such as mating, fighting and being attacked by...

Rogue traders plead guilty to fraud

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Wed, 05/18/2016 - 5:04pm

Two rogue traders have pleaded guilty to fraud at Newton Abbot Magistrates Court following an investigation by Devon and Somerset Trading Standards.

Bryan Ferren, aged 38 and Kevin Hogg aged 41, both of Clifton Court, Clifton Road, Paignton, admitted to conning over £70,000 out of 17 elderly Devon residents over a 13 month period.

The court heard how, between November 2012 and December 2013, the pair cold called properties across the county pressuring their vulnerable victims in to driveway repair and resurfacing work.

Trading as Unique Drives & Coatings, they...

The Big LEGO Milestone: 5,000 bricks and counting

Exeter Cathedral is celebrating today after reaching another major milestone in the Big LEGO Build.

The 5,000th brick in the project, which aims to build a scale-model of the Cathedral out of 300,000 pieces of LEGO, has now been laid – just in time for its first outing away from the city centre.

Later this week sections of the model will be on display at the Devon County Show which runs from 19th-21st May 2016.

The Cathedral’s Development Director, Paul Courtney, said: “We’re looking forward to seeing lots of people at the Show and will be bringing plenty of bricks...

Motorcyclist seriously hurt in crash near Exeter

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Wed, 05/18/2016 - 4:00pm

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic collision in Exeter on the early evening of Friday 13 May, which resulted in serious injury to a motorcycle rider.

The collision happened at around 5.50pm on Tedburn Road, known as the old A30, between Pocombe Bridge and Pathfinder Village.

The vehicles involved were an orange and black BMW motorcycle and a red Mini Cooper. The motorcycle was travelling towards Exeter and collided with the car which was travelling in the opposite direction.

The 49 year old male motorcyclist from Okehampton sustained potentially...

WESC on par for successful charity golf day

WESC held their charity golf day at Exeter Golf & Country Club on 12 May sponsored by ITEC. With a record 17 four-ball teams entering and over £7,000 raised, the Specialist Centre for Visual Impairment declared 2016 as their most successful charity golf day to date.

The winning Team ‘Fantastic Four’ made up of: Paul Laverick, Neil Gauntlett, Mark Wightman and Iain Creer were each presented with a bottle of champagne and a four-ball voucher courtesy of Exeter Golf & Country Club. Mark Peters VAT Associates were runners-up, followed closely by MJ Baker in third position....

Citizens Advice Exeter to Walk for Justice

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Wed, 05/18/2016 - 12:02pm

A team of walkers from leading local advice charity, Citizens Advice Exeter, is joining forces with the local legal profession and advice sector on Monday 6 June 2016 to take part in the Exeter Legal Walk. The Exeter legal walk celebrates the continued work of the legal profession and advice sector in protecting people’s rights and promoting equal access to justice for all.

The Legal Walk is one of over 30 similar events which run across England and Wales. The after work sponsored walk raises funds for free local legal advice charities in Exeter and throughout the South West. Teams...

City-wide driver behaviour trial shows promising early results

Exeter’s driver-behaviour pilot, run by Exeter-based Lightfoot® in association with Exeter City Futures, is seeing dramatic results in only its first week of live operation, with over 54% of drivers hitting its Elite Driver efficiency target, and some motorists achieving up to 77.2mpg.

The citywide trial of Lightfoot®, which aims to help drivers save fuel, cut emissions and reduce accidents by driving more efficiently, is being trialled by over 100 drivers.

Commenting on the initial findings Mark Roberts, managing director of Lightfoot®, said: “We’re really encouraged by...

Fancy a cheap trip to the cinema? Move to Cardiff

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Wed, 05/18/2016 - 10:32am

A trip to the cinema could be four times as much depending on where you live, with a ticket for the same film up to £12 more in some parts of the country compared to others, according to a new study by money-saving website www.voucherbox.co.uk .

The study, which looked at prices across the Vue, Odeon and Cineworld chains, compared the cost of a standard ticket for upcoming blockbuster X-Men: Apocalypse on the same day and time in nine cities around the UK*. This revealed a huge disparity in prices, often between cinemas in the same chain. Of the cinemas reviewed, the cheapest place...

Support Local Business Week

Support Local Business

Being as it’s Local Business week I’m focussing this article on the many benefits of buying local, and why everyone should, seek out and support their weekly farmers markets. Buy from the local corner shop. Eat, drink and meet friends at local independent cafés; and find your gift purchases from the small, local designers or artisans. The recipients of the latter will be far more thrilled with the individuality of the gift, rather than something which is mass manufactured.

I am so passionate about local business, that not only do I make 70% of my purchases...

Al Murray the Pub Landlord heads to Exeter

Publican. Politician. Other thing beginning with P. Philosopher, yeah, that. The nation's critically acclaimed bar-based-braveheart, Al Murray - The Pub Landlord embarks on a common sense campaign to

re-Great Britain in his brand new show.

We live in troubling times. Europe. The NHS. Whatever the hell is going on in the Middle East. The gathering storm of fortnightly bin collections? Who knows where it will all end?

Watch the one man who will answer the call of destiny even though it's an unlisted number. Watch the one man who will call time on tyranny even though...

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