Devon

A Westcountry businessman has called for the abolition of Police & Crime Commissioners - and the diversion of their high costs to halting the loss of police stations and police officers.

Westcountry voters have received polling cards for a 5th May election of Police & Crime Commisioners (PCCs), but will be left to find out about the candidates for themselves - who will not be revealed until 13th April.

According to David Sturgess, Managing Director of West-based PR firm, Sturgess Van Damme: "This is utter madness! "In any normal election, we voters will have...

Local housebuilder Barratt Homes is celebrating after receiving a major national award from the Home Builders Federation (HBF). The house builder has achieved a 90% customer satisfaction score and 5 star rating after it took part in a nationwide survey. Barratt Homes is the only major national housebuilder to have been awarded the maximum 5 star rating for seven years in a row by the HBF.

Barratt Homes took part in the UK-wide survey of more than 45,000 homebuyers which revealed that over 90% of Barratt customers would recommend the homes to a friend. The high customer satisfaction...

A long-term fan of TED Talks has won a place on the Northcott stage at this month's TEDxExeter Conference.

In the face of tough competition from fellow members of the College debating society, Abbie McGregor (16) who is in her first year at Exeter College wowed the judges from TEDxExeter with her talk Remember to DREAM.

Abbie was introduced to TED Talks by an inspiring teacher at primary school when she was 10 or 11. “I really liked the idea that people stood there telling us what they thought,” she says. “I watched as many as I could. Through TED Talks I learned about the...

Father of two, Nick Webb, from Paignton, suffered a serious injury back in 2014, and lost the use of his arm.

He underwent reconstructive surgery, and with an extensive recovery period he had to give up on his successful landscaping career.

Determined not to be beaten, Nick used this career break to pursue his lifelong interest in the arts, and Salokin Photo Art was born.

Nick remembers being in utter shock and panic, and was left wondering how he was going to support his young family.

He says "you just have to deal with what life throws at you, and I...

The respiratory team at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital marked World TB Day 2016 on the 24th March by raising awareness about one of the world’s most deadly infectious diseases.

Members of the team, including Respiratory/TB Nurse Specialist Ruth Unsworth, were on hand at an information stand in the hospital’s main concourse to answer questions and provide information about tuberculosis, also known as TB.

TB is a bacterial infection which usually affects the lungs, with symptoms including a persistent cough, weight loss, fevers and night sweats. It is highly infectious...

Lost or stray dogs will be reunited with their owners thanks to new microchipping laws which come into effect to improve dog welfare today.

Under the new measures all owners must ensure their dog is microchipped and their details are kept up to date. Not only will this mean the UK’s 8.5 million dogs can be returned to their owners more quickly if they wander too far from home, but it will also make it easier to track down the owners of dogs that carry out attacks on people.

Already over 86% of responsible dog owners have had their pets painlessly implanted with a microchip...

Police are appealing for witnesses following a knifepoint robbery at Woodfield Stores and Video, Primrose Way, in Seaton.

A man entered the store around 12.35pm on Friday 1 April and demanded money from the till.

During the incident around £175 was taken and the cashier was threatened with a knife by the suspect; the cashier was left shaken but unhurt.

The suspect is described as a white man in his 20s and approx 5ft 10ins to 5ft 11ins tall. He was wearing a black ski mask, similar to a balaclava but having only one hole which showed the eyes of the suspect, a green...