Stagecoach has announced that it has appointed Peter Knight to manage its bus operations in the south-west. Peter, who is currently Managing Director of Stagecoach Bluebird running bus and coach services across the north-east of Scotland, will take over as Managing Director of Stagecoach South West in December.
A key part of Peter’s role will be working with local stakeholders across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset. He will also be responsible for a team of around 1,000 employees and over 300 vital express and local bus services connecting communities across the south-west....
Following the publication of a report indicating that four out of five people working in the trades sector have experienced tool theft at an average cost of £4,470 per tradesperson, RGB Building Supplies is giving advice on what can be done to help protect expensive equipment.
The report was commissioned by insurance company Simply Business and On The Tools. Simply Business has been petitioning the government for tighter regulation on the selling of second-hand tools. A Bill proposing a requirement for those selling used tools online to show serial numbers was presented to the...
The Exeter branch of Dunelm, the UK’s leading homeware retailer, has donated gardening supplies to a local Beavers group, helping them to earn their gardening badge.
The Beavers received the gardening equipment after winning a competition that was hosted by the Exeter store’s Community Facebook Group.
Nominated by the local community, the Beavers have now worked onimproving a local garden after receiving a small greenhouse, seven bags of compost and a large bag of bark chips from Dunelm. Readying the garden for spring, the Beavers have also enjoyed planting sunflowers,...
Chairman of Whimple and Broadclyst Young Farmers Club Ben Roberts has presented a cheque to representatives of their Charities of the Year following an amazing year of fundraising.
Members of the club enjoyed a fantastic 12 months of fundraising for their chosen charities Rainbow Living and Brain Tumour Research. Jerry Chew, Chair of Rainbow Living, accepted a cheque for £6,200 at the clubs meeting at Whimple Village Hall in October.
Whimple and Broadclyst Young Farmers Club has a long history of supporting charities through their Charity of the Year initiative. Over the...
People working in frontline health and care jobs in Devon are being urged to have the Covid-19 autumn booster and flu vaccination to protect themselves and the people they care for.
Existing COVID-19 vaccinations do not protect against two highly transmissible new variants which are currently circulating. We are also seeing a sharp rise in the number of people requiring hospital admission across the UK and an increase in the number of colleagues absent from work due to COVID-19.
This year, all frontline social care workers are being offered the free flu and COVID-19...
An Exeter pre-prep and nursery is celebrating the success of its newly launched Forest School. The New School, an independent setting based on the edge of the city caters for children aged 3-7 and has a strong reputation for blending academic excellence with a caring, family feel.
The school, which became part of the Exeter School family in 2021 sits in an acre of leafy space in the village of Exminster and has undergone extensive refurbishment during that period. Part of this renovation project has seen the outside space repurposed, with a new nature trail running around the...
A specialist agricultural and rural business mortgage consultancyhas appointed an experienced local agricultural banker, Richard Townsend, to help them to deliver finance solutions to farms and rural businesses in Devon.
Experienced rural and farm finance professional, Richard Townsend, is joining Rural and Business Specialists Ltd (R&BS). Richard is a well-known figure amongst farmers and rural professionals in Devon, having spent the last eight years working as an agricultural relationship manager for NatWest.
Richard is a Devon farmer’s son with a banking career...
Stagecoach has confirmed its ongoing commitment to the armed forces by extending its new policy of free travel for veterans and military personnel to include cadets who wish to attend remembrance services. Free travel will be valid on its bus and tram services right across the UK on Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday.
The commitment to free travel, which is now in its second year, comes on the back of the launch of Stagecoach’s employee led Veteran’s Network. The network was launched last year to allow Stagecoach colleagues to come together as one voice to make change, raise...
New analysis by the NSPCC of police recorded crime data reveals the number of crimes with an element of child sexual exploitation in the South West has almost tripled within the last year.
During 2021/22, a total of 3,866 crimes were recorded by Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Devon and Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset Police forces, compared to 1,383 offences in 2020/21*
In the same period in England and Wales, there were 17,486 crimes logged by police where children had been sexually exploited –an increase of 10% on the previous year.
Devon and Cornwall remains one of the safest places in the country, according to the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) crime figures released on Thursday 27 October 2022.
The statistics reported that overall crime rose by 9.3 per cent in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly during the 12 months to 30 June 2022, which is lower than the national average rise of 12.5 per cent.
Similar to previously released statistics, a rise in crime during this period was expected as the figures are directly compared with the same months in 2020 and 2021 in which the country...
