TEENAGE mums in the Newquay area say they could lose a "lifeline" support and education group if Cornwall Council sells off the building in which it is held.

The year-long Young Mums Will Achieve course is currently run twice a week at the Young People's Centre on Mount Wise.

Run through the council and Cornwall College, it helps mums or pregnant girls under 20 to gain qualifications in maths and English, as well as offering practical advice.

There is a crèche and it is not uncommon to see young women breastfeeding as they take part in lessons or take tests, according to lecturer Bridget Carter.

Some now warn the course – one of eight across Cornwall – could face an uncertain future following news that the authority intends to sell off the building.

Mrs Carter said: "It's a lifeline for these girls but now we've lost our venue for our September start. The crèche is going to treble in size next year to 13 children and we have 8 girls enrolled for next September."

Dannii Williams, 19, of Indian Queens, dropped out of school in Year 8 before discovering she was pregnant aged 15.

She has just graduated after four years on the course and said young mums would suffer without it.

"It was a relief to have this course because you weren't judged by anyone on it," she said. "It would have a detrimental effect on other young mums if the course couldn't go ahead."

Natasha Serbert, 20, mother to 11-month-old Leyla-Rose, said: "You've had your baby young so you often feel isolated because you see your friends are going out, so it's nice to come somewhere and not feel isolated."

Alexa Gainsbury, Cornwall's teenage pregnancy and sexual health co-ordinator, said she was "exploring alternative venues to continue the provision.

"We greatly value the work of the Young Mums Will Achieve group in Newquay and are committed to continuing the provision in the area," she said.

A spokeswoman for Cornwall Council confirmed the building was being sold but said the aim was to move all groups using it to better premises on Chester Road, which were soon to be refurbished.

She said the Young Mums Will Achieve course would go ahead as planned this September.

STAFF and pupils at St Cleer Primary School are celebrating after it was ranked as an outstanding school by the education watchdog.

Ofsted inspectors gave the school the top rating following an inspection earlier this month. The inspectors said: "Since the last inspection very strong leadership and management have ensured a relentless drive towards providing excellent learning opportunities for all groups of pupils. As a result, teaching is now outstanding with teachers making particularly effective use of assessment to ensure work is very well matched to pupils' needs."

The report states the school, which has 225 pupils, is welcoming and friendly and parents were pleased with their children's progress.

The inspectors wrote: "Parents and carers are delighted with the school and many new parents remarked upon the warm welcome their children had received and the excellent progress they are making."

Teachers, governors and management at the school were praised throughout the report. "The rigorous development of teaching expertise for all staff has resulted in a highly skilled workforce that is rapidly raising achievement across the school," the inspectors said.

"Teachers relatively new to the profession have developed really quickly," they added.

The pupils were also praised for their behaviour and attitude to learning.

"The outstanding provision for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is the bedrock of their excellent behaviour and attitude to school life," the report said.

Relationships between staff and pupils were described as "great" and pupils told inspectors that their teachers and teaching assistants were "kind and thoughtful".

Head teacher Catherine Stoate said the report was a reflection of the hard work of staff, governors and pupils.

"We are absolutely delighted with this Ofsted report, which is testament to the hardworking and talented team of staff and governors at St Cleer School – and our wonderful children," she said. "We are very proud of each one of the delightful children in our care."

EFFORTS to sign up local businesses in Lostwithiel to the Safe Places scheme have been met with a great response.

On Friday PCSO Natalie Phillips, East Cornwall diversity officer PC Colin Gameson, Sunnydene residential home support worker Natalie Thornhill, and Sunnydene residents Julie Raymond and Kevan Rawlings, spent time in the town attempting to identify potential businesses to sign up to the scheme.

The initiative aims to help people with learning difficulties, or vulnerable adults, to deal with incidents when out and about in public. The issues could be as simple as needing directions to more serious worries like getting harassed on the street.

A nationally recognisable sticker in the window of shops, pubs, restaurants and other premises shows the location is part of the Safe Places scheme and the adult concerned knows they can receive help there by producing their Safe Places card, which includes details such as name and emergency contact numbers.

The morning walk around the streets and businesses of Lostwithiel proved to be well worthwhile for the group.

"The idea was really well received in Lostwithiel and we had ten businesses sign up on the day, with a couple of others taking the information booklet to decide whether their business would be able to help," said PCSO Phillips.

Those that have signed up so far are: The Best Western Restormel Lodge, The Kings Arms, The Country Fryer, Co-op, The Post Office, Terra Nova, Mountchase Pharmacy, Watts Trading, Londis and The Royal Talbot.

Any other businesses looking to get involved in the scheme are asked to contact PCSO Phillips on 01726 812262.

A PRE-SCHOOL near Wadebridge has been recognised as good by Government education watchdogs.

Ofsted inspectors highlighted St Eval Pre-School's quality of early years provision, praising staff awareness, their close relationships with children and providing a secure environment for them to learn.

They also singled out its close links with Trevisker Primary School and the welcoming atmosphere that allowed children to settle quickly.

In their report, inspectors wrote: "Children progress well because the educational programmes effectively support them in reaching their expected levels of development, in relation to their starting points.

"The staff quickly establish children's abilities and interests based on their observations of children and information from their parents.

"Effective partnerships in place with other agencies, ensure that together they meet children's needs well. Partnerships with parents are good. They feel informed about their children's progress and development. Parents are invited to open days and staff share information with them about their children's activities."

Pre-school manager Rachael Richards said: "We're pleased with the report, especially as the criteria changed last year and it's now even harder to get a 'good' grading.

"We completely agree with the findings and I'm really chuffed."

Ofsted said improvements in one area – better systems to encourage parents' contributions to children's learning and ensuring information about the setting was readily available to parents – could see it graded as 'outstanding' in future.

MORRISONS supermarket in Newquay has been thanked for its efforts after more than £9,000 was raised there for the Poppy Appeal.

Royal British Legion branch members presented staff with a certificate of appreciation, and appeal organiser Pat Begley from Newquay's Royal British Legion branch said the store played a crucial role in its success.

"Other supermarkets play a big part but Morrisons in particular do a great job and we wanted to thank them," he said.

A REGULAR passenger train service could be reintroduced to the centre of Bodmin after the proposal received a positive response from Transport Minister Simon Burns.

During a House of Commons debate, North Cornwall MP Dan Rogerson asked the Government to reintroduce rail services to Bodmin town centre and create a regular service to Okehampton to bring a rail link closer to the Launceston and Bude areas.

Cornwall Council is also looking at the possibility of bringing daily network passenger trains to Bodmin General, using the same track as steam train operators the Bodmin and Wenford Railway.

"Along with Cornwall Council I will be continuing to work to reinstate services to Bodmin General station," said Mr Rogerson.

"This would be a huge boost for Bodmin in terms of jobs, investment and tourism.

"It would also help people in Bodmin access opportunities further afield by linking the town centre to the existing railway services in Cornwall."

Mr Rogerson raised the possibility of the new Great Western franchise for rail services in Cornwall and the South West – due to begin in July 2016 – running more services to Okehampton, to bring rail services nearer to Bude, Launceston and the far north and east of the duchy.

There is currently only a mainline service to Okehampton on Sundays in the summer months.

He also discussed the potential for an Okehampton Parkway station near the A30, to make it easier for local people, businesses and tourists to get to and from North Cornwall.

Speaking after the debate, Mr Rogerson said: "The Transport Minister was supportive about the proposals for bringing rail services back to Bodmin town centre."

AN EXTENSIVE overhaul of an old coaching inn has won a Bodmin family the top prize in a TV show.

Tony and Sue Gosling entered their Higher Bore Street home in ITV's daytime show May The Best House Win, and won £1,000 after beating three other householders in a Cornwall episode of the programme screened on Monday.

With a similar format to Come Dine With Me, they were pitted against people from Polperro, Callington and Launceston, who tour each other's homes and give them scores.

The Goslings won after the other competitors were impressed with the family's revamp of their home. Some of the features include a water bed in the main bedroom, a hot tub and sauna installed in their garden patio, and, in keeping with the building's origins, a cellar bar – complete with a pool table.

The property was built in 1640 as the Exeter Inn, and was a coaching stop on the road to the Devon city.

Mr Gosling, 47, a father of five, said that he and Sue moved into the house 15 years ago and had spent around £80,000 doing it up.

BIG CHEERS: Staff and students at St Cleer Primary School are celebrating after it was ranked 'outstanding' by Ofsted. For the full story, see page 2.

THE Royal Cornwall Showground at Wadebridge was turned pink when over 800 people supported Cancer Research UK by taking part in the Race for Life.

The weather stayed dry for the event on Sunday and it is anticipated that more than £50,000 will be raised for the charity through individual sponsorship.

One girl taking part was seven-year-old Emily Darby who lost her mum Libby to breast cancer about four years ago.

Emily, from St Mawgan, near Newquay, has so far raised a superb £1,220 in sponsorship.

Her proud dad, Andy, said: "In the last year Emily started seeing adverts for Race for Life on television and asked if she could take part.

"Obviously I couldn't because it's just for women, so family friend Katherine Webster, her daughter Lauren and niece Connie formed a team for Emily, and I would like to thank them all for that.

"Emily is a very determined little girl and, from what I've been told, she practically danced the whole way round."

Sam Beare, Cancer Research UK's event manager for Race for Life, said: "We had more than 800 ladies take part in Race for Life at Wadebridge and our thanks go to each and every one of them for making it such a joyous and memorable day.

"We would send a heartfelt plea that each lady returns their sponsorship money this year to bring in £50,000 between them.

"Every single lady makes a difference to our ultimate goal and beating cancer sooner. Well done ladies and thank you."

Next weekend the exciting spectacle of international Taiko drumming will return to Exeter with a headline performance from Amanojaku, who are flying in from Japan for the event.

Amanojaku, pictured, are one of the leading groups in Japan.Powerful players, with beautifully choreographed repertoire, they put on a show that can be enjoyed by all ages. They will perform on Saturday and Sunday at Exeter Northcott.

Throughout the two days, there will be free performances by British Taiko groups in the Guildhall Shopping Centre, combined with free workshops, and free concerts at Exeter Phoenix. The festival opens next Friday with a special concert at the Exeter Northcott, given by youth groups from across the country. Full details at taikofestival.org.uk.

See four of Shakespeare's most-loved comedies

Get set for Elizabethan comedy this July from The Elysium Theatre Company, who will be performing four of Shakespeare's most-loved comedies, from the magical island drama in The Tempest to the feisty romance in Much Ado About Nothing, with woodland meanderings thrown in for good measure with A Midsummer Night's Dream and As You Like It.

There are performances on Wednesday at Exeter University (tickets from Exeter Northcott) and on Thursday and Friday at Exeter Phoenix.

The project culminates in a weekend extravaganza at The National Trust's Buckland Abbey, where audiences will find themselves immersed in the action, as the plays are performed in promenade style alongside living history: Tudor crafts, music, dance and activities for children. This takes place on July 13 and 14.

Fame beckons for a cast of talented young performers

Legwarmers at the ready, as Tavistock Youth Theatre brings a high-octane version of a cult 1980 film musical to the stage. Fame Jr – the Musical! begins at Tavistock's Wharf tomorrow, with four performances on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Based on the hit film which starred Irene Cara and featured the famous title song, the show follows a group of talented performers during their time at PA, the High School of Performing Arts.

The talented young cast promise a vibrant show packed with song, dance, energy and laughs – a real musical theatre treat that will have you itching to get up and join in.

Tickets are £8 (£6 concessions) from the Wharf box office on 01822 611166.

They may sound harmless but a new joint Westcountry-led investigation has been launched to determine the impact 'mermaids' tears' – tiny plastic beads – are having on the world's marine environment.

The tiny fragments of plastic, which are used as raw material in the manufacture of larger items, are now almost ubiquitous on Devon and Cornwall's coastline.

Alongside microplastics, fragments smaller than 1mm in size, mermaids' tears are said to cause a danger to marine life by either physically blocking their digestive system or becoming absorbed by them.

But up until recently little has been known about the true extent of the damage caused by the nano-plastics which are almost impossible to detect except through the world's most sophisticated microscopes.

However, a collaborative project between Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) and the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) launched this week is aiming to analyse and assess the particles like never before.

It is the third time the two institutions have collaborated on joint-funded projects but director of science at PML, Professor Manuel Barange, said it was an area of research that particularly excited him.

He said: "I am particularly excited at the prospect of jointly exploring how to isolate nano-plastics in the marine environment, and assess their potential environmental impacts. We know that plastic pollution is a huge and global problem, but we do not know the particular effects of nano-plastics, which are increasingly and regularly released into waste waters."

As well as measuring the damage nano-plastics cause to the marine environment the collaborative research will also study the long-term variability of chlorophyll in Korean waters using PML expertise.

The relationship between the two highly respected marine research institutes was established in 2011 and has produced three major topics and collaboration on biotechnology for enzymes and carbon-dioxide capture.

Professor Barange said: "The relationship between KIOST and PML has created a hub of scientific excellence combining the strengths of two major institutions in Asia and Europe. This research contract will provide opportunities for collaborative work in three areas: ocean remote sensing, marine ecosystem modelling and marine nano-plastic pollution."

A man facing life behind bars for the double murder of two gangland enforcers whose bodies were found buried on a Cornish farm is appealing against his convictions.

Thomas Alexander Haigh, 27, from Huddersfield, was found guilty at Truro Crown Court in February last year of killing Wirral boxer Brett Flournoy, 31, and father-of-three David Griffiths, 35, of Bracknell, in Berkshire.

Haigh was alleged to have shot the men, whose bodies were found buried at Sunny Corner Farm, St Austell, because they were demanding he go to Brazil to smuggle drugs back to the UK.

Another man, Ross Stone, who alongside Haigh was accused of murder, was acquitted but given five years after admitting to burning the men's bodies and burying them.

But an appeal by the former cage fighter, which reached the Court of Appeal in London on Wednesday, is seeking to establish that the trial and resulting convictions were "unsafe".

Speaking for Haigh, barrister John Elvidge QC, argued that the judge's summing up appeared to have favoured Stone's case, but adding that the case was "not straight-forward".

After hearing the submissions, Lord Justice Aikens rejected Mr Elvidge's argument criticising the trial judge's summing up, but said the case would have to return to court for consideration of new evidence which is said to impact on the safety of Haigh's convictions.

A senior health figure has said the bid by the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) to earn coveted foundation trust status may be in jeopardy after the resignation of its second chairman in a week.

Mike Higgins, deputy chairman on the trust since 2011, stepped down from his position yesterday as interim chairman and resigned as a non-executive member of the board.

He had only taken up the role on Tuesday following the resignation of former chairman Martin Watts, who left his post last week after an investigation upheld a complaint about his conduct.

The RCHT has been seeking to gain NHS Foundation Trust status, a move which would give it more financial freedom and is seen as critical to avoid a possible merger with another trust.

However, speaking to the Western Morning News, a people's governor, who wished to remain anonymous said he feared the recent double resignation may jeopardise the RCHT's bid and may even cause a mass exodus of non-executive directors.

The governor added that an emergency meeting of the shadow council of governors had been called this morning to discuss the situation.

The source said: "It's an absolute must Cornwall gets its foundation trust status for our acute hospital. If we don't achieve that then we will end up merging with someone else.

"One thing they look at is if you have good strategic direction, a good sound board and that it is governed well and it doesn't tick that box.

"I am very concerned, foundation trust status is the most important thing to me and for Cornwall. These departures are very untimely and at a critical time in the process. Let's hope it doesn't result in the whole process stopping altogether."

Mr Higgins, pictured above, an international business executive, had said on Wednesday that he hoped the "right questions will be asked" at a board meeting scheduled for yesterday afternoon, but moments before it was scheduled to take place, it was announced he had taken the decision to step down.

An RCHT spokesman said: "Clearly, this is disappointing but we continue to work with the NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) on both the interim arrangements and the permanent appointment of a new chairman. We will not be distracted from our duties of continuing to provide excellent patient care."

Mr Will Faux, consultant surgeon, reassured patients on behalf of senior medical staff that care would not be affected. He said: "These events are unfortunately timed but will not impact adversely on our clinical performance as a trust or our ability to move forward with our development."

Rik Evans, a non-executive on the board, said he understood Mr Higgins had made his decision known at midnight on Wednesday but did not know the reason why.

He denied recent developments could have led to a loss in faith in the trust.

He said: "I am not sure that anybody has lost faith in the trust. I have said we are getting a lot of support from the staff. We will carry on doing the great work in treating patients."

A new board meeting is scheduled to take place on July 25.

A 20-year-old man has been found guilty of murdering his "defenceless" 91-year-old grandfather at his North Cornwall home.

Stephen Lang, of Queen Elizabeth Road, Launceston, was found guilty by the unanimous verdict of a jury at Truro Crown Court yesterday.

Lang will be sentenced this morning by Mr Justice Hamblen. Lang had admitted manslaughter but pleaded not guilty to the murder of a grandfather with whom he was said to have a good relationship.

The court had heard Stephen Lang, who had taken both drink and drugs, entered his grandfather's flat at Trecarn Close with a key in the early hours of April 17 last year.

It was alleged that he put his arms around the pensioner's neck and thew him to the ground, breaking his neck in the process, before stealing £300 in pension money he kept in a wallet under his pillow.

Mr Lang told his son Keith, Stephen's uncle, who had been called to the flat by a lifeline call, "Stephen has attacked me, call the police."

Following the verdict, senior investigating officer, DI Stuart Ellis, said: "This was a terrible crime committed on a defenceless 91-year-old man by his grandson.

"Stephen Lang grabbed Tom by the throat in his sheltered accommodation flat, lifted him out of his chair and threw him to the floor.

"He then stole £300 from his grandfather's wallet which was hidden under his pillow before leaving him for dead on the floor.

"Sadly Tom died three days later from his injuries.

"The crime is made all the more tragic as Stephen Lang appeared to have a close relationship with his grandfather and the incident has had a devastating effect on the whole of the family.

"I cannot begin to understand Stephen Lang's motivation for this crime, but the fact that he could inflict these injuries on his own grandfather is truly shocking."

In a statement released following his conviction, Mr Lang's family said they were "pleased" with the guilty verdict but "deeply saddened" by what had happened.

"Tom Lang was a loving granddad and dad and was very close to his large family," they said.

"The fact that he was killed by his grandson Stephen, who had a good relationship with Tom, has devastated us as a family.

"Stephen had no reason to kill his grandfather who would have gladly given him money had he asked for it.

"We will never get over the death of Tom but as a family now Stephen has been found guilty we can begin to rebuild our lives and move on.

"We would like to thank the police and the Crown Prosecution Service for their hard work in bringing this case to court.

"We would also like to thank all of our family members and friends who have supported us over the past 12 months."

The Government has announced a £10 billion guarantee for the proposed new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point to help get the major project moving.

Ministers have offered the money to French energy giant EDF to help finance the £14 billion construction of the new reactors on the Somerset coast.

EDF has already prepared the site next to the two existing stations, but has insisted it will not commit to the project unless the Government guaranteed a minimum price for the electricity the new reactors will produce.

"Intense" negotiations continue, sources say.

Treasury officials last night insisted the guarantee was a commercial loan, not a subsidy. But the taxpayer will be exposed if the deal turns sour.

Environmentalists oppose the new station, and Greenpeace is threatening legal action.

But proponents say £100 million a year will be invested into the local economy at the peak of the eight-year construction project.

EDF estimates up to 25,000 people will be employed over the course of construction with 5,600 people on site at peak.

Chris Garcia, chief executive of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, charged with driving economic growth in Devon and Somerset, said: "The additional support for Hinkley Point, the biggest engineering project in Europe, is a significant boost to the area.

"It will be fundamental in driving growth and provide a wealth of opportunity for businesses through the supply chain."

Hinkley Point C is significant as it would be one of the first of a planned new generation of UK nuclear power plants.

The site on the Bristol Channel coastline has supplied millions of homes with power since Hinkley Point A became operational in 1965.

Garry Graham, deputy general secretary of the Prospect union, said: "The decision to pre-qualify EDF's Hinkley Point C project for an infrastructure guarantee is a nod in the right direction, but procrastination over the strike price is the real barrier to construction getting under way.

"Agreement on the strike price will provide a platform for the investment needed and inject confidence for those seeking to invest in an industry where the UK has an opportunity to be an international world leader."

Occasionally we are treated to a news story that is guaranteed to inspire nothing but a raft of totally opposing and polarised views.

The potential upgrading of the A303 is one such tale that will have folk manning one of two barricades.

Either you agree it is high time the wretched road was converted to dual-carriageway throughout its infamous go-slow-zone in the Blackdown Hills, or you despair of the idea that such classic British countryside could be carved asunder forever.

There's no middle ground on which people can concur – unless, that is, Danny Alexander's planned feasibility study to look at improving the A303-A30-A358 corridor miraculously decides that the Treasury will pay for it to pass through a long and hugely expensive tunnel.

That is about as likely as the Government financing the reintroduction of Concorde. Which means every member of the travelling public in the Westcountry and beyond will have to ponder: Should they, or shouldn't they?

For many of us this particular issue isn't like other hot topics of the day, such as hunting, where people simply take a stand one way or the other.

Even the most diehard of country-lovers who has to occasionally travel within this region will know that the single carriageway sections of the A303 are a pain in the neck.

Goodness knows what the average long-distance holidaymaker travelling west with a car-load of irritable kids thinks as they begin to ascend the Blackdown Hills outside of Ilminster. There they are – wafting up over Longlie Common – and suddenly the place lives up to its name.

You're vehicle is going to lie there for a long time. By the time you get to Stopgate you are... well, stopped. At Yarcombe you are yawning – and by the time you pass Upottery you feel like smashing plates. Get all the way to Monkton and you'll be praying.

But you will be travelling very slowly through very beautiful countryside – the sort of exquisite rural homeland that poets like Edward Thomas wrote about fighting for in World War One.

The high escarpments and steep-sided vales with their impossibly perfect patchwork of hedge-lined fields could represent the nation in some far-flung poster campaign designed to lure Anglophile tourists.

Once famous for being the nation's premier dairy-lands – they put the clotted into Devonshire cream – now they're a big lump of symbolic butter waiting for a knife. Because dualling the A303 through the Blackdowns will be like a knife through butter. Easy to achieve, impossible to mend.

We must decide which barricade we'll be manning.

Campaigners against affordable homes in a moorland village have accused an authority of having one rule for the "poor" and another rule for wealthy property owners – but complaining that the rules favour the poor.

Dozens of residents of Holne near Ashburton on Dartmoor National Park battled to stop plans for seven low-income properties on a greenfield site – fearing approval would open the floodgates for more development.

But despite concerns raised over a lack of supporting infrastructure in the village, as well as the perceived ecological impact on an historic hedgerow, the scheme was granted permission by the national park authority in April.

Opponents also say the authority has shown "double-standards" – claiming they struggle to gain authorisation for minor alterations to their expensive properties, but it is happy to allow the construction of 'cheaper' homes.

"It is so unfair that 'rules' can be not only bent but broken in order to provide homes here for people who could not afford to buy or rent them on the open market," said resident Julia Biddell.

"Planning would not be given in such a beauty spot for open market housing."

The 68-year-old, who has lived in Holne since 1998, admitted the row had divided the 250 villagers, but claimed 80% of those who wrote letters over the scheme were against it.

"It is hypocritical of the Dartmoor National Park Authority to allow this development when the rest of us are subject to the closest scrutiny of the most microscopic changes to our properties," she said.

"It stinks of double standards and the clique who supported the housing scheme must be fully aware of how their actions have divided the village. Is there one law for the 'poor' and another for everyone else?" Some residents allege the authority is encouraging an influx of less wealthy people from outside as part of a social engineering policy.

Ms Biddell questioned why housing could not be provided in a nearby town, accusing the authority of being "hell bent on social engineering".

But Dartmoor National Park Authority maintained the scheme was "community-led" and designed to provide affordable properties for local people in nearby villages.

Dan Janota, of the forward planning department, said: "We want to give local people the chance to live and stay in the village. It's not social engineering from the outside, but an effort to keep people in."

The authority says it allows 90% of planning applications.

The Reverend Corynne Cooper, team vicar of the Ashburton and Moorland team, said: "We are blessed with a great many fields and open spaces in this area, so I am not convinced using a small part of one of them would have a significant impact on flora and fauna."

South West Water has been ordered to pay £12,100 for "woefully inadequate" repairs to a sewage treatment works in North Devon, which caused a stream to be polluted, a court heard.

Effluent from a stream near Winkleigh was found to be half the strength of crude sewage, after black bin bags and plastic cable ties were used to repair damage at the nearby Hollocombe Sewage Treatment Works, magistrates were told.

An officer from the Environment Agency reported the bed of the stream, known as Hollocombe water, was covered in sewage fungus, a sign of long-term pollution, when carrying out an inspection in August 2012.

She also noted that a pipe in the treatment works, which also failed an annual inspection the previous year, had been poorly repaired, causing sewage to leak from a device known as a tipping bucket.

The pipe was joined to a larger pipe with cable ties and black plastic bin bags used to seal the ends.

Sue Smillie, from the Environment Agency, who carried out the inspection, said: "Water companies must carry out regular maintenance of all their sewage treatment works to safeguard the environment and protect human health.

"The poor level of maintenance at this site suggests South West Water sets a very low priority on some of its small rural sewage works.

"The residents of Hollocombe pay their water rates and expect their sewage to be properly treated."

South West Water pleaded guilty to two offences at Barnstaple magistrates, and were ordered to pay a £10,000 fine and £2,100 costs.