PARALYMPIC gold medalist and double leg amputee Richard Whitehead finished an epic challenge to run 40 marathons in 40 days at Land's End on Monday. In doing so he became the first Paralympian to run from John O'Groats to Land's End, raising more than £100k for Sarcoma UK and Scope. Mr Whitehead, who was sponsored by Virgin Media, said: "Despite the constant aches, pains and endless hills there was one thought that kept me going. "That thought was a determination to prove that anyone and everyone can live a life without limits. "Once you have accepted this, you can push the barriers as far as they can go." Throughout his sporting career, Richard has competed at the highest level for Great Britain. He is currently the world record-holder in both full and half-marathons and he's also recognised one of the world's best sprinters, being the current Paralympic and world champion in the T42 200 metres event.

A man has been found dead on a railway line near Exeter after he was apparently served papers by police and council workers. Officers from British Transport Police were called to Station Road in Exminster at just after 7.30pm on September 20 after reports of a man's body being seen. A 53-year-old man, who has not yet been formally identified but said to be from Plymouth, was found at the scene. Plymouth City Council denied it had requested police hand over an anti-social behaviour order.

Homes and businesses in rural areas are getting a "raw deal" from the Government's £1.2 billion splurge on getting the countryside connected to high-speed broadband, a powerful committee of MPs has said.

The cross-party Commons spending watchdog criticised ministers for mismanaging the programme and placing sole provider BT in a "quasi monopolistic position".

The Connecting Devon and Somerset scheme is one of 26 regional projects given public subsidy to expand broadband coverage, which is seen as vital to buoyant rural areas.

BT has all the contracts, as well as the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Superfast Broadband scheme – which is funded by EU subsidies, rather than the UK government. A report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today points to two main problems with the programme – that BT is exploiting its monopoly by restricting access to cost and roll-out information and that it would be delivered two years later than planned.

PAC chairman Margaret Hodge said: "Consumers are getting a raw deal despite the generous public subsidy."

Concerns were raised after the Government revised its initial target of 90% of the UK having superfast connections by 2015 to 95% by 2017.

The projects in the Westcountry say they will beat this. Devon and Somerset – which has £30 million from the Treasury and £20 million from local authorities – has a 90% "super-fast" target for the end of 2016.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly £132 million broadband scheme is aiming for a higher percentage of premises – 95% – to be hooked up next year.

It is the final and hardest to connect to premises – the remaining 10% nationally and in Devon and Somerset or 5% in Cornwall and Scillies – that causes the most concern.

More advanced technology than fibre optic cables will be required to get fast speeds to these properties – around 100,000 in the Westcountry – hence the concern over transparency.

A raft of PAC recommendations include the Department for Culture, Media and Sport not spending any more of the £250 million of public money "until it has developed approaches to secure proper competition and value for money for improving superfast broadband after 2015".

But a BT spokesman said: "We are disturbed by today's report, which we believe is simply wrong and fails to take on board a point-by-point correction we sent to the committee several weeks ago.

"We have been transparent from the start and willing to invest when others have not.

"It is therefore mystifying that we are being criticised for accepting onerous terms in exchange for public subsidy – terms which drove others away. The taxpayer is undoubtedly getting value for money.

"BT faces a payback period of around 15 years on its rural broadband investments in spite of the subsidies available.

"The Department for Culture has imposed a rigorous auditing process that ensures every penny is accounted for.

"Rolling out fibre is an expensive and complex business but we remain committed to the programme.

"The network we build will be open to all our rivals, who will be able to sell services to consumers, paying us the same prices we charge our own retail division."

A DCMS spokesman said: "We put in place a fair commercial process and encouraged different suppliers to bid. We are disappointed that the PAC fails to recognise that thousands of rural premises who have never had a decent broadband supply are now getting one, something that is vital for farmers, rural businesses and all those who live outside major cities."

A local authority is to pay out more than half a million pounds to a handful of its former staff.

Teignbridge District Council handed out £292,850 in redundancy pay to five staff, while pension costs for another four officers will cost £219,600 over the next three years, it has been revealed.

Figures in a 'Management Restructure' report given to councillors ahead of a meeting yesterday show the total bill for the former staff members is £512,450.

The Conservative-run council is also estimating a pension fund shortfall of almost £156,000 between this year and 2016-17.

"The figures are just tucked away in an appendix to the short report," said Liberal Democrat opposition leader, Councillor Alan Connett.

"Clearly, they don't want to highlight how much council tax payers' money is being spent on pay-offs and pensions, just as they don't include the cost of the council's chief executive salary in the report," he said.

The report does not identify if the four staff affected by 'pension strain' payments are among the five to receive the redundancy payments.

"The council has been very secretive about these management changes. We have had to ask for information about who has left the authority, and sometimes only learned about it by accident," said Mr Connett.

"We were promised a full report this month – but while they want to talk up the savings they say will be made from next year, there's been no mention in the report about the redundancy pay-offs or pension costs."

It is estimated there will be costs of £32,000 this year through the restructure, but it should save £340,000 next year and £507,000 in 2017/18.

The council recently ordered a review of senior managers running the authority, but figures showed the shake-up of directors could add up to £59,000 a year to its pay bill. "At a time when the Conservatives want to close public toilets, pull out of CCTV services, and cut back on help for the poorest in our community, they have employed another chief officer at extra cost, but complain they have to cut back on services residents would like to keep," added Mr Connett.

A Teignbridge Council spokesman said no officer would receive any sum "in excess" of their contractual entitlement. "Brave decisions designed to help finances in the long-term rather than short-term fixes are the order of the day. The management restructure forms part of that process. We've reduced senior management posts from 18 to 10 and the directorate tier has been removed resulting in a saving of £340,000 in the next financial year," the spokesman said.

The restructure comes against a backdrop of shrinking local authority budgets, which could see more than half of public toilets closed in Teignbridge to make an annual saving of £152,000.

Cornwall Council has been consulting on a policy to encourage disabled people to use public transport at the same time it was announced that funding for bus services would be cut by '£500,000'.

Consultations will be run until November by the council over changes to its Adult Care, Health and Wellbeing transport and domiciliary charging policy. It is estimated the changes, which would see front line care workers discuss alternative transport options with service users, could save up to £3 million if adopted.

However, the public body has come under criticism from the county's leading disability group, which said it was 'concerned' that disabled people's independence may be compromised. Bus operators in the county announced last week that they would have to withdraw a number of services after being told funding would be cut by half a million pounds.

Cathy Glaser from St Breward, whose daughter Esme has Down's Syndrome, attended one of the consultations on transport changes. Esme, 27, frequently catches the bus to attend a nearby day centre, but is about to see her service cut.

"Esme uses public transport as much as she possibly can," said Mrs Glaser. "She has been using the bus doing exactly what they would like her to do, then we find out the bus route is going to stop.

"If they cut the bus route she will certainly need help to get to the day centre.

"It's her independence gone out the window. All they go on about is person-centred care for everybody, to encourage independence, especially people with learning difficulties, so that they are a person, so they are not invisible and we have to encourage that."

The council announced at the beginning of September that it may have to slash £24 million from its next budget, on top of £19 million already planned. However, a spokesman for Disability Cornwall said while the service appreciated that the council faced tough decisions it was concerned it had not been engaged with. He said: "[We] are very concerned to learn that Cornwall Council is withdrawing funding for numerous rural contracted bus services. [It] appears to say one thing by encouraging adults who are eligible for social care services to use public transport... but then does another, such as withdraw those very services. We are concerned disabled people's ability to remain independent may be compromised and Cornwall Council needs to be held accountable if this proves to be the case."

A Cornwall Council spokesman said it was consulting on a new transport policy for adult care to ensure it is "being fair" to people across Cornwall. She said: "This includes 'eligibility criteria' – a set of questions that a front-line care worker would go through with a person to discuss what alternative transport options are available, if transport is required. One of these criteria is to check whether using public transport is an option, perhaps with additional support. If a suitable bus or train route does not exist then this option is discounted."

Ancient farming communities suffered violent attacks by nomads on horsebacks before technologies spread to help them become more warlike, according to new research.

Researchers at the University of Exeter discovered that war has been the "driving force" which has created the societies we live in today.

The academics, along with colleagues at the University of Connecticut, found that small, tightknit groups evolved into ancient empires as a result of large-scale, intense warfare.

"War was indeed a disruptive innovation which greatly accelerated the evolution of social complexity," said study author Professor Sergey Gavrilets of the University of Tennesee-Knoxville in America.

The researchers developed a mathematical model that can predict with 65% accuracy where and when the largest complex societies arose in human history. They used a computer simulation to show how war and ideas "spread" across the world over 3,000 years.

"The story of our past is not just a case of 'one damned thing after another," wrote lead author Peter Turchin, a University of Connecticut professor. "There are general mechanisms at play in shaping the broad patterns of history."

Their study concluded that an increase in the intensity of armed combat, and the spread of military technology, spurred the rise of vast, organised states. Dr Tom Currie from the University of Exeter, said: "The study helps us understand what forces favour the development of cultural traits that help keep large societies bonded together, and may help explain some of the inequalities we see in the world today."

The landscape was divided into grid cells characterised by elevation, whether or not the region had agriculture, and the type of habitat – grassland or desert.

The researchers used mathematical formulas to simulate warfare between societies, the spread of military technology, and socio-cultural evolution.

The model was tested against the historical record of empire formation in Europe, Africa and Asia during 1500 BC – 1500 AD, during which horse-related military innovations, including chariots and cavalry, dominated warfare across many regions.

Forces of warriors on horseback allowed large, powerful societies to flourish – by eliminating the weak, and spreading technologies which allowed more war, the researchers found.

Conquered societies would also tend to adopt traits such as religion, education and a bureaucratic class from their conquerors – as well as learning their military techniques.

Prof Gavrilets, said: "What's so exciting about this area of research is that instead of just telling stories or describing what occurred, we can now explain general historical patterns with quantitative accuracy. Explaining historical events helps us better understand the present, and ultimately may help us predict the future."

Westcountry sailing hero Sir Ben Ainslie made a childhood dream a reality by inspiring Oracle Team USA to one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history by winning the America's Cup.

The four-time Olympic gold champion helped his team recover from an 8-1 deficit to record a 9-8 success over Emirates Team New Zealand in the 34th America's Cup with a thrilling victory in the deciding race in San Francisco Bay on Wednesday night.

The 36-year-old told BBC Radio 5 Live: "We never stopped believing we could improve and get back into the competition.

"It got harder and harder for us, but ultimately we hung on in there and won that deciding race, so the team did an incredible job. We just grew and grew and in the end we were too strong for the Kiwis.

"I grew up down in Falmouth in Cornwall, we had an America's Cup team down there in 1987 and I remember as a kid watching them training and preparing and thinking about maybe one day being involved with the America's Cup. To be part of a winning America's Cup team is for me personally part of a lifelong dream."

The hosts faced an uphill task from the start after being docked two penalty points, meaning they were 8-1 down last week despite having won three races.

Sir Ben was drafted in as tactician, in place of John Kostecki, as his team looked to get back in the contest, and was one of the catalysts of the turnaround which stunned the Kiwis.

Sir Ben dedicated the victory to his late friend Andrew Simpson. The Olympic gold medal winner, who lived in Sherborne, Dorset, was killed in a training accident in May, an event which so shocked the sport that there were questions over whether the 34th America's Cup would be held.

"I finished the race today, one of the most amazing races I've ever been a part of, but myself and I think a couple of other guys on the boat, our thoughts are with Andrew and his family," Sir Ben added. "That race today was for him and he would have loved it."

Helen Skelton is bowing out of Blue Peter after more than five years on the show, but not before attempting a final challenge.

The presenter, who leaves tomorrow, has canoed down the Amazon, walked a high-wire between the chimneys of Battersea Power Station and travelled 500 miles across Antarctica during her stint on the long-running children's show.

And before she goes viewers will see her attempt the Royal Marines Yomp – a 30-mile march across Dartmoor with a 32lb backpack that has to be completed in under eight hours.

Skelton, who recently signed up as a presenter for BT Sport, will be replaced by CBBC colleague Radzi Chinyanganya.

Chinyanganya will join the show in mid-October, joining Lindsey Russell and and regular host Barney Harwood, who also graduated to the show after becoming a familiar face on CBBC.

Chinyanganya has been a reporter for Match Of The Day Kickabout and he is also a presenter of Saturday morning show Wild.

The Westcountry can lay claim to the title of regional capital of the nation's fishing industry after its three main ports topped the UK league.

Boats landed a £60 million haul of fish into the region last year, according to the Marine Management Organisation's (MMO) annual UK Sea Fisheries Statistics 2012 report.

Brixham recorded the largest value catch of fish landed by UK vessels last year in England with 15,600 tonnes worth £26.9 million, up from 13,746 tonnes at £26.1 million in 2011.

Plymouth saw the largest quantity of fish landed by the UK fleet with 15,748 tonnes valued at £16.1 million.

And Newlyn was the busiest UK administration port for fishing vessels, with 610 boats landing 10,741 tonnes of fish worth £20.2 million.

Dave Cuthbert, chairman of the New Under Ten (metres) Fishing Association, said: "Plymouth market is considered by many as one of, if not the best, in the country."

Artwork inspired by the Cornish countryside is to feature in an exhibition by a local artist.

David Gray is displaying his latest art exhibition, Pictures at an Exhibition, throughout October at the Devonport Guildhall in Plymouth in a show curated by the city's Barbican-based Kaya Gallery.

David said: "This is a great opportunity for me to show a collection of work in a superb setting of the Guildhall."

The artwork will be on display inside Devonport Guildhall's famous Cells and Column Bakehouse from October 7 to November 2.

Claire Burgess, commercial manager at Devonport Guildhall, said: "We're absolutely delighted to hold another wonderful Kaya Gallery exhibition here at Devonport Guildhall, this time from the captivating David Gray.

"The unique artwork is really adding another dimension to the space."

Regarding your rather negative lead article in Saturday's WMN, I feel compelled to respond.

Why are we not welcoming all types of renewable energy with open arms and dancing in the streets?

This is energy which is free – be it from wind, wave or solar panels. It does not contribute to global warming, or leave a nasty legacy for our children and grandchildren like fossil fuels and nuclear energy.

Here in my humble opinion is the rub: The nuclear industry and the oil and gas industries together have massive lobbying power.

It is amazing how many people who are elected to represent our best interests are more than willing to jump on to a soap box and shout to the world how bad are wind farms are or what a blight on the countryside are fields of solar panels. And yet, when do we hear them shouting about the dangers from nuclear power or coal and gas fired power stations?

To my mind, if all of the windmills and solar farms put together did away with just one nuclear power station it would be wonderful.

How many people can say that no one in their family has had cancer or leukaemia? My guess would be none! It is endemic right across the UK.

Yet we know that radiation causes cancer and leukaemia and we are in the unenviable position of having thousands of tons of radioactive nuclear waste from power stations, from nuclear submarines, and even from hospitals and industry that we do not know how to dispose of!

The proposed final solution to this nuclear blight is a proposed underground deep repository – or basically a hole in the ground into which we can throw it.

If, and only if, we can find a local authority stupid enough to accept it in return for a few jobs.

Cumbria has recently thrown the whole process into chaos by saying 'No Thank You' to the plans to bury the stuff in their back yard. I can't say I blame them.

Please don't listen to the loud voices from the pro nuclear lobby, instead use your common sense.

Renewables must be good, just as nuclear and fossil must be a bad – but sometimes a necessary evil.

Wind and wave power is in its infancy don't let the knockers kill it off!

And just think, it could be much worse for the poor people in the countryside who have to look at a windmill – they could be living (like me) in Plymouth, in the "toxic triangle". Blighted on three sides – we have a nuclear dockyard discharging radioactive waste into the River Tamar and into the very air that we breathe.

We have the local sewage works that creates dreadful sickening smells which blight houses and gardens in the area.

Then just to put icing on the cake we are to have a new incinerator which will burn thousands of tons of rubbish collected from across Devon.

I would love to swap the toxic triangle for a wind farm – so think on people.

An event being held to defy members of the far right who will march in Exeter today has won the backing of the Dean of the city's cathedral.

The Very Rev Jonathan Draper said he was expressing solidarity with Exeter Together, which aims to bring together people of all races and backgrounds in the city.

The organisation was formed in response to plans by the far right group, the English Defence League (EDL), to march through the city.

Martyn Goss, from the Diocese of Exeter, said it supported the aims of Exeter Together.

"The Church has always recognised and affirmed the equality of all people, regardless of backgrounds, creed or colour.

"Both in our churches and in communities, we have been enriched by growing together across traditions."

Exeter Together's event will see hundreds of residents, community and religious groups, trade unions and councillors come together in a Celebration of Diversity in the city centre.

Ben Bradshaw, the city's MP, has joined the hundreds signing the Exeter Together statement and a letter from him will be read out at the celebration today.

Hannah Packham, Exeter Together spokesman said: "Exeter Together was formed just weeks ago after the shock announcement of a national EDL march in our city.

"While EDL members will be coming in from other parts of the country, Exeter residents have united to show that we will not be divided by their (the EDL's) hatred, lies and racism. Exeter has united in saying that we love the rich diversity of the city, which helps to make it the great place it is.

"It has been so inspiring to see how so many groups and organisations have worked together in such a short space of time to achieve so much.

"Our Celebration of Diversity is being held away from the EDL march.

"We want to focus on Exeter coming together to celebrate the multi-cultural, multi-race, multi-faith diversity of the city.

"Our message is clear: the EDL with their racist, divisive politics are not welcome in Exeter."

Fundraisers have adopted some weird and wonderful ways to embrace Children in Need across the Westcountry.

In one memorable moment, passengers arriving at Newquay Airport on a flight from London found themselves being directed by an unusual presence on the runway in the form of Pudsey Bear.

Airport operations manager Richard Thomasson said: "We're really excited to be a part of Children In Need this year and in supporting such a worthwhile and important cause. We welcome Pudsey to the airport and hope his visit brought a smile to people's faces while highlighting the importance of the work taking place in raising funds for young people."

Among the hundreds of fundraising activities taking place in schools, businesses and shops across the region, staff at NatWest in Barnstaple transformed themselves into film stars for the day while they gave the office a Hollywood themed make-over.

The group of Greenpeace activists arrested in Russia during a protest against drilling in the Arctic face a three-month extension to their detention.

The organisation said Russia's investigative committee had announced it was applying for the extension against the 28 campaigners and two freelance journalists while it continues its investigations.

Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo said: "Our hearts break for our friends in jail and for their loved ones on the outside.

"We will fiercely resist this absurd attempt to keep those men and women in jail for a crime they did not commit. If the authorities succeed then we will appeal and ask for their release as soon as the court can schedule a hearing. This is a farce, it is an outrage that makes a joke of justice. It's time for the Arctic 30 to come home."

Greenpeace said hearings over the extension bid must be completed by November 24.

Videographer Kieron Bryan, 29, engineer Iain Rogers, 37, and Alexandra Harris, 27, all from Devon, are among the group who were held when armed Russian officials boarded the Arctic Sunrise in September.

Sir Paul McCartney has written a personal letter to Russian president Vladimir Putin calling for the release of Greenpeace activists.