TWO young men are hoping to forge a successful business in one of the UK's most traditional crafts.

Master thatchers Jack Stiles, from the Lizard, and Toby Marr, from Penzance, set up South West Thatching in April last year and are about to start their first major project in Cornwall on a property on the Lizard.

Mr Marr apprenticed in Exter and Bude, then sub-contracted in locations across the south of England before returning to Cornwall a couple of years ago, and meeting up with Mr Stiles on several jobs, which included the re-thatching of the Pandora Inn following a massive blaze which destroyed it three years ago.

"I always wanted to come home and set up my own business and last year, having met Jack and talked about the idea with him, we decided it was time to take the plunge."

Since launching the business, most of their work has been in Devon where not only are there more thatched houses than in Cornwall but also a higher level of disposable income.

And Mr Marr accepts that it has not been easy setting up as a pair of young thatchers, particularly in the current economic climate.

"Because money is tight, people who have thatched roofs are tending to leave off having them replaced until the very last minute when the water is pouring in," he said.

"And the owners also tend to be very loyal to their thatchers so it is quite difficult getting a look-in. But we have done a lot of leafleting and advertising and hopefully, once we do this job on the Lizard, people will get to hear that we are young and enthusiastic and know our job."

The pair are also trying to diversify by doing smaller projects such as thatched gazebos, seats and birdhouses.

And they are crossing their fingers that the thatching they did indoors for the Out of the Blue Bar in Porthleven on behalf of the Blue Anchor in Helston will lead to their being commissioned to thatch the famous Spingo pub in Coinagehall Street when their roof needs replacing.

WEST Cornwall MP Andrew George has launched a petition which calls on the Government to ensure there is a resilient rail service between Penzance and London.

The St Ives MP, whose constituency includes Helston and the Lizard, is urging people to sign the petition which is pushing the Government to provide the necessary investment needed to ensure the rail service can operate.

It comes after train services between Cornwall and London were disrupted after the storms severely damaged the railway at Dawlish. This week it was said that repairs may not be complete in time for Easter.

After raising the issue of rail investment in Parliament with Prime Minister David Cameron following the recent storms Mr George has held meetings with Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to reinforce his message.

Mr George said: "While Network Rail is battling to restore the rail line at Dawlish, I am pleased that the Government is supporting Network Rail which is undertaking urgent scoping work to explore a long-term and resilient solution which would avoid the kind of disruption we are experiencing now and experienced only 14 months ago when the Cowley Bridge area was flooded.

"MPs across all parties in Cornwall and the South West have not denied communities to the north the investment necessary to allow HS2 to get under way. It is therefore not too much to ask that the Government gives us a fraction of that investment to provide a resilient rail services from Penzance?

"I fear that we may have missed the kind of investment which would have provided us with resilience if it were not for the obsession of some who have sought to cut 15 minutes off the journey time to Paddington. This is a very different type of investment to the kind of works that may be necessary to produce a more reliable and resilient service – something which has always been my priority. I hope that recent history will encourage everyone to acknowledge that our top priorities for our rail service have to be resilience and reliability, with passenger comfort and competitive ticket pricing a close second.

"But attempts to shave a miniscule amount of time off a generally five to five-and-a-half hour rail service is a lower priority.."

Mr George will present his petition to the Government and House of Commons when complete.

To sign the petition go to www.andrewgeorge.org.uk

CORNWALL councillors on a group that decides where flood defence money is spent have publicly backed the Environment Agency (EA).

The South West regional flood and coastal committee (SWRFCC) has issued an open letter to the people of Cornwall and Devon backing the beleaguered agency.

It came under fire from Local Government Minister Eric Pickles, who questioned its expert status. But it was later revealed the Government had imposed funding cuts at the EA.

Now the SWRFCC has announced it wants to "state publicly our continuing support and admiration for the work of the Environment Agency".

The letter said: "We know that flooding always causes misery, and we sympathise with everybody whose home or property has been flooded.

"We also know the work of the Environment Agency, working with the region's local authorities and other organisations, has protected many more homes and properties from flood damage by the defences put in place over the past decades."

The SWRFCC is the committee through which the Environment Agency performs its flood and coastal erosion function in the South West. It includes representation from all local authorities in Devon and Cornwall.

The committee said: "We make decisions on where to invest in new flood defences on firm evidence and tested science, and do so within Treasury rules.

"EA staff worked around the clock to provide timely warnings, repair defences and clear debris."

TODAY

9.30am – Coffee morning at the Royal British Legion, St Just, raising money for Nicola Ellis to teach deprived children in Mumbai.

8pm – Illustrated talk at Penzance Sailing Club from Jean and Steve Hall on their sail last year to the Antarctic, South Georgia and Tristan da Cunha on Dutch barque 'Europa'.

TOMORROW

6.30pm – Clothes Swap Party at the Shekinah Church, Penzance.

7pm – Loose Muse, a women's spoken word event, is launched at the Acorn, Penzance; part of the Penzance Literary Festival.

7pm – Bingo at Praze Institute.

7.30pm – "Under the Paving Stones, the Beach" play by George Yates, Imago Theatre Company, Arts Club, Westcott's Quay, St Ives (and Saturday).

7.30pm – Quiz night at Gulval village hall in aid of Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA).

SATURDAY

9.30am – Farmers' Market in St Buryan village hall.

10am – Animal Charities' Big Sale at Rosudgeon Hall.

10am – Coffee morning at 7 Penmare Court, Copperhouse, for the Godrevy Team Churches in the Hayle area; includes exhibition of Australian and Maori artefacts.

10am – Coffee morning at Leedstown Methodist church Sunday school room, in aid of church funds and to purchase paper for printing Bibles for Chinese Christians.

10am – Coffee morning in Crowan Parish Rooms in aid of St Crewenna church funds.

10am – Farmers' Market at St Just Legion.

10am – Scrapbooking workshop at the Centre, Newlyn.

10.30am – Jumble Rumble sale at the Lost and Found Café, Hypatia Trust House, Chapel Street, Penzance.

1.30pm – Car Boot Sale in Gulval Village Hall.

6.30pm – Family disco at Newlyn Legion.

7pm – Cinema Lafrowda showing Behind The Candelabra at the St Just WI hall.

8pm – Cube Theatre's Lessons In Love at the Hall for Gwinear.

8.30pm – Quiz Night at Mousehole Legion.

SUNDAY

8pm – Light-hearted LitFest literary-ish quiz at the Crown Inn, Penzance, in aid of LitFest.

MONDAY

3pm – Drop-in public consultation on housing at Ponsandane Farm at Gulval village hall (to 7pm).

7pm – Quiz night in aid of Morvah Schoolhouse, in the schoolhouse.

7.30pm – Stennack Nurse Practitioner Kate Stuart talks on delivering medical care in the Congo and Mongolia, at the Stennack Surgery Patient Participation Group AGM in the surgery conference room, St Ives.

TUESDAY

2pm – St Just Memory Café meets in the St Just Royal British Legion.

2.30pm – Penwith National Trust Association meets at Marazion Community Centre; speaker Louise Connell, director of Penlee House Museum and Gallery.

8pm – Hayle Lions Club quiz night at the Old Quay House, Lelant.

8pm – Josh Kemp's Jazz Prophets at St Ives Jazz Club at the Western Hotel, Royal Square, St Ives.

WEDNESDAY

6pm – Talk at the Telegraph Museum, Porthcurno, by John Wallis, "A Cat, Three Telegrams and a Herring Drifter: Rosebud and the Newlyn Slum Clearances".

For further details on all the above, and more, see the Down Your Way pages.

STORMS caused havoc in Fowey over the weekend leaving homes and businesses flooded and causing substantial damage to the town's harbour.

Shops and restaurants were left mopping up once again after water came gushing down Fore Street.

Wildlife photographer and cameraman Ian McCarthy watched as a huge swell washed over the quay.

"I have only lived in Fowey for four years but there are people who have lived here all their lives who have said it is the worst they have ever seen," he added.

"It looked like a swell going along the high street, like waves. That caused damage to a lot of businesses."

Harbour master Captain Paul Thomas said the strong winds and rough seas had caused "extensive damage" to the quay in Fowey and Polruan.

"It's the worst I have ever seen it," he said. "The quay in Polruan has been damaged and some of the tarmac has lifted."

The Valentine's Day storm also caused damage to the Harbour Office's workshops and equipment on the Polruan side of the river.

"Every single door of our buildings was smashed," Mr Thomas explained.

"All of our electrical equipment has been submerged with water, the ship's cradle we use to bring ships up and down has been damaged, and the Nissan hut, which has been there since 1960s, has been completely destroyed."

Staff are now faced with a race against the time to make the necessary repairs before the start of the holiday season.

"Clearly we are up against the clock," Mr Thomas said. "We need to get everything ready for when our visitors come in Easter.

"With the recent weather we are already behind schedule so we will have to get outside contractors in to get the port ready.

"And we have to try to keep costs down because we don't want to have to put them on to the customers."

During the storm Punches Cross, which usually sits at the entrance of the harbour was ripped out and floated down the river.

Mr Thomas said it is not uncommon for the white cross to become uprooted during stormy weather and it had been replaced several times before.

He said: "We will make a new one. The carpenter said he has made about eight in the time he has been here."

AFTER weeks of storms, and as 40 knot winds shook the town on Valentine's Day, the crew and fundraisers at St Ives RNLI lifeboat station were rewarded with blue skies for their annual SOS Day car wash.

With bacon and rolls donated by the Lifeboat Inn for bacon baps, cakes made by the St Ives Lifeboat Guild, crew's families manning the cake stall, and tea and coffee donated by the Co-op, all was in place.

Local people, businesses and visitors turned out in their droves to have their cars washed and to fill RNLI collection buckets.

More than 200 cars were washed, with some paying with a hand's full of change saved up for the event, and others giving up to £40 for a car wash.

The St Ives lifeboat crew had an efficient production line in operation to cope with demand at peak times, with cars being pressure washed then moved to a team soaping and washing the cars down using equipment donated by Travis Perkins and WJ Winn Funeral Directors, and finally moving round to the hose to be rinsed off.

The stalls in the boathouse were also busy all day long, selling everything from tea, coffee and cakes, bacon baps and hot soup provided by Pels of St Ives to providing games to keep people entertained. As the day progressed and the sun was replaced by cloud and breezes, the crew's wives and children also joined in to help.

St Ives Lifeboat Station fundraising manager Suzanne Tanner said: "Over the day an amazing 215 cars were cleaned. We can't thank everyone enough for making the day such a success, including all the local businesses who donated everything we needed for the day, the crew and all the other volunteers who gave up their Saturday for us, and of course the people in the town for joining in and having their cars washed."

A NUISANCE who rang the emergency services 40 times in a single day has promised Truro magistrates she will not do it again.

Noelle Rebecca Pledger-Panther, aged 56, of Goonown, St Agnes, pleaded guilty to persistently making use of public communications to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety at St Agnes in June and September last year and January this year.

Anita Kennett, for the prosecution, said: "She keeps ringing the emergency services, holding up the line for no particular purpose, being abusive to the police and telephone operators.

"On January 9 they dealt with 40 calls from her, and despite warnings and a police caution in the past for similar behaviour, she will not stop."

Deborah Von Kohler, for the defence, said she accepted having been misguided in making the calls and was sorry. "There have been some issues that made her make these calls and she is resolving them through other means," she said. "I'm assured by her she will not make more calls because what was behind it has been resolved in another way, and I am bound by my instructions and cannot say any more."

Pledger-Panther, who was using two crutches, unable to sit or stand in comfort, told the magistrates: "I have found another way to resolve these issues. I regret what I have done." The case was adjourned for a probation report.

FRIDAY night's storm flooded a seaside road in Falmouth, damaging benches and washing more than a foot of sand from the beach.

The road at Swanpool beach remained closed for three days.

Staff at Swanpool Café closed early on Friday, at 4pm, as the storm took hold and the sea washed over the beach onto the road.

Sam Hobson, assistant manager of the café, said: "We closed early so we didn't get cut off. Some people were hanging around but the road was just about starting to get wet. It was wet and windy, so we didn't hang around. We just decided to call it a day."

Staff returned at 9.30am on Saturday to find the road closed.

"Most of the road was flooded with about 20cm of water," said Mr Hobson. "We had 30cm to 50cm of sand on the road by the car park – it was pretty deep. And some of our benches were partially damaged.

"Sensible people were turning around but a couple of idiots tried driving through and got stuck."

The café was busy over the weekend in clearer weather.

Cornwall Council said large amounts of and debris had made the road unsafe until contractor Cormac cleared it on Monday. Pool levels also remained high until Monday, adding to flooding.

The road was reopened on Tuesday morning.

AN ambitious project to bring solar power to a Penryn school has received help from a local wind farm.

Mabe School has set a fundraising target of £10,000 to install solar panels on the school roof next summer as part of the Solar Schools Project, a UK-wide initiative to put clean energy into classrooms.

Truro-based REG Windpower, which owns and operates the Roskrow Barton Wind Farm outside Penryn, has supported the project with a £1,000 donation towards the solar panels.

Jo Clarkson, a governor at Mabe School, said she was delighted to receive the support, adding: "Our students visit Roskrow Barton Wind Farm to learn about wind energy, and we look forward to expanding their study of renewable energy with solar panels that will power their classroom."

Sophie Hartfield, from REG Windpower, said: "We are extremely impressed with Mabe School's initiative to bring renewable energy inside the classroom – and on the roof."

Mabe School has now raised £1,781 towards its goal. To find out more, or to donate, visit solarschools.org.uk/mabe

STUDENTS and local people joined forces to help clean up Falmouth's main beach in "glorious" sunshine during the respite from the recent storms.

At Sunday's litter-pick on Gyllyngvase Beach up to 80 volunteers, including junior rugby players, filled 16 bags with rubbish.

Gylly Beach Café manager Mark Agnew said the beach was packed on the "glorious" sunny day at the start of half-term.

He added: "It just goes to show that there's a fantastic community spirit for people to take time out on the first sunny day in a few weeks to help keep one of Falmouth's beaches as super-clean as it normally is."

Kristy Wallace, the community action co-ordinator for Falmouth and Exeter Students' Union, said the volunteers included a mix of students and locals "which was amazing seeing as we only got the advert out there on Thursday".

She added: "We collected 16 overloaded bags, which was great seeing as the beach was quite clean anyway."

The event was one of 10 taking place across the county as part of the Great Cornish Beach Litter Pick, led by Volunteer Cornwall and Clean Cornwall.

Henry Orchard, marketing director for Clean Cornwall, said: "I popped along to Gyllyngvase beach in Falmouth where a team of 80 people joined in.

"Falmouth Junior rugby team even stopped their beach training session to help by pulling out a huge metal sign that was submerged where people swim.

"Last weekend's litter-pick demonstrates just why the Cornish community is so strong and we would like to thank everyone involved."

The event was supported by Cornwall Council's environment and localism services and waste contractor Cory.

A BUDDING local photographer will soon reopen a market stall selling his best work.

Jake Riding, from Helston, first started selling his pictures at the town's weekly street market in September, when he was just 16.

Although he temporarily suspended the stall due to the extreme weather conditions, he says he'll be back soon.

"I started the stall to hopefully make a few quid from my photos," he said.

"I've been so happy with the response I've had from people stopping by and having a look.

"As a result I've been able to quit my job as a paperboy and focus entirely on my stall, and what was originally a hobby is beginning to turn into a business."

Jake, now 17, studies land-based studies and ICT at Cornwall College and hopes to become a news photographer.

He first got into photography after winning a competition at Helston Community College and lists local photographer Bob Sharples as one of his inspirations.

"My favourite photograph that I've shot is one of a railway caravan at the Helston Railway site," he said.

"Out of all my images that I've sold, the most popular ones have definitely been those either with a strong local theme or those featuring events such as Culdrose Air Day."

To view Jake's images or find out when he will be running his stall visit his website at www.jakeriding.co.uk

A GROUP of campaigners from Camborne are calling for developers to stop building on green sites in Cornwall to protect its "diminishing" rural areas.

The residents of Penponds, near Camborne, have said "enough is enough" after plans were submitted by a housing developer to build four new dwellings on a greenfield site.

Treve James, a Penponds resident, said local people did not mind houses being built, but developers should look to use up brownfield land – previously used for industrial purposes – not important agricultural or green land.

But Cornwall Council said more than half of such developments in recent years have been built on such former industrial land.

Now Mr James and 30 other residents intend to write to council planners asking that they refuse housing applications for greenfield sites until industrial land is used up.

Mr James said: "We need to protect our rural areas. None of us are against the development of homes. But it makes sense for brownfield sites to be cleaned up and used before the green sites are lost to new houses. It all seems a bit of a shambles to be honest. The rural areas are diminishing.

"These plans at Penponds were put in last year but the idea was to build six houses. Back then it was refused over highways matters but now it has come back with a four homes plan. But as soon as one plan goes in for four homes, there will be another for eight, then 14. Enough is enough."

A council spokesman said more than half of new dwellings since 2010 have been built on brownfield sites, adding: "As well as looking to provide for Cornwall's housing needs, consideration also has to be given to the importance of our towns' historic characters, and avoiding town cramming ultimately involves developing greenfield sites.

"A key factor in that balance in rural areas is to support the future viability of our villages, enabling the development of housing to meet local needs. To achieve this requires the development of green fields, with a focus on ensuring the use of the most appropriate sites.

"If all the proposed residential growth in the Cornwall Local Plan to 2030 was provided on greenfield sites, the developed area would be increased to approximately 6 per cent.

"However, while accepting that there will be further development on green fields, the council continues to encourage development on previously developed land."

THE Atlantic Inn in Porthleven played centre stage this week in fundraising efforts for the town's fishermen.

Their boats and equipment had been damaged after waves breached the harbour defences two weeks ago.

A coffee morning was held at the pub on Saturday followed by a charity raffle and auction in the evening.

Meanwhile, Porthleven town councillors have agreed to donate £1,000 of taxpayers' money to the port's fishermen's association; half of the entire budget set aside by the council for charitable donations in a year.

Councillor Julia Schofield suggested the donation which was backed by the other members.

Councillor Andrew Wallis said he would donate £500 from his community fund as a Cornwall councillor. He said the sad sight of the harbour without any boats was an incentive to help the fishermen and added that the harbour had not been empty for more than 100 years, possibly since 1903.

Mr Berryman said the public response to help clear the harbour and save the boats had been amazing.

"The harbour master did a superb job. The coastguards also kept people safe. I'd like to thank them," he added.

Perfect Shape hairdressers in the town is holding a fundraiser on Saturday, with money from haircuts being donated to the fund.

Skinner's Brewery has also offered to donate 5p from each bottle or pint of its Porthleven ale to the association.

Work is now under way to repair the harbour. Porthleven Harbour and Dock Company has taken delivery of a replacement set of baulks, the wooden beams that are lowered to block the entrance to the inner harbour.

They were cut to order by Jo Burbridge of Jo Sawmills in Mabe.

A STUDENT is planning to take to the water in a boat made entirely out of plastic bottles.

Daniel Roberts, a first year marine science student at Falmouth Marine School, came up with the idea to raise awareness of plastics in the oceans and to raise funds for the Marine Conservation Society.

He said: "I had been thinking up ideas for a charity project for a while and suggested it to my lecturer Colin Smith.

"I was told by him that, several years ago, another student had built a bottle boat and sailed it around the world.

"Although mine will not be as sophisticated, I like the idea behind it and got a small team together to start planning."

Daniel and his team considered several designs before beginning work on the vessel, which they hope will take them from Gyllyngvase to Swanpool.

"After looking at several designs we decided that, to carry several people, we needed to calculate the buoyancy needed for each person.

"We calculated that a two-litre Coca Cola bottle will displace two litres of water, therefore giving two kilograms of positive buoyancy.

"We cut off the bottom of each bottle and stack them into 11-foot long 'bottle logs' which are flexible and, roughly, give 30 kilograms of buoyancy each.

"I'm confident we will make to Swanpool but not so sure we'll get back – but even if we sink it will add to the fun."

The team aims to continue to build the 'bottle logs' until they run out of material. They also have to decide if they are to make a canoe or catamaran before determining a date to set sail.

Daniel and his team have been delighted with the support they've received, with the student union helping to collect over 400 bottles and B&Q in Penryn interested in helping to supply materials.

A TEENAGE carer from Newquay has qualified as an International Surfing Association surf instructor after volunteering at a surfing project where she was once a client.

Now 16, Ebony Cave spent most of her early teenage years caring for her uncle David, who had Down's syndrome, and had little time to meet people or enjoy her favourite hobby, surfing.

In September 2011 the county's Young Carers Service referred her to the Wave Project, a not-for-profit company that aims to help young people gain confidence to meet challenges in their lives through surfing, and undertook a six-week free course.

"I used to surf quite a lot when I was younger, but as I became a young carer I had a limited amount of time to do it," she said.

"I was referred on to the Wave Project and loved it straight away. It was really good fun. All the volunteers who worked with me were really supportive and encouraging."

After completing the course, Ebony decided to volunteer at the project so she could help other young people: "I saw what an effect it had on myself and other people, and I wanted to give something back.

"I wanted to help some of the other clients feel as happy and as encouraged as I was. I felt like I was part of a little community of surfers helping other people."

Ebony now has to complete a further 20 hours of surf coaching as a volunteer to become fully qualified and says she plans to reach her target by continuing to volunteer with the Wave Project during the spring before she completes her GCSEs later this year.