The Government should not ditch plans to introduce a minimum price per unit of alcohol, according to Devon and Cornwall's Police Crime Commissioner.

Conservative commissioner Tony Hogg has joined Safer Cornwall and Cornwall Public Health in calling for the coalition to reconsider setting the minimum price of alcohol at 45p per unit.

Reports emerged last week that the Government had gone back on its pledge to introduce a minimum pricing plan, instead bowing to pressure from ministers who argued that it would only penalise responsible drinkers.

However, Safer Cornwall has said it believes a 45p per unit price would not punish responsible drinkers because the amount they spend will be relatively unaffected and the price of a pint in a pub would be unchanged.

Mr Hogg, who was elected as Devon and Cornwall's first police commissioner last November, said minimum pricing would also help reduce alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour.

He said: "Drinking is linked to many of the crimes that occur in Devon and Cornwall. I am committed to making sure that together we address issues that matter most to the people who live here.

"Alcohol misuse and related crime use up an enormous amount of policing resource, and it's therefore vital that we continue to address this issue from as many different angles as we can."

A Safer Cornwall study for 2012-13 estimated that a quarter of Cornwall's over-16 population drinks more than is recommended and that alcohol-related hospital admissions are up between 7% and 10%.

Under a 45p per unit minimum pricing plan, a 13% bottle of red wine would cost at least £4.41 and two litres of 5.3% strength cider would set a drinker back £4.77.

The Safer Cornwall Partneship is made up of public and private organisations, such as Cornwall Council and Cornwall and Isles of Scilly NHS.

Its chairman Des Tidbury said: "The principal methods that can be used to reduce alcohol misuse are controlling its price and availability, and by challenging social attitudes."

Jez Bayes, of Cornwall's Council's drug and alcohol action team, added: "It's often stated that there is no evidence that minimum pricing would make a difference, but actually research suggests that where this has been introduced in other countries, health benefits can appear within 3 years."

A Tory council branded a "banana republic" by critics has severed links with the controversial business group led by under-investigation "councillor for hire" Graham Brown.

East Devon District Council has cut its £5,200 annual grant to the East Devon Business Forum, which is to consider whether to disband at a meeting tomorrow.

Mr Brown has been referred by the council to a police fraud hotline over his claimed access to top officials and ability to win planning permission.

The forum he once led remains the subject of a task force investigation after alleged links of undue influence on council policy. Chief executive Mark Williams has ended the funding amid mounting criticism but now he also faces calls to resign.

Sidmouth campaigner Tony Green, author of a dossier on the forum's activities, said the furore over planning had left East Devon looking like "a sort of banana republic" amid allegations that developers could buy planning permission. He claimed EDBF was a "minefield of conflicts of interest" and said he believed Mr Williams' inaction in the face of numerous warnings was "a serious failure of responsibility".

"It is surprising the council should have agreed to fund an organisation that acted as a lobby group for big landowners and developers, he added.

"(Mr Williams) has lost all credibility and should go."

A Task and Finish Forum (TAFF) was set up to consider links between the forum and the council last year.

Critics have subsequently accused the council of "muzzling" the committee by curtailing its remit, specifically with regard to planning applications.

Mr Brown, who owns the Grey Green planning consultancy business, resigned as ward member for Feniton and Buckerell and as the chairman of the forum after he was secretly filmed declaring he could secure planning consents for a fee of up to £20,000.

However, he has vowed to clear his name of any wrongdoing and maintains that he did not believe there was a conflict of interest between his professional work and his role as a councillor.

The council has said

In a statement, it said it was "not aware of any improper influence" on planning.

Roy Stuart, forum vice chairman, has called for members to decide whether to disband the group or continue with an amended constitution.

A council spokesman, said: "The chief executive decided that in light of the issues being raised about the forum, it would be fruitless to commit any additional support to the joint body until further notice.

"The funding does not take the form of a cash grant. It is there to cover the costs of officer time (secretary and minute-taker) and the cost of using meeting space at the East Devon Business Centre, which the council owns."

A police spokesman confirmed that the subject of Mr Brown's comments had been referred by the council to the hotline Action Fraud but there is no live investigation into whether Mr Brown had acted illegally.

Hungary's second most wanted man has been arrested in Somerset.

The man, who is 40 years old but has not been named, was arrested in Bridgwater under a European arrest warrant. He had been living in the UK for more than 14 years under a false name and was wanted for the murder in Hungary. His disappearance elevated him to become the country's second most wanted fugitive.

The Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation contacted Avon and Somerset Police to execute the warrant.

Detective Inspector Andy Bevan said: "We will work closely with our colleagues from other countries to place suspects before the courts whether it is here or abroad."

Soul star Joss Stone told a court she left her front door open and rarely set her burglar alarm.

The 25-year-old singer was giving evidence yesterday at the trial of Kevin Liverpool and Junior Bradshaw – who are charged with plotting to rob and kill her then dump her body in a river, in June 2011.

Exeter Crown Court heard that the pair were arrested a few miles from Miss Stone's home near Ashill, mid-Devon, with an arsenal of weapons – including a samurai sword – in the boot of their Fiat Punto.

Miss Stone was at home at the time but said she was only aware of the incident when police contacted her later that day.

She told the court: "Apart from someone (police) coming around to say someone is trying to kill me, it was a really nice day."

Speaking about the lack of security at her home, she said: "I've lived in Devon for a long time and nobody really shuts their door."

Describing the security arrangements at her home at the time of the alleged plot, she said: "I had an alarm but I did not really turn it on very much.

"I didn't really have a lock on my door... but I do now."

She also agreed that the property, accessed by narrow lanes in a rural part of Devon, was an "open house" for family, friends and her then-boyfriend, Danny Radford.

Wearing a white blouse and a black skirt, the singer said: "At the time I had a gate. To get in, they (visitors) would just open the gate, drive in with their car, get up to another (wooden) gate, shut the gate hopefully so the dogs don't get out, then say hello."

The court heard that the two defendants were arrested at around 9am on June 13, 2011.

Asked by Philip King QC, defending Liverpool, if there was any reason for Miss Stone to "keep quiet" about where she lived, the Fell In Love With A Boy singer smiled as she said: "Everybody knows where everybody lives (in the area). I didn't really feel worried about it.

"I think I can say that for everybody who lives around there. Until now."

She described her tour diary – detailing dates of when she was at home – as "private", but said some people wanting to know whether she was at home or not might "put two and two together" with the help of her published concert dates.

She told Martin Meeke QC, defending Bradshaw, the only way somebody would know if she was home – outside of her friendship group, family, colleagues or neighbours – would be if they "knew somebody who knew something".

Earlier the court heard the two defendants had previously gained evidence about one of Miss Stone's former homes, near Cullompton off the M5, after studying a video documentary she agreed to be made for MTV's Cribs series.

Miss Stone smiled as the six-minute video was played to the jury this afternoon – appearing to grimace in the witness box at one point when her swearing on camera was bleeped out.

Earlier the court had heard about Miss Stone's association with members of the Royal Family.

Asked yesterday about her royal connections, Miss Stone said: "I have sung for them a couple of times – once for the Princess Diana concert.

"After that there was another charity event for (Prince) Harry.

"I don't know. I guess they just invited me because they thought it was nice to invite me."

Local postman Alex Greening, who was on his rounds on the morning of June 13, 2011, said he was approached by two men in an accident-damaged vehicle inquiring about Miss Stone.

Giving evidence yesterday afternoon, he said the occupants appeared to be lost, driving at around 10mph, a few miles from Miss Stone's home.

He said they showed him a photo of Miss Stone but he told them he didn't know where she lived.

Bradshaw, 32, and Liverpool, 35, both of St Stephen's Close, Manchester, deny charges of conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to cause GBH and conspiracy to rob.

The trial continues.

Youngsters from north Devon will next week pay a visit to London to begin celebrations marking the 40th year of the Golden Hinde II. The vessel was built by J Hinks & Son in Appledore, and the town's primary school will be spending a night aboard at its mooring on the Thames. General manager Troy Richards, who set up the Golden Hinde Trust, is eager to convey the history of Sir Francis Drake and his vessel, which was the first to go round the world.

London Editor

More than 55,000 families in Devon and Cornwall could get up to £6,000 of state help to pay for childcare, George Osborne will confirm in a Budget aimed at hard-pressed families today.

The Chancellor is also expected to scrap September's 3p fuel duty rise against warnings motorists in rural areas such as the Westcountry are feeling the squeeze in particular.

And in a bid to kick-start the flagging economy, Mr Osborne is to demand an extra £2.5 billion of Whitehall cuts to invest in big road and building projects.

Business leaders in the region are hoping for a commitment of cash to widen the A303 between London and the South West, where jams undermine business and tourism.

Some MPs are also expecting the beer duty escalator – which will add 2% above inflation to the cost of alcohol – to be scrapped against warnings it is forcing the closure of pubs, especially in rural areas.

Moves to slash the spiralling cost of childcare will see working parents earning up to £150,000 each get tax breaks worth as much as £1,200 a year per child.

It will only apply to couples where both parents are working, or single parents who are employed. The scheme will be phased in from 2015 – the year of the general election.

Estimates suggest 24,750 families could benefit in Devon, 18,258 in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, 9,423 in Plymouth and 4,431 in Torbay.

Stephen Gilbert, Liberal Democrat MP for St Austell and Newquay, said the region has among the highest childcare costs in the country.

He said: "This new scheme will help ensure that all parents can afford to work if they want to, which is essential to creating a stronger economy and a fairer society for the next generation."

Health, schools, overseas aid and HM Revenue and Customs will be protected from the cuts, and councils and police budgets will be protected for the first year.

But other Whitehall departments – such as Defra, the countryside and farming department – will be told to find 1% savings on their day-to-day budgets for each of two years.

MPs also want a 5p fuel duty rebate available to island communities including the Scillies extended to rural areas on the mainland.

Anne McIntosh MP, chairman of the rural affairs select committee of MPs, said she was "confident" that Britain can satisfy state aid rules on fuel subsidies.

An inquest has been opened and adjourned into the death of a retired legal secretary.

The body of Susan Cole, 54, was discovered at her home in Torquay, on March 6.

Her husband Michael Cole, 56, was immediately rushed to hospital with injuries of his own. He was subsequently arrested and charged with the murder of his wife.

Mr Cole appeared at Torbay Magistrates' Court and was committed to Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on Friday. He was remanded in custody pending the hearing.

Police were called to a three-storey property in Shelley Avenue, Torquay, at 6.40am on March 6 where they discovered Mrs Cole's body.

Paramedics were called, but she was declared dead at the scene.

Detectives released few details about the incident.

Crime officers carried out a forensic search of the property while detectives made house-to-house inquiries.

The investigation is being led by the major crime investigation team and the investigating officer is DCI Dave Thorne.

A statement released yesterday by the Coroner's Office in Torbay said the cause of death was "yet to be ascertained" pending test results.

A 13-year-old boy has been arrested after being allegedly found in possession of a knife in a school classroom. The teenager was reportedly holding the weapon around 11am yesterday at the Marine Academy school in Kings Tamerton area of Plymouth. A police spokesman said: "When police arrived the boy was alone in a classroom. On request he put the knife down and was then searched by police." It was understood no-one was threatened with the knife. The boy remained in police custody yesterday.

Eight vehicles were involved in a road smash on the A30 in Cornwall yesterday. The road was closed from Kennards house to Carminnow Cross as police and fire crews attended the scene and made the vehicles safe. No further information was available yesterday evening. It was one of several incidents yesterday during heavy downpours of hail and rain. A female driver was injured in a three-vehicle accident on the A38 in Devon after a silver VW Polo spun and hit the central barrier.

The body of a woman has been recovered from the sea at a popular holiday resort. The body was discovered by two workmen by Whipsiderry beach in Newquay at around 10am yesterday. It was spotted in the sea water before being taken ashore by a lifeboat. Both Newquay inshore lifeboat and the resort's cliff rescue team were involved in the recovery of the body. A police spokesman confirmed the discovery, but did not release any further information as investigations continue.

A coalition of Cornish organisations have joined forces with Devon and Cornwall's Police and Crime Commissioner to urge the Prime Minister not to back down on his pledge to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol.

It has been feared in the past week that David Cameron has abandoned his plan to set the minimum price per unit of alcohol to 45p, following a reported backlash from several ministers who argued it would penalise responsible drinkers.

But Conservative commissioner Tony Hogg has lent his voice to calls from Safer Cornwall, a collaboration of public, private and voluntary organisations, and Cornwall Public Health, to lobby the Government to push ahead with the policy.

Mr Hogg, who assumed his post in November, said introducing a 45p minimum price would form part of a range of policies that would help stamp down on alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour.

It is estimated nearly half of all violent crime in Cornwall is linked to alcohol, with it also involved in over half of domestic violence incidents, and nearly a third of sexual offences.

Around half of the road accidents causing deaths of pedestrians in the last seven years involved drinking.

David Parker, community safety officer for Cornwall Council, which is part of Safer Cornwall, said: "The Government asked for responses to its alcohol pricing consultation, which ended in February, and Safer Cornwall responded in favour of minimum unit pricing. We are urging the government to stick to its original proposals."

A Westcountry MP has pledged to oppose all new commercial wind farms after a surge in applications pushed parts of the countryside to "tipping point".

Conservative Geoffrey Cox said he will formally object to each and every new scheme in his Torridge and West Devon constituency after the area became a target for turbine companies.

The pledge comes as French state-owned EDF Energy Renewables announces plans to build the biggest scheme so far in the district – six towers measuring 377ft (115m) from base to blade tip.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) claims Torridge council has abandoned all hope of refusing planning permission after losing every appeal it has contested.

The CPRE claims there are already 43 approved single turbines, 20 schemes in planning and dozens more in the pipeline subject to "scoping" exercises.

CPRE chairman Penny Mills said the countryside was being transformed into a "renewable energy landscape".

"Torridge council feels that it cannot refuse as planning inspectors will overturn the decision," she added.

"I think it has given up because it costs money and time fighting these decisions.

"It is a constant battle and all driven by these Government subsidies."

Mr Cox said the "whole of the district" was now affected.

Torridge council admitted being powerless to stop the proliferation, adding that the committee was bound by planning rules.

THE FIRST phase of a flagship project to improve the condition of the coastal path between Sennen and Land's End is nearing completion.

A range of organisations have invested more than £75,000 in improving the stretch of the South West Coast Path between the two tourist destinations.

The National Trust, Cornwall Council, Land's End Company and the South West Coast Path team generated in the region of £20,000 for Stage 1.

The first phase included a granite stone pitching project to solve major erosion problems and improve access over 220 metres of the coastal path.

Stage 2 funding has been secured from the Rural Development Programme for England, the Land's End Company, Cornish Cottage Holidays, Natural England and the National Trust.

Nigel Picken, chief executive of Cornish Cottage Holidays, said: "I am delighted we're able to support improvements to the South West Coast Path; it's enjoyed by many of our guests, our staff and their families."

RELAXING in his living room with a game of football on the television, a Nancledra man sat down to enjoy a bag of tortilla chips.

Little did he know that eating just a few of the tasty snacks would leave him struggling to breathe and minutes from falling into a coma.

Ken Maidment suffered severe anaphylactic shock after eating the sour cream and onion tortilla chips, bought from Tesco.

"My mouth started burning, then my throat, and then an hour or so later my breathing was very short and my voice had practically gone and I knew that I was shutting down," said Mr Maidment, 63.

"I knew I was on the brink."

His wife Glynis said his face had become swollen and contorted.

"He was blowing up like a balloon," she said.

"Looking back on it now, it really was a life-or-death situation."

Mrs Maidment frantically phoned NHS Direct but was told there was a four-hour wait for a doctor, so she hung up and immediately dialled 999.

Within a matter of minutes two paramedics were on the scene treating Mr Maidment.

"Before they jabbed him with adrenalin I think I heard them say it was 'two minutes to comatose'," she said.

"I could have been talking to The Cornishman about an obituary if it weren't for the brilliant paramedics."

The couple praised the lifesaving pair who worked on Mr Maidment in an ambulance for 20 minutes before taking him to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.

He spent the night being monitored by doctors before being given a clean bill of health.

"I'm feeling OK now," said Mr Maidment, who has been given a special pen which enables him to inject himself with a shot of adrenalin if he sufferers an allergic reaction again.

Despite his medical near-miss, Mr Maidment has chosen not to find out what ingredient in the crisps caused the severe reaction, instead deciding to stick to tried and tested foods.

"I don't normally tend to eat that kind of thing," he said.

"I'm not worried about it; I just won't eat that kind of thing any more. It just goes to show that something like this can really catch you out.

"These tortilla chips won't be on the shopping list again. I'll just stick to things I normally eat."

PRIME Minister David Cameron has responded to The Cornishman's plea, promising to visit in the next few months.

The news has been celebrated locally with traders, business leaders and councillors looking forward to the arrival sometime before the height of summer.

It is hoped the political arrival will boost the aspirations of the town and help kick-start efforts to revitalise our shopping district for traders, visitors and locals alike.

Stuart Simpson, managing director of Simpson Brothers' clothing shop, said he was keen to show the positives as well as negatives hitting our high street.

"Penzance has something going for it," said the businessman, who added that Simpson Brothers had been a familiar face on the high street for around 150 years.

"It is great the amount of independent shops we have and that is a real draw to the town.

Lowering

"But business rates are too high and so is car parking.

"If you look at out-of-town stores, there are probably more cars in those free parking spaces at any time of day than there are in Penzance."

Mr Simpson added that customer service, promoting the rich mix of independent traders and lowering parking charges were all key to the future of the high street and should be showcased to Mr Cameron.

"The economy is a national problem, not just something affecting us," he said.

"There will always be a market for a town centre in Penzance but the size of the market is a different thing."

Mr Cameron vowed to visit Penwith after receiving a letter from The Cornishman earlier this month, calling on him to come and see the hard work and dedication of local people to make our town flourish and to help get Penzance out of the economic difficulties.

A need for change has been supported locally with hundreds of people adding their names to a petition calling for a visit by Mr Cameron.

Many have also shared their views on areas of town life that the Prime Minister should focus his efforts on.

Paul Shaw, chairman of Causewayhead Traders' Association said VAT is hitting businesses hard.

"VAT is the killer," he said. "A cut would be beneficial. Any show of interest and support for what people are trying to do locally is very positive."

Town mayor Phil Rendle said: "This is very positive and we now need to prepare for his visit and see what he has got in mind to help us."

STARLINGS, sparrows and seagulls are familiar sights in west Cornwall but what about a bird of prey more commonly seen in the Australian bush?

That was the peculiar sight that greeted Barbora Kamhalova while walking her puppy near Penzance on Monday morning.

Spotting a kookaburra stuck in a tree near her Trereife home, she called her partner Caleb Munday to rescue it.

Armed with a ladder, the 34-year-old scaled the tree and untangled the bird, which was hanging upside-down after becoming caught in the branches.

"It has got a big beak but luckily it didn't peck me," he said.

After rescuing the stricken bird, Mr Munday put it in a box and took it to his Mousehole business, Hole Foods Deli, before trying to track down the owner.

"Kookaburras normally have a very distinctive laugh but this one wasn't too happy being in a box," he said.

"We kept it in the deli and people kept coming in saying, 'are you sure it is a kookaburra because they are from Australia?"

Phoning Paradise Park, Hayle, for advice, the deli manager and owner was told how to feed and care for the white and brown-feathered bird while the search for its home continued.

"We do hear some mad stories here and that is certainly a mad one," said Nick Reynolds, director and one of the owners of Paradise Park.

"I have never had anyone call to say they have found a kookaburra before but people do come across strange animals."

He added that people do sometimes keep and train the birds as pets and Paradise Park has five of its own kookaburras which fly in shows.

After spreading the word about his exotic winged find, Mr Munday received a call from the bird's owner and they were reunited the same day.

HAYLE and its residents are all part of the legacy of the September 11 terrorist attacks in America, the widow of a Cornish hero has said.

Rick Rescorla, who was born and raised in Hayle, helped save the lives of nearly 2,700 people by ensuring they evacuated the World Trade Center south tower before it collapsed after being hit by one of two hijacked airliners.

The 62-year-old US Vietnam War veteran, who was head of security for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, was killed when the tower collapsed.

His wife Susan, who visits Cornwall every year, spent a couple of hours at Penpol School last Friday where her husband used to be a pupil.

During her visit, pupils held an emotional assembly with a performance by the choir and band, formed of youngsters aged 8 and up, of the hit song Black and Gold by Sam Sparro.

Year 3 children at the school gave a choral speaking performance of The Hairy Toe by Daniel Postgate, which had everyone laughing. The final part of the assembly was the showing of a film made from last year's end of year show. In it, Year 6 girls danced a moving tribute to Mr Rescorla.

Mrs Rescorla said afterwards that the dance was a beautiful and magical thing.

"I am overwhelmed," she said. "Although it made me very emotional I can't thank you enough. I will keep it with me always. I felt like I was in heaven watching it."

Mr Rescorla foresaw the terrorist attacks, with his warnings featuring in a Channel 4 documentary in 2005, entitled The Man Who Predicted 9/11. He made staff at the bank regularly practise escape drills which later saved their lives.

The Cornishman was last seen going back up the stairs of the tower looking for stragglers.

For the second part of her visit Mrs Rescorla was led on a tour of the Rick Rescorla Wildlife Garden by head teacher Paul Hodson and shown a number of books and animations that the pupils had been working on recently.

Mrs Rescorla said she was always impressed by the school: "It is the same every year. The school amazes me – every time I come it is more innovative than ever.

"In the last two years I have had many speaking engagements all over the world and what I speak about now is the legacy and the legacy of 9/11 includes the whole world and everything changed when we had it happen on our soil ... so Penpol School is a part of this legacy because it is a part of Rick's world."

First and second-time buyers will need to find a deposit of just 5% to get the chance to move into new-build homes worth up to £600,000, it was revealed.

Families in the South West struggle to get on or move up the property ladder because of an unfavourable ratio of high prices to low wages that is worse only in London.

Buying a house in Cornwall now costs £220,083 – almost 13 times the average local wage. In Devon, it costs £234,610 – again 13 times annual pay in the county.

The Chancellor's Help-to-Buy scheme – a deliberate echo of Margaret Thatcher's council house Right-to-Buy scheme – was part of an "aspiration nation" Budget designed to boost business and ease the burden on working families.

Other eye-catching give-aways in the Budget included taking a penny off the pint to help save community pubs – but cider was excluded.

And by scrapping September's 3p fuel duty rise after a two-year freeze, a driver of a Vauxhall Astra will save £7 every time they fill up, the Chancellor claimed.

Corporation tax was slashed to 20% and the National Insurance allowance raised to boost small business, while the personal tax-free allowance will increase to £10,000.

But the hand-outs provided cover for a disastrous overall picture. Growth forecasts were halved for this year – down from 1.2 per cent to just 0.6 per cent – suggesting the economy is grinding to a halt.

The Chancellor described yesterday's package as a "Budget for people who aspire to work hard and get on".

But he added: "Today, I'm going to level with people about the difficult economic circumstances we still face and the hard decisions required to deal with them."

Labour said it was a "more of the same Budget from a downgraded Chancellor".

Westcountry MPs broadly welcomed the back-to-the-walls statement given the limited room for manoeuvre.

The eye-catching policies – which also included a childcare tax-break and future splurge of roads and building – will be principally paid for by cuts to unprotected Whitehall departments, a tax evasion crackdown and extending a public sector pay freeze.

The Chancellor also boasted the Government had created 1.25 million new jobs and reduced the deficit by a third.

The Help-to-Buy scheme for those struggling to find mortgage deposits will include £3.5 billion for shared equity loans, and a Government interest-free loan worth 20% of the value of a new-build house.

The Chancellor said the scheme will be available to everyone who wants to buy a home from next year.

A new mortgage guarantee, sufficient to support £130 billion of loans, will help people who cannot afford a big deposit.

The Government will also offer interest-free loans for five years for those wanting to buy new-build homes.

The loans will be available to those who can find a 5% deposit, with the loan worth up to 20% of the value of a home worth up to £600,000 and repayable when it is sold.

According to the National Housing Federation, in the South West the standard 25% deposit on an averagely priced home now stands at £55,021 – a figure the average wage-earner would take more than nine years to save.

The principle behind the scheme is two-fold: help struggling buyers to buy a home and in turn get more houses built, fuelling economy-boosting construction jobs.

Neil Parish, Conservative MP for Tiverton and Honiton, said: "If the Conservative Party is not the party of home-owners then what are we?

"Hopefully this should make a house in Devon more affordable."

Stephen Gilbert, Lib Dem MP for St Austell and Newquay, said: "This will directly benefit many families in Cornwall who currently struggle to save the money for a deposit, while battling with soaring house prices. Home ownership should be a reachable aspiration for local families."

Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Somerset Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "We're encouraged by the unexpected improvements for home buyers – that's always been one of our great clarion calls because we know how quickly it converts into jobs.

"If you get people on to the housing ladder it improves social mobility and helps the construction industry."

Andrew Berry, managing director of Truro-based Kernow Property Services, said: "For a long time we have seen people struggle to secure mortgages and therefore there has been limited movement in the property market.

"During the past three years we have seen things improve steadily and I believe that the new scheme will help the market recover and gain stability."

Mr Osborne told MPs Help-to-Buy is a "dramatic intervention to get our housing market moving".

He said: "For newly built housing, Government will put up a fifth of the cost. And for anyone who can afford a mortgage but can't afford a big deposit, our Mortgage Guarantee will help you buy your own home."

The idea was welcomed by mortgage lenders and housebuilders, but the Treasury was forced to rebut warnings that it risked fuelling a new property price bubble.

In a 54-minute statement, Mr Osborne said he wanted to send a message that Britain was "open for business", pledging to cut corporation tax to 20% by April 2015 – matching the lowest levels of any G20 country.

But the Budget underscored how the austerity years are poised to continue – with little end in sight and drawing comparisons to Japan's sluggish economy through the 1990s, which was dubbed the "lost decade".

The Chancellor blamed the downturn in the eurozone, currently gripped by a new crisis in Cyprus, which is trying to agree a £17 billion bailout.

He admitted that his target to cut debt as a percentage of GDP will now not fall until 2017/18 – two years later than planned.

Figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility suggest the Government's efforts to cut the deficit – the difference between money spent and earned – have stalled, and it will remain stuck at about £120 billion for three years.

Labour leader Ed Miliband seized on the worsening debt figures calling Mr Osborne a "downgraded Chancellor". He said: "Every Budget he comes to this House and things are worse, not better, for this country. Compared to last year's Budget: growth last year down, growth this year down, growth next year down, growth in 2015 down. All he offers is more of the same."

THREE generations of a fishing family are at risk of losing their livelihoods after being plagued by thefts and damage to their equipment.

The Henry brothers say they are on the verge of giving it all up and are discouraging their own children from following them into the business.

Cameron Henry said: "It's got that bad I could put a shotgun to my head. It's just so frustrating."

Netting and pots worth £3,000 were taken in two separate thefts within days of each other and on top of that, they claimed ships dropping anchor in Falmouth bay have damaged other pots, including 18 this week.

Cameron, who has been fishing off Mylor for more than 30 years with his brothers Ivor and Magnus, said they have had enough.

"Bills are going up so much and shellfish prices are virtually stagnant and it is slowly not adding up.

"We work a minimum of 12 hours a day and work hard but I am not sure we can carry on after having knock after knock.

"We want to give up but cannot afford to – we have three mortgages relying on it."

He said the brothers were also trying to dissuade their own children from following in their footsteps.

"I cannot see a future in fishing," said Cameron.

The netting was taken from Mylor Quay at the end of February and sometime over the next week 65 pots were taken from the family's Penryn-based storage compound.

Cameron said it has been subject to petty theft in the past so a secure steel door was fitted. However, he believed the thieves accessed the site via a farmer's field behind it.

The pots are easily identifiable as they have been designed and constructed by Cameron's father Bill.

They were new for this season and use black plastic water pipes, welded together with steel bars inside – although some of those taken were the earlier ones with blue pipe.

There are three sorts of pot taken, small ones used for crab and lobster, slightly larger ones, and prawn pots.

If anyone has any information about the thefts they should contact PC Lisa Coston at Falmouth Police Station on 101.

THE CHRISTIAN owners of a Marazion guesthouse who were taken to court after they refused a gay couple a double room will now legally be allowed to turn away unmarried straight and gay couples.

Peter and Hazelmary Bull have changed the status of the Chymorvah guesthouse to a not-for-profit company, allowing them to specify that anyone staying with them should abide by their Bible-based beliefs.

The couple revealed details of the change this week, in their first in-depth interview with The Cornishman since turning away civil partners Martyn Hall and Steven Preddy from their guesthouse almost five years ago.

Mr and Mrs Bull, who have run the guesthouse for 27 years, were later ordered to pay £3,600 in damages to the couple and their civil case has been the subject of endless media speculation.

Since then, the guesthouse owners have appealed against the decision in the Court of Appeal, which they lost, and are now set to have the case heard in the Supreme Court.

In the meantime, Mrs Bull said they wanted to be able to continue with their policy of not allowing unmarried heterosexual couples and homosexual couples to share a double bed under their roof.

Mrs Bull said: "The Christian Institute advised us on how to form a limited company, which we were able to do by stating in the articles of the company that anyone coming to stay here would be expected to abide by our Bible-based beliefs.

"When we had the trial, there were a number of local B&Bs who said, 'we are watching this very closely because we want to be able to say no sometimes', not necessarily to that particular group of people but just on certain occasions."

The couple's defence was financed by The Christian Institute, a charity which says it believes the case could have far-reaching ramifications.

A spokesman for the institute said: "The finding against them still stands. They had to find a way of still running a business so they can pay their mortgage without compromising their beliefs. The advice they got was that they should set up a not-for-profit company that only provides a service to Christians."

"All we wanted was to be able to support marriage, to say 'no' here." The Bulls give their first big interview to The Cornishman. See page 8.