They're creepy, they're crawly, but Ruth has a slow passion for snails
Sarah Pitt meets a Totnes grandmother turned national radio star snail scientist.Ruth Brooks is looking for snails. As we talk on this scorcher of an afternoon, she is rummaging under strawberry plants...
View ArticleEnthusiasts live steam dream as engines roll in for festival
Enthusiasts and families explored the world of steam engines and machinery during one of the biggest events on a popular resort's calendar.Exhibitors and traders from across the UK rolled into South...
View Article200-year-old statue wrecked in vandal attack
A 200-year-old statue at an historic country park has been destroyed by vandals.The statue of Venus at Mount Edgcumbe on the Rame Peninsula is believed to have been damaged beyond repair on Wednesday.A...
View ArticleExcavation of St Piran's Oratory could begin by the autumn
A chapel built more than 1,400 years ago and encased in tons of sand in Perranporth is to be uncovered following ten years of campaigning.The St Piran Trust says work to finally reveal St Piran's...
View ArticleDouble rollover set for lottery draw
Wednesday's Lotto jackpot will be a double rollover worth an estimated £8.4 million after nobody matched all six winning numbers in Saturday's draw. The winning numbers were 05, 03, 09, 13, 17 and 37...
View ArticleFans queue to meet TV star Dawn French
Hundreds of adoring fans gathered at a Plymouth bookshop on Saturday to meet comedy legend Dawn French (above). The Vicar of Dibley star was signing copies of her new book, Oh Dear Silvia, and...
View ArticleDriver arrested after biker dies in crash
A 37-year-old man was arrested after an alleged hit-and-run in Paignton early yesterday morning which left a 19-year-old man from Buckfast dead. The man, from Trelissick Road, Paignton, was arrested...
View ArticleFestival promises week of musical entertainment
The UK's longest-running folk festival in the Westcountry has begun in style.Visitors from far and wide arrived in East Devon on Friday for the Sidmouth Folk Festival, which promises a diverse range of...
View ArticleFarmers hope for heatwave return for bountiful harvest
Cereal farmers in the Westcountry are praying for a return of dry weather so they can get on with the main grain harvest.Currently the harvest is running at least a fortnight late, following the...
View ArticleAgricultral crime costing rural economy £2m every year
Rural crime in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset cost almost £2 million last year, according to latest figures.For the first time this year, leading insurer NFU Mutual issued a local breakdown for its...
View ArticleCornwall weather warning remains with more heavy rain forecast
Fire crews are attending flooding incidents at sites across Cornwall as heavy rain continues to fall. The county remains on a yellow 'be prepared' weather alert today as rain is forecast throughout the...
View ArticleBLOG: Phew what a roller coaster (a good one)!
Good morning everyone, I am sorry it's taken so long to keep up with my Health and Fitness Blogs, but it has been a massively busy period for me. I believe my last blog was on combining a varied and...
View ArticlePenzance to London passengers stranded for nearly six hours
First Great Western has apologised to passengers on its Penzance to Paddington train after they were strandded for more than five hours. Thre company said the train suffered a brake fault leaving...
View ArticleBarn owl numbers plummet in bad weather
Barn owl numbers are under threat because of the recent extreme weather. According to experts, who have been monitoring 73 sites in Devon and Cornwall, the birds have had their worst breeding season in...
View ArticleNew Red McActee helps Gloucester to sevens finals
Redruth's new player-coach Rhodri McAtee insists he could not have warmed up for the new season in better fashion after helping Gloucester qualify for the finals of the JP Morgan Asset Management...
View ArticlePreparing the way to return the native red squirrel to Cornish woods
Bringing back red squirrels to West Cornwall will succeed only when all the grey squirrels are cleared from the area. Project Co-ordinator Natasha Collings reports on progress.The project to...
View ArticleGarden fete fun to celebrate hotel's 150th year
A historic hotel in Falmouth, from which Beatrix Potter wrote her first picture letter, celebrated its 150th anniversary in Falmouth on Sunday with a traditional English Garden feteThe Falmouth Hotel...
View ArticleNavy's 'fighting admiral' who helped to win Falklands War dies aged 81
The Prime Minister led the tributes yesterday to the Westcountry-born Naval Officer who helped to win the Falklands War for Britain, who has died at the age of 81.David Cameron hailed the "heroic...
View ArticleBranson to be reunited with Challenger II
Sir Richard Branson will be reunited with his record-breaking boat in the Westcountry today.The Virgin Atlantic Challenger II was rescued from obscurity by Plymouth businessman Dan Stevens after he...
View ArticleGlobal study shows extent of marine reaction to warming
A study which shows warming oceans are having an impact on the behaviour of marine life has been labelled as having a "very simple, but important message" by one of its Plymouth-based authors.The...
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