Weekly round-up: Stories you may have missed

A 92-year-old scrabble national champion, emergency departments under 'extreme pressure' and the aftermath of Storm Goretti have contributed to it being a busy week for the region.

We have selected some stories you may have missed in Devon and Cornwall.

Two whole crucibles have been revealed in a river in Cornwall following Storm Goretti.

Andy Matthews from Chacewater found the vessels, which were used for smelting tin and copper, on the river bed at Calenick near Truro on Saturday morning.

He said the melting pots, or crocks, had been made in Calenick sometime during the 1800s and were found "fairly frequently, especially after a storm".

Matthews said he had found more than 40 of differing size and shape in his years of searching the river bed for "what treasures might be found".

A Dartmoor pub which was gutted by fire a decade ago is marking the anniversary with a film celebrating the venue's survival.

The Ring of Bells in North Bovey near Moretonhampstead was left in ruins when flames tore through its thatched roof on 13 January 2016, forcing a two-year closure.

Actor and filmmaker Emma Stansfield, who lives in Moretonhampstead, has captured the story in a documentary called The Ringers, which is set to premiere at the pub at 18:30 GMT on Friday.

Stansfield, who recently starred in Beyond Paradise's Christmas special, said the film was not just about the fire as it reflected on the place of a traditional village pub in "lovely, small communities".

A team of four rowing across the Atlantic were joined by three orcas for part of their crossing on Tuesday.

Clare O'Reilly from Wembury in Devon, and teammates Rosie Tong and Mel Jarman set off on 14 December for the World's Toughest Row - 3,000 miles (4,828km) from The Canaries to Antigua - and expect to finish their journey by 23 January.

O'Reilly said seeing the marine mammals was "a really exciting encounter" as they came "right up to the boat".

"They were touching the bow of the boat - which was incredible, not to steer it off course, they were just kind of curious. It was a really, really beautiful experience."

As Penny Lidgard lay awake in fear while Storm Goretti tore through Cornwall, it was not what she could see but what she could hear which worried her the most.

"The wind was absolutely howling," said Lidgard, who lives in a caravan in St Hilary near Penzance.

"It was pitch black but you could hear the crash of the trees around us. We were just laying there thinking, 'there goes another one'.

"We were really scared."

Exeter City Council will ask the government to cancel elections that were due to take place in May.

City council members took part in a heated debate over whether to hold the elections after the government said it would consider requests for postponements from councils involved in a massive local government reorganisation.

A report prepared by the Labour-run authority said cancelling the elections would free up financial resources for "the work required to prepare for the transition to new unitary councils".

Opposition parties were heavily critical of any possible cancellation but the council leader said he would be writing to the government to request a postponement.

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