Bringing you the news, sport, travel and weather for Devon and Cornwall

Significant backing is offered to Virgin Orbit and Spaceport Cornwall to make Newquay launches happen.

Geoffrey Perryman is jailed for sexually abusing five boys in the 1960s and 1970s.

Image source, Getty Images

Chudleigh in south Devon has been recognised as being a bat friendly community after the creation of a bat garden.

The garden was created in 2017 using a grant from the Devon Greater Horseshoe Bat Project as part of a joint effort by Chudleigh Town Council and local community group, Chudleigh Wild.

The project aimed to increase the local population of horseshoe bats while also helping to educate local residents on the endangered species.

Local councillor Tessa Frost, who has championed greater horseshoe bats and was instrumental in creating the bat garden, said: ‘'We have had fun and learned a lot while making this garden."

Horseshoe bats have seen their population plummet by over 90% in the last 100 years, and roughly a third of the remaining bats are found in Devon.

BBC Politics

Totnes MP Sarah Wollaston is among six MPs to leave the Change UK party.

The move follows a disappointing performance in last month's EU elections, when the new party failed to get a single MEP elected.

Change UK announced that a new party leader, Anna Soubry, had been elected.

She said she was "deeply disappointed" that Heidi Allen, Chuka Umunna, Sarah Wollaston, Angela Smith, Luciana Berger and Gavin Shuker had left.

The departing MPs said they would be "returning to supporting each other as an independent grouping of MPs".

Aisling Finn
BBC News Online

A petition calling for a new train station to be built in the Hill Barton area of Exeter to help reduce traffic congestion and air pollution has been supported by the local MP.

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, along with more than 600 other people, signed the petition and said the station was needed “to reduce congestion, improve air quality and tackle the climate emergency we are facing”.

He said: “Being a successful and growing city brings challenges of congestion and air pollution."

The proposed station would give residents of the local housing estates better transport links into Exeter City centre and further afield.

Supporters say it would also help to reduce the number of cars travelling to the nearby business park and would be a short walk away from the Met Office - one of Exeter’s largest employers.

Aisling Finn
BBC News Online

A senior councillor will be seeking assurances on fire safety at derelict development sites around Torbay after a fire in the town earlier.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service was called to a blaze at the Shedden Hall Hotel at about 07:00.

Councillors for the area, including Liberal Democrat Nick Pentney and Torbay MP Kevin Foster, have been calling for action about the "eyesore" on the Torbay seafront, which has long been the target of vandalism and arson.

Mr Pentey said whatever the cause of the fire at Shedden Hall, it was important the fire risk at derelict sites was minimised and development projects happened "in a timely manner" after being given approval.

"Whilst we have these derelict buildings, we need to work with the developers to find a way to bring forward their projects, and to ensure the risk of fire and other harm is minimised," he said.

Concerns about an apparent lack of progress at the hotel site were first raised by Mr Pentney and council colleague Mandy Darling in April last year at a full council meeting.

Aisling Finn
BBC News Online

Cornwall’s first Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) unit will use virtual reality (VR) to help young people cope with emotional distress, it has been announced.

The 14-bed Sowena unit will offer guided mindfulness exercises and the use of the VR sensory environment as part of treatment programmes.

The £25,000 project will be run by the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust with the help of NHS Torbay and Falmouth University.

Image source, Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

The unit is set to open later this month.

Nick Quraishi
BBC Spotlight

A 17-year-old boy died in a car being driven by an older man under the influence of cocaine in a crash in Devon, an inquest has heard.

Callum Heath was one of three people killed in the two-car crash on the B3193 Kingsteignton to Chudleigh road on 27 August 2018.

He suffered a wide range of injuries and fractures after the car burst into flames.

The driver of the car, Lewis Taylor, 27, also died.

The driver of the second car, Nicholas Smith, passed away in hospital three days after the crash.

Toxicology tests revealed Mr Heath had also taken cocaine and cannabis, although the senior coroner, Ian Arrow, was told that may have been some time before.

A narrative conclusion was recorded.

Inquests into the deaths of Lewis Taylor and Nicholas Smith will take place later this summer.

The trial begins after "extensive preparation" and consideration of the "risk of wearing shorts".

BBC Radio Cornwall

Near Pool, on the A30 eastbound between Tolvaddon and the Avers Roundabout, there are reports of an accident.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

The Environment Agency (EA) said the tide gate in the Cornish village is not currently operational and flooding is possible later.

Winds of force five are expected and tides are set to be about 300mm higher than predicted due to weather conditions.

The EA said this may cause flooding of the town quay and overtopping of quay walls.

High tide at Looe is 19:19 and in Plymouth, it is at 19:23.

People are advised to stay away from risk areas.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

A man was left with a serious head injury after an assault in Barnstaple, police have said.

Officers were called to Boutport Street, near to the Anatolia restaurant, at about 02:00 on Sunday 2 June.

The man, in his 20s, is currently still in hospital receiving treatment.

Any witnesses or anyone with information is asked to contact Devon and Cornwall Police via 101.

Image source, Google

Macauley Negus from Plymouth was released by police after spending 36 hours in custody in Madrid

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Power has been restored to most properties in the TR2 area of Truro but there are still about 40 homes without supplies.

Western Power Distribution said it hopes to have the problem sorted by 12:00.

Sophie Pierce
BBC Radio Devon

A large fire at a disused Torquay hotel is now under control, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has said.

More than 50 firefighters have been tackling the blaze at the Shedden Hall Hotel.

Some roads are still closed in the area including Shedden Hill, Warren Road and Croft Road.

BBC Spotlight

Almost 60 people have died on Devon and Cornwall's roads in the last year, according to new figures.

The Peninsula Road Safety Partnership and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) for Devon and Cornwall will meet in St Mellion later to discuss ways of tackling the problem.

Between March 2018 and March this year, there were 58 deaths on roads in the Devon and Cornwall force area and 837 serious casualties - according to figures from the OPCC.

Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez is the national lead for roads policing for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners.

Last year she commissioned a new Road Safety Strategy which embraced a "spirit of shared responsibility" between organisations and recommended a deeper "partnership problem-solving approach".

Dan Downs
Weather Forecaster

It is a wet morning in parts with outbreaks of rain, often heavy.

Some heavy or thundery showers can be expected in the late afternoon and evening.

Maximum temperature: 16C (61F).

BBC Spotlight

Residents in West Devon could soon see their black bin collections reduced, to make way for more recycling.

Later, councillors will be discussing introducing weekly recycling collections and reducing black bin bag collections - with non-recyclable waste - to once every three weeks.

West Devon is currently recycling about 51% of its waste each week and the council is looking to compete with areas like East Devon, where residents recycle an average of 60% of their waste.

If the proposals are approved the changes could be introduced in October.