Far-right extremist Tristan Morgan laughed after setting fire to Exeter synagogue, a court hears.

League Two side Exeter City sign centre-back Robbie Cundy on a season-long loan from Championship club Bristol City.

Shakira Pellow, 15, who died after taking ecstasy, was suffering with depression, an inquest hears.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

A man in his 60s was "punched in the face and repeatedly kicked" during a robbery in Falmouth, police have said.

Officers were called to Basset Street at about 21:30 on Friday, 7 June.

The man was attacked by a group of people as he was walking along the road carrying his shopping - which was stolen.

Image source, Google

At the time of the incident, a small white van was seen turning from Basset Street into Penwerris Terrace.

Devon and Cornwall Police is appealing for the occupants of the white van to come forward.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of robbery and has been released on police bail until 16 July.

A 17-year-old boy, a 16-year-old girl, and a 28-year-old man have been arrested on suspicion of robbery and have been released under police investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101.

Daniel Clark
Local Democracy Reporting Service

Image source, LDRS

An Exeter nightclub will be able to stay open until 04:30 despite police concerns it will lead to an increase in crime and disorder in the area.

Exeter City Council's Licensing Sub-Committee approved an application by Vaults to vary the condition of their licence to extend the opening hours every night of the week.

Sgt Mike Norsworthy, from Devon and Cornwall Police, said it will have a "detrimental impact" on the service the police can provide to the wider community near Gandy Street.

Manager of Vaults, Coral Williamson-Rush, told the committee the club was known as a popular late night venue in the city but it wanted to extend hours partly to reduce the pressures of everyone in Exeter leaving late night premises at the same time.

She also said it would provide somewhere for people who work in the industry who finish earlier in the evening to come and enjoy their night and have a drink.

The variation of the licence takes effect immediately.

BBC Radio Devon

The A361 at Trimstone is blocked in both directions by a crash near Cheglinch Lane. Drivers are asked to find an alternative route.

Richard Whitehouse
Local Democracy Reporting Service

The UK government has announced it will give £200,000 to support Cornish language and culture.

Communities Minister Lord Bourne made the announcement in Falmouth at the first UK summit of national minorities.

The new funding includes £150,000 for the Cornish language programme, £25,000 for tackling education barriers, £10,000 to the Cornish Culture Distinctiveness Project, £10,000 to the Ordinalia Nessa work and £5,000 to the Gorsedh Youth Festival.

Image source, LDRS

Lord Bourne, who is in Cornwall on a three-day visit, said the Cornish language should be "supported".

"Cornwall has a rich history and a distinctive identity, and it's right that we are committed to promoting it," he said.

"This new fund will help further develop projects around culture and heritage in the area."

After making his speech Lord Bourne visited the Cornish Embassy bus which has been encouraging people to support the campaign for a Cornish tick box on the census and to get a Cornish passport.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

A Devon coastguard team has been temporarily suspended from carrying out operations after two coastguards were sacked for pulling a runaway car back from the top of a cliff.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said suspending operations from Hope Cove Coastguard Rescue Team will "allow the current members of the team to undertake training and gain experience with flank teams".

It reassured people there will be "no reduction in the quality of search and rescue provided for that area, which is adequately covered by Bigbury and Prawle coastguard rescue teams".

Ian Pedrick and Richard Clarkson are expected to appeal the decision that saw them lose their jobs which deemed they breached the coastguard code of conduct.

A skipper who was unconscious and hanging over the side of his boat with his head in the water has thanked the emergency services for their help on Sunday.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

A closure order has been granted on a property in Falmouth, police have said.

A prolonged period of "persistent and significant anti-social behaviour" had caused "serious nuisance, fear and anxiety to local residents living in the area", officers added.

Police said they've received 36 separate reports of disorder in the last six months that could be directly linked to the associates of the property in Meadowbank Road.

In a statement, officers said the decision to seek a closure order was "not one that we take lightly".

"This case got to a stage where local residents were afraid to go out of their own homes through fear of violence and disorder," it said.

Image source, Google

BBC Radio Cornwall

A beach cafe in Newquay is serving food on plates made from palm leaves, which can be used a few times and then composted.

Venus Cafe on Tolcarne Beach got the plates - which are made from leaves that have fallen from trees - from India.

Owner Michael Smith says it's the latest step in many years of trying to cut down on waste and plastic.

The palm leaves biodegrade within a month.

David McGee says the 55 "fantastic" elephants are "brilliantly designed and painted".

John Danks
BBC Spotlight

These swans have been captured in flight near Devil's Point in Plymouth.

If you have any pictures to share, please get in touch.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

The Prince of Wales will visit Devon this month to mark the centenary of a transport company.

Gregory Distribution Limited - based in North Tawton - was started 100 years ago by the grandfather of today’s chief executive, John Gregory, with just one horse and cart in the small town.

It's now one of the largest privately-owned transport companies in the UK with an annual turnover of £250m.

Image source, Google

Mr Gregory said the visit will be the "highlight" of the company’s 100 years in business.

"This will be the proudest day for everyone who works at Gregory," he said.

“Our centenary provides us with a moment to think about and thank all those people who have contributed to our success over the past 100 years during which we have grown from a single Ford Model T Truck to a fleet of over 1,000 vehicles."

During the visit, Prince Charles will meet members of the Gregory family as well as employees, customers and farmers whose milk is collected by Gregory tankers.

He'll visit the team on 17 July.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Staff and students from the University of Exeter Medical School treated nearly 5,000 patients at Glastonbury Festival, including a case of mumps.

They volunteer at Glastonbury annually as part of the Festival Medical Services (FMS) programme - completing an intense emergency care training course to prepare them for the extremities of the festival.

The case of mumps arose early in the week when a university student came forward with symptoms.

This year's festival saw highs of 27C (80F), leading the the team to treat a significant number of people for dehydration and sunstroke.

Summer Popplestone, a third year medicine student, said the most "memorable case" for her was helping a young man who had accidentally overdosed on recreational drugs.

"My partner and I were the first medical staff on scene and the patient was completely unresponsive and not breathing properly," she said.

“Thanks to our training we were able to support his breathing and ensure his condition did not worsen while waiting for an urgent ambulance transfer to get him to hospital.

"I definitely learned a lot that I can take forward into the fourth year of medical school and beyond."

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

Image source, Daniel Cartamil

More than 1,000 sharks and rays have become entangled in plastic debris in the world's oceans, according to scientists at the University of Exeter.

They say the true number is likely to be far higher, as few studies have focused on plastic entanglement among shark and rays specifically.

They're now calling for a "citizen science platform" to be set up online or on smartphones to help crowdsource reports.

Image source, Martin Stelfox

The study found such entanglement – mostly involving lost or discarded fishing gear – is a "far lesser threat" to sharks and rays than commercial fishing, but the suffering it causes is a major animal welfare concern.

"The shark had clearly continued growing after becoming entangled, so the rope – which was covered in barnacles – had dug into its skin and damaged its spine," he said.

"Although we don’t think entanglement is a major threat to the future of sharks and rays, it’s important to understand the range of threats facing these species, which are among the most threatened in the oceans."

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

An historic East Devon pub is set to reopen after being closed for five years.

The 1,000-year-old pub in the village of Yarcombe - on the A30 between Honiton and Chard - closed despite efforts by villagers to take it on and run it as a community venture.

Local couple, Simon and Celine Peniston-Bird, have now bought the Yarcombe Inn and hope to have it open again in August.

The 9th Century thatched former coaching inn was once owned by Sir Frances Drake.

Image source, Google

Scott Bingham
BBC Spotlight

Two coastguard officers say they are "gutted" at being sacked for pulling a runaway car back from the top of a cliff.

The pair from Hope Cove coastguard team used their Land Rover and equipment to tow the car to safety at Bolberry Down on the south Devon coast.

But they said they were told the rescue was not in their remit and their membership was withdrawn after they were deemed to have breached the coastguard code of conduct.

Ian Pedrick and Richard Clarkson said they would appeal.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said it would be "inappropriate to comment at this time".

BBC Radio Devon

The crisp company Burts Chips is expanding its operation in the south west, safeguarding more than 200 jobs in Plymouth.

The firm's investing £7m pounds to upgrade its plants at Roborough and Leicester, as it aims to triple production capacity.

The company says by the end of 2019 they are forecasting sales of £55m and will have grown by 25%.

Managing director David Nairns said one of the next challenges for the industry is making plastic free bags for the crisps.

"We are working with some of our major grocers to look at a long-term solution for the industry. Clearly it's all about becoming compostible," he added.

BBC Radio Cornwall

The South West director of OFSTED has acknowledged that fining parents for unauthorised absences in term time is particularly hard for people in Cornwall working within the tourism sector.

In recent years, the local education authority has been toughening its stance on unauthorised leave.

Cornwall Council gave out 19 unauthorised absence fines two years ago.

It went up to 387 last year and this year it was 686.

Bradley Simmons from OFSTED said he understood the difficulty - but says the law was changed in order to improve educational attainment.