Local News

Commissioner warns about the Serious and Organised Crime groups selling Spice-laced vapes to children

The Police and Crime Commissioner national lead for tackling Serious and Organised Crime has urged parents and guardians to be extra vigilant after trading standards officers seized thousands of vapes containing highly toxic drugs.

Illegal vapes were being sold in shops and on social media or on the street, with the trade linked to organised crime groups, trading standards officers said.

Heart of the South West Trading Standards, which covers all of Devon and Somerset, seized about 8,000 illegal vapes in 2023.

Some illegal vapes seized had five times the legal...

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News Desk

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Non-swimmer becomes lifeguard and swim teacher in two years

An Exeter Leisure worker who could barely swim less than two years ago has gone on to become a fully qualified lifeguard and swim teacher.

Twenty-five-year-old Paige has shown resilience and determination in her short career so far and demonstrated that she not just content with treading water when it comes to job satisfaction.

Paige started working for the City Council in 2020 as a receptionist for Pyramids Leisure Centre. When the facility closed down to make way for the state-of-the-art St Sidwell’s Leisure Centre, Paige transferred across to work in the creche....

Former market manager completes first leg of UK charity tour

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Tue, 08/27/2024 - 11:13pm

A Tiverton man has completed the first leg of his charity tour of the UK coast.

Jim Bray is taking on the mammoth road trip – entitled Exploring Britain’s Coast and Seaside Pubs – to raise money for Hospiscare.

The cash-strapped local charity cared for his sister, Emma Ansley, before she died of cancer aged 48.

Jim started from Tenby in South West Wales at the end of July and, travelling anti-clockwise, has reached the Exe estuary.

It’s the closest he will be to home and Hospiscare’s base in Exeter.

Following a brief spell at home to do some...

Proposals for the City Council to move offices set to be discussed

Councillors are being asked to approve the next stage of plans for a potential office move for the City Council.

The Council is exploring a move from its existing premises at the Civic Centre in Paris Street to a number of sites it already owns, including the Guildhall Shopping Centre.

The Civic Centre has been identified as a site for future residential housing, and an office move would free up the site to be marketed for the creation of new homes.

A report detailing the proposals will be presented to the Council’s Executive for consideration next week....

City’s new MP becomes Exeter homelessness charity’s patron

Exeter’s new MP, Steve Race, has become a formal supporter of Exeter’s main homelessness charity, by becoming its patron.

St Petrock’s delivers breakfasts and lunches to rough sleepers and people who are vulnerably housed, five days a week, as well as providing a range of services, including survival gear, clothing and footwear, showers, laundry, benefits advice and clinical psychology and emotional support for people who are often understandably very distressed at their extremely difficult circumstances. The charity also provides supported accommodation for people who are...

Gone Wild Festival announces fifth anniversary event, following hugely successful festival at Powderham

Following a hugely successful Gone Wild Devon Festival in 2024, TV adventurer Bear Grylls has announced that the UK’s leading family adventure festival will return for its fifth anniversary at Powderham in 2025, running from Thursday 21st to Sunday 24th August, coinciding with the Bank Holiday weekend.

Tickets, which include an under-18s go free early-bird offer, are now on sale with a monthly payment plan option available to help spread the cost across the year.

The festival, which is setting new benchmarks for family adventure experiences, crams four days of action-packed...

Secure Your Future: 6 Early Pension Saving Strategies in the UK

Authored by Val Watson
Posted: Mon, 08/26/2024 - 8:11pm

Wondering how to secure your financial future? Discover six early pension saving strategies in the UK to avoid bad pension advice and enjoy a comfortable retirement.

Devon-based contemporary circus theatre company announce first shows

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Sun, 08/25/2024 - 11:48pm

New North Devon-based contemporary circus theatre company Kook Ensemble has announced its first two shows: premiering in Devon and touring, Filibuster, is a solo show created with and performed by gentleman juggler Tom Gaskin and inspired by silent movie physicality.

The show premieres and plays several venues in Devon, and tours to venues including Jackson’s Lane in London. It will be followed in 2025 by Sand, a show about coastal erosion and dementia. Kook Ensemble, which aims to create character-driven circus theatre, was founded to by Michaela O’Connor and Sean Kempton, two...

Celebrating the beginnings of a shining career

Authored by Daisy Hall
Posted: Sun, 08/25/2024 - 9:54pm

EXETER’S Lydia Taylor has set her sights on a bright future after qualifying as a Contact Lens Optician.

The 27-year-old has been a popular figure in the city’s Specsavers store for 12 years, having started there as a teenager doing work experience.

She worked her way up from a part-time job at the store to now being qualified to dispense and give advice to customers on all aspects of contact lenses, as well as being the Exeter team’s contact lens manager.

To mark her achievement, Lydia celebrated with store colleagues, her fellow managers and the store’s...

Police launch electric bike project across the Force

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Fri, 08/23/2024 - 9:31pm

Following a successful pilot of e-Bikes in Cornwall, Devon and Cornwall Police have now rolled out the scheme to other areas in the Force boosting neighbourhood engagement.

The pilot was initially launched in Cornwall and supported by Cornwall Council and the Council’s Anti-Social Behaviour officers. There are now 39 e-Bikes in use across Camborne, Plymouth, Penzance, Exeter, Bodmin, Cullompton, Falmouth, Truro, Launceston, Hayle and Helston.

Superintendent Ian Thompson said: “The electric bikes initiative is boosting the ability of our neighbourhood teams to engage with...

Help your ambulance service this August bank holiday

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 08/22/2024 - 11:47pm

The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is encouraging people to use the right healthcare for them this August bank holiday weekend as the region prepares for a further influx of visitors.

Residents and tourists to the South West are reminded to only dial 999 in a life-threatening emergency.

Bank holiday weekends can be a busy time for 999 services, especially with possibilities of high temperatures and sunny weather – whether in the garden, doing DIY at home, visiting family and friends at the beach, or exploring the region’s beauty spots....

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