Western Morning News
STORM HELP ‘NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE’
THE leader of Cornwall Council has slammed the way the Government helps unitary authorities such as Cornwall following a major event like Storm Goretti. Liberal Democrat councillor Leigh Frost said the Bellwin system of funding – which reimburses...
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Coroner’s warning after girl, 2, drowns
ACORONER has warned of the dangers of leaving young children unattended near water after a two-year-old girl drowned in a river. Eva-Rose Wainwright was two years and five months old when she died on farmland in Lifton, Devon, on June 16 in...
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Drink-driver who killed gran is jailed
AMAN who killed a grandmother while driving dangerously and under the influence has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. Jamie Hawken, 30, attended Truro Crown Court for sentencing, having previously appeared at Bodmin Magistrates Court in...
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SCHOOL EVACUATED IN BOMB ALERT
A SCHOOL in Devon was evacuated after a suspected bomb was found at a nearby building site. Pupils from Millbay Academy, in Plymouth, were moved after a 100 metre cordon was set up by police, after the force was called out to Martin Street at 11.40am...
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Plymouth bidding for UK City of Culture title
PLYMOUTH is to bid for the title of UK City of Culture 2029 with a chance to land £10 million to fund a year of events. Bid leaders say it is a great opportunity to showcase the city and its people with a yearlong celebration of the arts, heritage,...
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Red alert as storm hits West
ARARE ‘red’ warning for dangerous winds was issued for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly last night as Storm Goretti made landfall. The Exeter-based Met Office issued the warning yesterday, saying forecast “violent gusts” of up to 100mph posed a...
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AMBER STORM ALERT FOR THE FAR WEST
THE Met Office has issued a “danger to life” warning as stormy weather is expected to bring strong winds to Cornwall. The weather forecaster said the storm, which has officially been named Storm Goretti by Meteo France, may bring a spell of very...
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New SW warning for Storm Goretti
THE Met Office has issued a “danger to life” warning for a storm expected to bring strong winds to the South West. The storm, which has officially been named Storm Goretti by Meteo France, will batter Devon and Cornwall with strong winds. A weather...
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Gas outage – second homes hold up engineers
EMPTY second homes are causing delays for engineers battling to restore supplies to parts of Devon hit by a gas outage in freezing weather. As thousands of homes in the South Hams continue to struggle without gas, as another cold weather front...
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BULLSEYE! TIVERTON’S FINEST INTO THE DARTS SEMI-FINALS
RYAN Searle booked his place in the Darts World Championship semi finals by again showing his class in a 5-2 victory over number five seed Jonny Clayton. Searle, who had not dropped a set in reaching the last eight, will face the winner of last...
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Cold alert upgraded to amber for South West
AFREEZING start to the new year has seen a cold weather health alert for the South West upgraded from yellow to amber. Chilly conditions are set to persist, meteorologists have warned, with concerns over potential impacts on the health of vulnerable...
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HOUSE OF FRASER STORE TO CLOSE
PLYMOUTH’S huge House of Fraser store is to close in the spring of next year with staff fearing they will lose their jobs. Signs appeared in the city centre store today saying “this store will be closing in March 2026”. Shoppers are advised to shop...
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No10 denies burying farm tax news at Christmas
DOWNING Street denied trying to bury a U-turn by changing inheritance tax policy during the Christmas week, and said the move came after “open dialogue” with the farming sector. The Government will end farmers’ full relief from inheritance tax in...
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Pothole compensation claims nearly double
POTHOLE compensation claims made to councils in Britain have spiked by 90% in three years, according to new analysis. RAC research found 53,015 claims were submitted to 177 local authorities in 2024, compared with 27,731 claims in 2021. The RAC...
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KING INVOKES WARTIME SPIRIT IN MESSAGE
THE King has used his Christmas message to urge the nation to “never lose sight” in a divisive world of the Second World War values of “courage and sacrifice” and community spirit. In the wake of the Bondi Beach shootings and the Manchester synagogue...
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‘Relief’ for farms as tax rates eased after protests
THE Government will raise the inheritance tax relief threshold for farmers from £1 million to £2.5 million in a climbdown following months of protest. The change to the reforms initially unveiled at Labour’s first Budget last year comes after...
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OUTFITS TURNING HEADS AT PARADE
THE midwinter solstice was celebrated with ‘misrule’ as thousands came together in Penzance to ‘turn the world upside down’. The longest night of the year saw fire, beasts and masked revellers filling the streets for the return of the increasingly...
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‘Bewildered’ farm sector needs profitable new deal
THE farming sector is “bewildered and frightened”, with inheritance tax and farming payment changes causing significant ongoing concern, a review for the Government has found. The farm profitability report by former National Farmers’ Union president...
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HARD TO BELIEVE RIGHT NOW, BUT 2025 WAS THE SUNNIEST YEAR ON RECORD
THE weather may be particularly dull and overcast at the moment, but there have been enough clear skies over the past 12 months for 2025 to rank as the UK’s sunniest year on record. The country had clocked up 1,622 hours of sunshine by December 15,...
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The violent Devon past of parade attacker
AN ex-Royal Marine who drove his car through a crowd of people at Liverpool FC’s victory parade trained in Devon and previously appeared at court in Exeter. Paul Doyle, 54, was jailed for 21 years and six months yesterday at Liverpool Crown Court,...
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Christmas getaway set for record high traffic
THIS year’s Christmas getaway on the roads is expected to be the busiest on record, new figures suggest. The AA has forecast that traffic for all journey purposes in the run-up to December 25 will peak on Friday, when about 24.4 million cars are...
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‘Tidal wave of flu’ hits record high in hospitals
THE number of people in hospital in England with flu remains at a record level for this time of year and has jumped by 55% in a week, NHS figures show. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said “there is a tidal wave of flu tearing through our hospitals” as...
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STORM FORCE: BRAM SWEEPS WEST
STORM Bram brought flooding, travel disruption and power cuts to much of the Westcountry yesterday. Strong winds saw large waves battering coastal areas, while heavy rainfall resulted in widespread surface water on roads and fields. The impact of the...
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Police among three injured in serious crash on A30
TWO police officers were seriously injured in a crash on the A30 in Cornwall which left another man requiring hospital treatment. The three-vehicle crash took place on the A30, between Hayle and Angarrack. A police source said that the devastating...
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‘Danger to life’ weather warning
THE Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for wind and rain for South West England, with strong gusts expected to hit the region from this evening into tomorrow afternoon. The wind alert will come into effect from around 10pm today and remain...
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‘Hit and miss’ treatment of infections in older people
INFECTIONS in older people must be taken “much more seriously”, with current approaches being “hit and miss”, England’s chief medical officer has said. Professor Sir Chris Whitty said older people are “underserved” when it comes to care and research...
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SHINING A LIGHT ON MINING FUTURE
“THERE is a real palpable sense that Cornwall has arrived into the lexicon of Westminster and we have done so not as a Dickensian Oliver Twist character but as a region, area, country – choose the word as you feel – that is going to fundamentally...
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Fears over ‘cancer-link pesticides’ in fruit and veg
CANCER-LINKED pesticides have been found in common UK fruits and vegetables, prompting public health concerns among campaigners. The UK Government tested 3,482 food and drink samples for pesticide residues last year, purchased from a range of sources...
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Warning on ‘crisis of loneliness’ for elderly
MORE than a million older people in the UK could be spending Christmas Day alone, according to research by Age UK which the charity’s ambassador Dame Joanna Lumley branded a “crisis hidden in plain sight”. The actor and campaigner warned the “silence...
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Thousands are caught flouting bus lane rules
MORE than 5,000 drivers were caught flouting restrictions on a new traffic filter in Exeter – before being handed warning letters, as part of a campaign to prioritise safer and cleaner journeys for residents. In the first month of enforcement at the...
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Zero asylum seekers in hotels across most of West
NO asylum seekers are being housed in hotels in Cornwall or across most of Devon, according to the latest Home Office figures. The figures show that the only Westcountry authority district which recorded asylum seekers housed in a hotel was East Devon...
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West police dealing with 60 protests every month
DEVON and Cornwall Police are dealing with around 60 protests a month as a result of community unrest, a police and crime panel has been told. Police and Crime Commissioner for the region, Alison Hernandez, said many of the protests were small, but...
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ARISTOCRAT IS IN SEARCH OF A BRIDE *
ACONTROVERSIAL Westcountry aristocrat has launched an appeal to find a bride – who must be a good ballroom dancer and can fire a shotgun. Sir Benjamin Slade, 79, says his new wife would need to be at least 20 years younger – meaning women in their 60s...
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GROUNDBREAKING SUPPORT FOR CORNISH MINING
UK production of key minerals used in laptops, phones and electric cars will be boosted as part of a £50 million plan to reduce British industries’ reliance on China. Sir Keir Starmer launched a new critical minerals strategy on Sunday with the aim of...
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Emissions limit of 1.5C ‘no longer plausible’
GLOBAL carbon emissions from fossil fuels are set to rise 1.1% in 2025 to record highs, research has found. New analysis led by Westcountry experts finds that many countries are shifting to clean energy, but that is not enough to offset the growth in...
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Thousands call on MPs to speak up for farming
APUBLIC letter-writing campaign launched by the NFU to highlight the devastating impact of the family farm tax has garnered huge support, with more than 12,000 letters sent to 551 MPs in just 12 days urging them to “speak up for farming”. The letters...
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MY LITTLE PONY FOR CHRISTMAS?
ADORABLE photos show one of the world’s smallest ever ponies born in the UK – just 24 inches tall. Shetland foal Pam weighed 17kg at birth – about the same as a springer spaniel. Pam was born at Glenda Spooner Farm Rescue and Rehoming Centre, in...
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SW REMEMBERS THE FALLEN
EIGHTY years after the end of the Second World War, thousands of people around the Westcountry marked Remembrance Sunday by taking part in parades, wreath-laying and church services around the region. Many of them shrugged off yesterday’s inclement...
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Flu jab SOS issued over fears of rise in deaths
THOUSANDS of people could die from flu this winter, experts have warned, after figures suggested the number of flu deaths more than doubled last year. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimates show that deaths from flu in England stood at 7,757 last...
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Queen Camilla meets ‘Spudman’ yesterday as he delivers jacket potatoes in a Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) food truck, as she hosted members of the National Association of Care Catering (NACC) and representatives from the RVS in a celebration of community
THE Queen served jacket potatoes to celebrities alongside TikTok star Spudman at a reception at Clarence House yesterday. Spudman, whose real name is Ben Newman, said Camilla was a “natural” at serving lunch to TV presenter Gaby Roslin and The Voice...
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Warning on spike in Christmas shopping scammers
SHOPPERS are being warned about a spike in purchase fraud, ahead of the festive shopping season. TSB’s analysis of its data indicated that purchase scams accounted for 63% of bank transfer fraud cases reported between January and September 2025 by its...
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DOGS TAKE THEIR ANNUAL PLUNGE
IT was a doggy paddle paradise in Penzance last Sunday as Jubilee Pool held its much-anticipated annual Dog Day for swimmers’ best friends. Now in its seventh year, the four-legged fun day saw wet tails wagging as pups took the plunge at the iconic...
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DEFEND YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW.
Plans for licensed premises in your neighbourhood could be hidden from view if new government proposals for secret alcohol licensing notices get the green light. SCAN THIS QR CODE and complete the survey to #defendyourrighttoknow
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Teenagers arrested in house fire murder probe
FIVE teenagers have been arrested as a murder investigation was launched following a Westcountry house fire. Four boys and a girl, all aged under 18, were being held on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life following the blaze in Bideford,...
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Services for dying axed as hospices face ‘crisis’
HOSPICES have been forced to cut back services for people who are dying due to multi-millionpound funding deficits, according to a report. Hospice leaders said the sector is in “crisis”, as a new National Audit Office (NAO) review highlights how...
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Air link with London cut as carrier halts flights
DOMESTIC airline Eastern Airways has suspended operations and all of its flights have been cancelled – cutting Cornwall’s air link with London. The regional airline provided scheduled services between Newquay Airport and London Gatwick. On Monday...
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Reform loses majority on council after turmoil
FIVE former Reform UK councillors who have all resigned from the party in Cornwall this month have formed a new political group. Reform UK is no longer the majority party on Cornwall Council following the resignations, with the Liberal Democrats now...
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Truro City
FC fans before their team’s National League match away at Gateshead on Saturday. Dozens of fans of the Cornish team made the 914-mile round trip to Gateshead for the match, which is the longest journey in English league football history. Match report
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Care for the dying risks becoming swamped
THE system for caring for dying people risks being overwhelmed, the charity Marie Curie has said, as it published an open letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting. With more than five million people set to need end of life support in the next decade,...
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POPE APPOINTS NEW WEST BISHOP
A NEW Catholic bishop for the Westcountry has been appointed by the Pope. Pope Leo XIV has appointed the Right Reverend Nicholas Hudson as the new Bishop of Plymouth. Ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of Southwark in 1986, Bishop Hudson has...
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Serial sex attacker jailed for 26 years
AMAN who ran a teeth whitening salon has been jailed for 26 years, after being convicted of series of rapes and sexual assaults against seven women. Ricky Stubberfield, 31, of Plymouth, pictured above, carried out the attacks in the city over a period...
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Go-ahead for largest solar farm in county
PLANS for the largest solar farm in Cornwall have been approved at appeal, despite originally being turned down by Cornwall Council amid huge local opposition. A Government planning inspector has approved the Fairpark solar farm, in the Hendra valley,...
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Fears electric vehicles too heavy for car parks
CITY centre car parks in Plymouth may need strengthening over the next five to ten years to cope with the weight of electric vehicles, a report to the city council has warned. The city’s multi-storey car parks were built between 1966 and 1980, long...
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King praises resolve of struggling farmers
THE King has praised the “resolve and resilience” of farmers “through the challenges of our changing climate”. Charles wrote the message for a harvest-themed service attended by the Queen at Westminster Abbey on Thursday. Camilla was all smiles as...
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Row over farm quality scheme TV advert ban
ATV ad for the Red Tractor scheme has been banned after an environmental group complained about the claim that its products were “farmed with care”. The advert, seen in May 2023, included the lines: “Farmed with care, that’s the Red Tractor way. A...
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SHADOWS OF THE PAST: HONOURING HEROES
MORE than 300 volunteers have helped set up an installation in time for Remembrance Day of 1,475 silhouettes representing the British servicemen who died on D-Day. The Royal Armouries Fort Nelson museum in Portsmouth, Hampshire, stepped in to host the...
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Shock as Reform UK council leader resigns
THE most powerful Reform UK member in Cornwall has resigned as leader of the party at Cornwall Council. Cllr Rob Parsonage’s shock departure comes just days after the deputy leader of the Reform group on the council, Cllr Rowland O’Connor, resigned...
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Climate ‘tipping point’ warning
THE world has reached its first climate tipping point as global warming causes widespread diebacks of warm-water coral reefs, scientists have warned. Rising temperatures are pushing several of Earth’s systems dangerously close to thresholds beyond...
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Hate crime incidents increase in Westcountry
RELIGIOUS hate crime recorded by police in England has reached a record high, with the Devon & Cornwall force area having one of the highest rises in incidents, new figures show. There were 7,164 such offences recorded by forces across England and...
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Safety of patients ‘put at risk by GP workloads’
PATIENT safety is being compromised by high workloads in GP surgeries, a doctors’ leader has warned. Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), said doctors were facing increasing demand and could not provide the care...
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Devoted couple in their 80s ended lives together
ADEVOTED couple who had been married for nearly 60 years died together as they did not wish to live without each other, an inquest has heard. John Foulston, 86, and his 85-yearold wife, Annabel, were found dead at their home in Topsham, Devon, in...
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Rural policies an assault on countryside, claim Tories
LABOUR has ruined the “lives and dreams” of the farming community with its taxes, the Conservatives have said, as they pledged to reverse them if they win the next election. Shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins termed Labour’s rural policies...
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Protesters to escalate action after crackdown
PROTEST group Defend Our Juries (DOJ) has vowed to escalate its campaigning against the proscription of Palestine Action as a terror organisation – promising civil disobedience across the country – after the Home Secretary announced police would be...
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Police boat to deter people smugglers
ANEW police boat is being deployed in Devon and Cornwall to tackle an anticipated surge in illegal immigration. The Home Office has funded the vessel, as it is expected that people smugglers will target the region as enforcement in the Channel...
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‘Breaking point’ for low-staffed social care
ENGLAND’S social care system is at “breaking point”, with the number of unpaid carers increasing by 70% over the past decade, according to a report. Research for the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) found rising demand, shrinking supply, and...
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Millions won’t switch on heating this winter
MORE than two million households plan to avoid turning on their central heating this winter – a 22% increase on last year – for fear of soaring energy bills, a survey suggests. Those who live alone are the most likely to avoid using the central...
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Pensions to rise more than £500 from April
PEOPLE on the new full state pension are set for a rise of over £500 a year from next April, following the latest official earnings data. Under the triple lock guarantee, the state pension increases every April in line with whichever is the highest of...
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Train firm staff facing daily threats and assaults
SOUTH Western Railway has warned of an “unacceptable” rise in assaults and abuse on staff, as the train operator expands the use of body-worn video cameras to help tackle threats. So far this year, the railway company has recorded more than two...
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Gove: lack of respect is diminishing local pride
ANTI-SOCIAL behaviour has not been taken seriously by successive UK governments since Sir Tony Blair, former communities secretary Lord Michael Gove has said. The ex-Tory minister criticised “pushback” during Lord David Cameron’s coalition government,...
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Ambulance ‘worth the wait’ for stroke patients
ARISING number of stroke victims are putting themselves at risk by taking themselves to A&E instead of waiting for an ambulance amid concerns about long waits for an ambulance, a charity has warned. Stroke patients who seek help via 999 have a better...
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Tributes paid to Army ‘trailblazer’
A WESTCOUNTRY soldier, who became the first commissioned female officer in the Army’s most senior regiment, has been killed in a car crash. Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Godwin, who was brought up in Devon, died in a crash in Surrey last Friday. As well as...
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One child in four ‘living in hunger households’
MORE than a quarter of children in the UK are growing up in households facing hunger, according to major research by a food bank network which is insisting the two-child benefit cap must be scrapped. Trussell said its data showed 27% of children were...
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FUN AND FROLICS IN RAFT RACE
SUNDAY saw the return of the annual Newlyn Raft Race, which once again proved to be as popular as it is competitive. With a full day of entertainment on Newlyn Green, the main event brought hundreds of spectators to the shoreline to watch local teams...
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