Local News

BASICS Devon appointed DCAA's charity of the year

The Devon County Agricultural Association (DCAA) is delighted to announce that BASICS Devon has been appointed as its Charity of the Year.

BASICS Devon are specialist volunteers delivering emergency pre-hospital care and vital life-saving education. They support communities across...

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Northlew Nativity Exhibition

What could potentially be the largest Nativity Exhibition in the South West is coming to a small village near Okehampton the weekend of 13 – 14 December

St Thomas’s Church, Northlew will be filled with dozens of nativity sets and images to illustrate the many different ways the birth of Christ has been interpreted and depicted around the world as well as more locally.

“...

New trails opened at Stover Country Park

Stover Country Park near Newton Abbot has launched two new footpaths.

The developments from the latest phase of the Restoring Stover Park Project, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, aim to improve the experience for visitors using the park, and to reduce the pressure on the sensitive habitats within the Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The 1.5 mile circular...

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Stover Country Park

Devon

footpaths

Devon County Council

Devon & Cornwall Police launches Christmas safety campaign: Think Safe, Stay Festive

As the festive season approaches, Devon & Cornwall Police is launching its annual Christmas safety campaign aimed at helping residents enjoy a safe and crime-free festive period.

Running throughout December, the campaign will share practical advice and timely reminders on a wide range of safety topics – from fraud prevention and online security to personal safety, home security...

First-time farming families building sustainable businesses while restoring natural habitats

Two first-time tenant farming families are building sustainable businesses with bold plans to rewild the natural landscape.

Jack and Alice Pemberton became tenants of 190-acre Ramsland Farm, located on the Flete Estate in South Devon, in 2024 with Will and Liv Norton taking on the lease of neighbouring 35-acre Hole Farm in 2025.

The couples have partnered with Plymouth and...

RSPCA warns of heartbreaking crisis and needs the public to help

'Animals are starving behind closed doors': that’s the message from the RSPCA, who have today (4 December) revealed a heartbreaking 16% rise in neglect reports in Devon exposing an animal welfare crisis.

New figures from the animal welfare charity show that up to the end of October, its emergency line received 73,294 reports of neglect in England and Wales - a 30% increase compared...

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Elf Day fundraising for Alzheimers research at Plymouth Care Home

Staff and residents at a dementia care home in Plymouth have been dressing up as elves in support of Elf Day, the annual pre-Christmas fundraiser organised by Alzheimer’s Society.

Sarah McCaffrey, deputy manager at Butterfly Lodge in St Budeaux, said: “The goal is to have fun and raise money to support the amazing work done by Alzheimer's Society, and we certainly had a fabulous and...

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dementia care

Elf Day

St Budeaux

Derry is one of the stray cats at Woodside searching for a home.

Law change is failing to ease stray cat crisis, Devon charity warns

New legislation making it compulsory for all pet cats to be microchipped is failing to impact on Plymouth’s stray cat population, a charity has warned.

Around half of the stray cats rescued by Woodside Animal Welfare Sanctuary have an out-of-date microchip which prevents potential owners being traced.

The other half do not have a microchip at all, despite legislation brought...

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Stray cats

animal rescue

Woodside Animal Welfare Sanctuary

Devon

Plymouth

Devon among South West areas linked to 53 charity fraud reports

Charities across the county are being urged to review their fraud prevention measures following latest data showing that 53 charity fraud incidents were recorded across the South West in the past 13 months, 15 of which were reported to Devon and Cornwall police.

Data from Action Fraud’s Fraud and Cyber Crime Statistics Dashboard shows that these 53 incidents resulted in total losses of...

Essential tree works at Exmouth’s Manor Gardens to begin next week

East Devon District Council (EDDC) is carrying out essential tree works at Manor Gardens in Exmouth next week, following confirmation that a large Turkey Oak tree in the grounds has died and now poses a safety risk.

The removal work will begin on Monday 8 December and is expected to be completed within two days. The tree, which is approximately three metres in diameter, overhangs the...

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tree

Exmouth

Drake Circus joins forces with local charities to support people who feel lonely at Christmas

New research has revealed that 1 in 2 people (52 per cent) living in Plymouth experience feelings of loneliness at Christmas, with 20 per cent saying they expect to feel lonelier this year than they did last Christmas.

The research, commissioned by Drake Circus in partnership with the Mental Health Foundation, also found that over a third (37 per cent) of those surveyed in Plymouth...

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