Plymouth

A ten-day literary extravaganza will leap off the page as the second Plymouth International Book Festival gets underway today (Thursday 31 October).

Man Booker Prize winner Ben Okri, comic turned writer Charlie Higson and award-winning author Kate Mosse will top the bill, with renowned regional names and spoken word stars also taking part in events across the city.

There will...

Devon and Cornwall Police are taking steps to ensure that Halloween is a happy and safe time for everyone, whether young or old.

Police are issuing a simple message: "If you are going trick or treating this Halloween we want you to have fun and be safe but remember not everyone wants you to call at their home."

The ‘Sorry, No Trick, No Treat, No Thanks’ campaign encourages...

Some of the country’s most talented young sailors are heading to Plymouth this weekend for one of the national sailing calendar’s most hotly contested competitions.

Around 200 participants from 20 universities around the UK will take to the waters of Plymouth Sound for the prestigious British Universities and College Sport (BUCS) National Fleet Racing Championships on November 02 and...

Trick-or-treat is yet another US import, right? Wrong: trick-or-treating has its foundations firmly rooted here in the UK and can be traced back to the middle ages.

Soul cakes were traditionally made for All Saints Day or All Souls' Day to celebrate the dead. The cakes, often simply referred to as souls, were given out to soulers (mainly consisting of children and the poor) who would...

Professor Stephen Horsley is the new interim Director of Public Health for Plymouth.

He has been in Northamptonshire for the past seven years as Director for Public Health and brings with him a wealth of experience.

The responsibility for the health of Plymouth’s communities formally transferred from the NHS to Plymouth City Council in April.

Stephen is a physician with...

The Conservative group on Plymouth City Council has elected a new leader.

Cllr Ian Bowyer was elected to succeed Cllr Ted Fry as leader in a meeting of group members on Monday, ahead of one other candidate, Cllr Glenn Jordan.

Cllr Fry lost a vote of no confidence in his leadership earlier this month. Cllr Patrick Nicholson has been acting leader but made it clear he was not...

A review of Plymouth’s Council Tax Support scheme is underway nearly one year after its introduction with proposals to give more money back to residents.

The scheme, which has seen more than 16,000 households in the city affected, was introduced in April 2013 following government changes to the benefits system; part of the Coalition's welfare reform agenda.

Each council...

A driver had to be cut free from their vehicle and two children rescued after a car hit a tree which left the westbound carriageway of the A38 in St Budeaux close to the Tamar Bridge on Tuesday (29 October).

An ambulance crew and fire appliances from Greenbank, Plymstock and Crownhill were called to the incident which involved a single vehicle with one person trapped inside.

...

Plymouth City Council has announced ten more vacancies for the autumn under its award winning apprenticehip scheme.

The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) gave the council the award after they doubled the number of apprenticeship opportunities and encouraged other businesses and community groups to follow suit.

The Council now claims it is "getting bigger and better" as it...

Drake Circus Shopping Centre in Plymouth has launched a new free Wi-Fi service, enabling shoppers to surf the net while they shop.

In partnership with BT, shoppers at Drake Circus Shopping Centre will now have access to free Wi-Fi on their smartphones, tablets and laptops to browse the web, use apps and check social networking sites within the centre. Shoppers can use free BT Wi-Fi...