Thursday 28th April 2011 Plymouth City Airport to close
Plymouth City Airport is to close in December. The owners, Sutton
Harbour Group, said the economic downturn had led to significant
losses and was no longer sustainable. Nigel Godefroy, chief executive
of the Sutton Harbour Group, said: "Plymouth City Airport, like many
regional airports in the current environment, is unviable as a
commercial enterprise. This has been an incredibly difficult decision
given the efforts by so many, including our own staff, to give the
airport a future. We have always fought for Plymouth's air links and
sought to do our best for the city and its people, our employees and
shareholders, but the usage of the airport simply does not support the
high cost of operation." Devon

Thursday 24th February 2011 Unexploded Plymouth bomb to be detonated
An unexploded bomb found by workmen recently in Notte Street, near
Plymouth’s Hoe, is to be detonated off the Plymouth Sound. The bomb,
dropped during German air raids on the city in WWII was made safe
before being moved to the seabed inside Plymouth Breakwater. It will
be detonated by Naval ordnance specialists inside an exclusion zone.
It is one of numerous unexploded bombs that have been found since
WWII. Plymouth was severely damaged by successive Luftwaffe missions
during WWII, suffering more than 50 raids at the cost of around 1,200
civilian lives. Devon

Tuesday 26th October 2010 UK's biggest wild land animal found shot dead
A giant red stag, known as the Exmoor Emperor, has been found dead
close to the Tiverton to Barnstaple road. Thought to have been the
biggest wild land animal in the UK, the stag weighed in at more than
135kg (300lb) and stood nearly 2.75m (9ft) tall. The stag had been
shot dead in the middle of the annual rut. Some deer experts are
calling for wild red stags to be protected during the mating season.
Red deer stags are the biggest indigenous land animal surviving in the
UK. Peter Donnelly, an Exmoor-based deer management expert, expressed
his disgrace at the animal being killed during the mating season. "It
could be that he didn't get a chance to rut properly this year,
therefore his genes have not been passed on this time round," he said.
"The poor things should be left alone during the rut, not harried from
pillar to post. If we care about deer we should maintain a standard
and stop all persecution during this important time of the year." Devon

Monday 11th October 2010 Space hopper saves teenagers
It seems that an icon of the Seventies, the 'space hopper' toy, has
another use for which it was probably not originally intended; it’s a
great buoyancy aid! A space hopper was used to help save two teenage
girls who were swept out to sea in Dawlish, east Devon. The toy
resembles a large, rubber balloon with handles one was used to help
save a 15 and 16 year old girl when they were too far out to sea to
reach a life buoy. The girls grabbed hold of the space hopper and used
it as a float to enable them to reach the life buoy. The pair were
subsequently rescued by lifeboat crews. The teenagers had been swept
off a sea wall and dragged about 18m (59ft) out to sea. A group of
young men heard their screams and threw a life buoy to them, but the
girls couldn’t reach it. Then a resident appeared carrying the
inflatable toy which was also thrown into the sea, this time close
enough for the girls to use to keep them afloat. Brixham Coastguard
watch manager Dave Scullion said: "These two girls are incredibly
lucky. They owe their lives to the quick thinking of a group of boys
on scene who threw them a buoy to keep them afloat and to the lifeboat
crew who effected a difficult rescue in challenging conditions." Devon

Friday 27th August 2010 Storm damage leads to Cattedown harbour sewage warning
Recent Storm damage to water treatment pumps means an increased risk
of sewage overflowing into a Devon harbour according to South West
Water (SWW). The utilities company reported damage to three of the
four main pumps inside a 131ft well at Plymouth central waste water
works and said they would now have to be replaced. Temporary pumps and
cables are due to be installed on Friday to speed up the pumping of
sewage out of the well but sewage could still discharge through the
storm overflow at Cattedown. SWW have warned that there would be an
increased risk for about two days, but staff would be "working around
the clock" to minimise it. Spokesman Richard Gilpin said: "This is a
very delicate and difficult repair operation which will take some
time. We believe it is responsible to warn all water users there may
be discharges at Cattedown until Plymouth Central is working at normal
capacity again." Devon

Thursday 5th August 2010 Plymouth Civic Centre could be on sale in the autumn
Plymouth Civic Centre Plymouth Civic Centre, originally opened by the Queen in 1962, is likely to be put up for sale by the council. The 14-storey building is the administrative centre for the council but is proving to be a costly drain on the city’s finances. A Plymouth City Council spokesperson has said: "We are potentially going to market the Civic Centre in the autumn." The concrete edifice, sited on Royal Parade, was granted Grade II listed status in 2007. Councillor Ian Bowyer, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property, People and Governance, said: "It's pasts its sell by date and is causing the council considerable problems in terms of keeping it maintained and safe for use.” Devon

Thursday 24th June 2010 Plymouth City Council spends thousands to attend World Cup
Plymouth City Council has spent £5,700 of taxpayers' money flying
Council leader Vivien Pengelly and chief executive Brian Keel out to
the World Cup in South Africa. The trip was defended by Plymouth who
are hoping to be a host city if England stages the 2018 World Cup.
Labour party leader at the council, Tudor Evans, has responded angrily
to the revelation and has urged the pair to refund the money. Cllr
Pengelly and Mr Keel were part of a delegation from Plymouth who flew
to South Africa. The trip, for representatives of candidate host
cities, was arranged and part-funded by the Football Association (FA). Devon

Wednesday 23rd June 2010 Rare rhino moved by crane
A crane was needed during a two-hour operation to move a one-tonne
black rhinoceros into its new home. A 20-tonne crane was brought in to
get the rhino and his travelling crate, with a combined weight of
nearly three tonnes, into the paddock of Paignton Zoo's rhino house.
Specialist transport delivered eight-year-old Manyara to Devon after a
journey by road from Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent. It is hoped
the male will breed with the zoo's 10-year-old female, Sita. Devon

Monday 7th June 2010 Sleeping horse falls on vet
A vet had to be rescued in Devon after she becoming trapped under a
sedated horse. The vet from Crediton was called to a farm near
Hillerton Cross, Bow, where a horse had become stuck in a fence. The
vet sedated the distressed animal but then managed to get caught
between it and a ditch as it fell asleep.

The Devon and Somerset Fire Service were called and managed to free
the vet from underneath the horse. They also subsequently released the
trapped horse from the fence. The vet was not injured in the incident. Devon

Tuesday 18th May 2010 Devon private dentist drills healthy tooth
A private dentist from Teignmouth in Devon has received a warning from
the General Dental Council after it was discovered she had drilled and
filled a patient’s previously healthy tooth. Anna Grayson said she was
“incredibly shocked’ to discover she had been billed for a filling to
a healthy tooth.

The GDC found Karen Hanbury's conduct "had not been acceptable". They
found she had "told Ms Grayson there was severe decay in the upper
left premolar and the filling needed replacing when there was no
filling and the tooth was healthy" and she had "drilled and filled"
the healthy tooth. The GDC also "warned Ms Hanbury to communicate
effectively with patients at all times". Devon