Tuesday 27th April 2010 £10m refurbishment planned for Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge
The Grade I listed Royal Albert Bridge, which joins Cornwall to
Plymouth, is to have £10m spent on it to bring it back to its former
glory. Isambard Kingdom Brunel's bridge across the River Tamar
celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2009 but it has started to show
its age. The refurbishment will repair corroded parts and the iron
work will then be painted in goose grey. Its original colour was
off-white.

Owners of the bridge, Network Rail, says it hopes the work will be
completed within three years and is due to start by the end of the
year. Since it opened in 1859 it is estimated that the bridge has
carried an around a billion tonnes of rail traffic. Cornwall

Monday 12th April 2010 Python found under garden shed in Cornwall
Fire crews were called out to perform an unusual rescue in Cornwall
over the weekend. Firemen may be traditionally associated with
rescuing cats stuck up trees but this job was unique in many ways! The
crews were called to rescue a large snake after it got stuck under a
shed in a garden in Cornwall.

The crew from the fire station at Fowey were called to Langurtho Road
in the town at about 0030 BST to rescue the 12ft long snake.The crew
and the snake's owner were forced to cut away part of the shed floor
in order to release it. The rescue was necessary because it was feared
the animal could die in low temperatures if it remained trapped under
the shed overnight. Cornwall

Thursday 18th March 2010 Record deal for Cornwall sailors
Record label giant Universal have signed up a group known as the
Fisherman’s Friends from the small fishing village of Port Isaac in
Cornwall. The group of 10 men have all had or still have contacts with
fishing or the coastguard and lifeboat services. They are due to
release a new album of sea shanties next month and will appear at the
Glastonbury Festival this year.

Jeremy Brown, a fisherman and founding member of the Fisherman's
Friends, said: "In Cornish pubs there is a tradition of singing. We
just all got together with the intention of learning all the words
instead of just knowing the first verse and the last verse and making
up the bit in the middle." Cornwall

Wednesday 17th March 2010 Rampaging pike to go
Fishermen have got so fed up with the aggressive pike in the waters at
Par pond they’ve persuaded the Environment Agency to remove the fish
and transfer them elsewhere. The pike, which are not native to
Cornwall, are said to be terrorising the other fish in the pond.
Anglers have reported their catches being ripped from the line by the
pike, which have been reported to weigh up to 15lbs.

The pike are efficient killers that swim fast and have razor sharp
teeth. The anglers say that their presence is threatening the stock of
coarse fish in the pond. Fishery officers are worried the pike numbers
could get out of hand and spread to other waters. The pike will be
removed and, as long as they prove healthy, will be moved to more
suitable waters. Cornwall

Thursday 11th March 2010 Cornish Pasty seeks protection
The Cornish pasty is a favourite treat for anyone visiting England’s
most south-westerly county. The pasty, with its trademark side-crimp
and chunky filling, is famous the world over and now moves are being
taken to protect the term ‘Cornish pasty’. The bid hopes to move the
Cornish pasty into the same exclusive club of protected foods as
Cornish clotted cream and the Cornish sardine. It would give the
humble pasty the identical status as French Champagne, Jersey royal
potatoes, Newcastle brown ale and Roquefort cheese.

The move would protect the distinctive ‘D’ shape of the pasty and
ensure they were only crimped on the side, never on the top. The side
crimp is said to have allowed Cornish tin miners to eat the pie and
discard the crimp as it would have been soiled by their ore-covered
hands. Protected status would also mean that only pasties actually
made in Cornwall could carry the name ‘Cornish’. Cornwall

Wednesday 9th December 2009 Truro spire repairs to begin
The crumbling fabric of many of Britain’s finest cathedrals is a
constant headache as the ancient buildings succumb to the twin evils
of age and pollution. Cornwall’s Truro Cathedral is no exception with
much of the stonework described as being in a dangerous condition. The
Reverend Dr Christopher Hardwick, Dean of the Cathedral, has announced
that scaffold will now go up ahead of work starting soon after the
diocese received £400,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Dr Hardwick said: "The work is very urgent. Earlier this year we
received a small grant from English Heritage to do some preparatory
investigations of the spire. We discovered that much of the Bath stone
is not very safe. It is one of the highest grants from the Heritage
Lottery Fund to the South West region so I think they have recognised
how important this work is for Cornwall's cathedral." Cornwall

Wednesday 2nd December 2009 You can’t be Cornish
Residents of Cornwall will not be able to enter their nationality on
the 2011 Census as ‘Cornish’ after a decision by MPs rejected the
proposal. Cornwall North MP, Dan Rogerson, had asked Parliament to
allow Cornish to be entered as a nationality as MPs debated the Draft
Census Order 2009 for England and Wales.

The move by Mr Rogerson even prompted a campaign by Cornish
Nationalists on Facebook that attracted more than 3,000 fans. Cornish
will not appear on the form as a nationality leaving ‘other’ as the
only option for those not wishing to call themselves British. A census
is held every 10 years to gather data about the social and demographic
make up of the country. Cornwall

Wednesday 30th September 2009 Vandal victim erects electric fence
A 63-year-old man from Saltash in Corwall is risking legal action in an attempt to stamp out a spate of anti-social behaviour in his street. Vandals and yobs have targeted Ralph Harvey’s house over a long period of time and yet the police and local authorities have been unable to put and end to the trouble. Mr Harvey has become so frustrated and distressed he has now erected an electrified fence around his home.

Unfortunately neighbours who have also had problems with the youths are too scared to report the incidents or identify the culprits for fear of reprisal. The situation is made even more frustrating for Mr Harvey as he’s been warned that anyone getting a shock off the fence could sue him for damages.

Sgt Andy Dunstan of Devon and Cornwall Police said police believed locals youths were responsible and that officers were investigating incidents. Cornwall

Wednesday 16th September 2009 Beautiful new park nears completion
The beautiful Bénodet Park Garden of Friendship in Torpoint, Cornwall is very nearly finished and will be officially opened on 26 September. The project, which has been funded and supported by a variety of schemes and organisations, sees the regeneration of an important part of Torpoint's heritage, which dates back to 1709.

Peter McLaren, Chairman of Torpoint Allotment Association, which organised the project, says: "Bénodet Park Garden of Friendship is a great example of people organising themselves and producing a fantastic end result. Local schools, disabled groups and submariner recruits from HMS Raleigh have all helped the garden project to bloom." Cornwall

Monday 10th August 2009 Motorists being targeted by Police in the Cornwall and Devon
Police forces in Cornwall and Devon are being joined by special squads from Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Avon and Somerset in an initiative designed to clamp down on bad driving during the holiday season.

The three-month project named Operation Vortex will see unmarked police vehicles on the roads in an attempt to reduce last years horrific tally of 262 road deaths in the south west of England.

Inspector Richard Pryce, of Devon and Cornwall Police roads policing unit, said: "We want to heighten motorists' attention on their journeys to the presence of these unmarked cars dealing with any motorists at the roadside. "The intention is to make everyone think constantly about their driving behaviour and not only at times when a marked police car is in sight." Cornwall