Devon & Cornwall Live: As it happened

A town council in Devon has come under fire after it revealed it owned a whopping £214,000 worth of ceremonial robes, chains and maces.

East Devon District Council is promising new jobs and economic regeneration now its scheme to transform Exmouth seafront has been approved. 

After years of wrangling over what should be built, developers can now submit plans for a multimillion-pound sports centre, hotel, shops and café. 

The council is promising to consult local people throughout the project but campaigners fear it will destroy the town's character.

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A new enterprise zone in Cornwall has been welcomed by a local MP. 

It will cover three separate sites - at Hayle, Tolvaddon and Falmouth Docks - and it's hoped it will bring together expertise in the marine sector. 

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Marine Hub Cornwall is one of a dozen new Enterprise Zones to go live this spring.   

The MP for Truro and Falmouth Sarah Newton says Cornwall is now a global player in marine renewables and the wider marine-technology sector.

Devon monks who make millions from a wine linked to violence should be stripped of charitable status according to the National Secular Society. 

It says the tonic wine made at Buckfast Abbey is "harmful" to society. 

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Buckfast Abbey Trust doesn't pay tax on the income because it's a charity but the society says that is an "abuse of the charitable system". 

The trust, which made a record £8.8m last year from sales of Buckfast wine, said it was "surprised" at the complaint.

Police are appealing for information after a missing man was last seen at the Prince of Wales Pier in Falmouth at 13:00 today.

They have shared a picture of the 51-year-old male.

It's been announced the Royal Marines are to shed 200 posts as the Royal Navy reshuffles staff before the arrival of a new generation of ships. 

Plymouth is home to 42 Commando, based at Bickleigh, with the headquarters of 3 Commando Brigade at Stonehouse Barracks in the city.

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The Conservative MP for the constituency, Oliver Colvile, said: "I want to actually also understand if there are any more plans to reduce the number of Royal Marines, and what they're going to do to try to re-grow them, because that I feel is incredibly important and needs to happen. I want answers."  

There are plans to put up car parking charges in Exeter. 

Exeter City Council says ticket-prices have fallen behind those in other cities and an increase would help ease congestion. 

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Proposals include putting up the price of one hour at the Guildhall, Mary Arches, and John Lewis car parks from £2 to £2.20. 

The suggestions are being discussed at an executive council meeting tonight. 

Now do you like a gin and tonic?

Well you're in the right place if the answer's yes.

Salcombe Gin has taken the top spot in two categories at the prestigious World Drinks Awards.

We'll raise a glass to that!

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National League South club Truro City will share a proposed Stadium for Cornwall with rugby club Cornish Pirates.

Work on the 6,000-capacity ground, on the outskirts of Truro, could start this summer according to the Cornish Pirates.

Truro wanted to build their own stadium at Silver Bow, but developers branded it "no longer financially viable".

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"The joint agreement will enable the strong prospect of a stadium to finally be built," a statement issued by the two clubs read. "The community stadium will rival other similar venues currently found throughout the country."

Clubs to share Stadium for Cornwall

Non-league football side Truro City announce they will share the Stadium for Cornwall with rugby club Cornish Pirates.

Read more

The Secular Society has called on the Charity Commission to remove Buckfast Abbey Trust's charitable status "unless they change their activities".  

The abbey makes tonic wine Buckfast, which has been linked with violent crime in Scotland.

Secular Society vice president Alistair McBay said: "The monks should be setting an example as a religious organisation but the opposite is happening."

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Last year the abbey said it supported alcohol education charities like Drinkaware, a fact disputed by the charity.

It has made about £88m since 2004 from royalties made on each bottle of Buckfast sold, according to the Charity Commission.

The trust justifies its existence as a charity in its annual report, stating its aim is the "advancement of the Roman Catholic religion".

The view from the top of Snowdon taking in a 'magical' lake has been named as the UK's best sight .

The landscape topped a poll of more than 2,500 people - beating the Three Sisters mountains in Scotland's Glencoe Valley, St Ives, and Stonehenge in Wiltshire.

• An ex-Torbay Hospital nurse has been jailed after filming himself raping a three-year-old girl as she slept in her own bed
• Psychiatric nurse George Anderson, 27, who worked for Devon Partnership NHS Trust,  has been jailed for more than 19 years
• The little girl who was raped by Anderson alerted her mother to the crime
• He abused the girl numerous times over a three-and-a-half-hour period while attending a drinks party at her family home  
• Devon Partnership NHS Trust said Anderson has been dismissed from the organisation and "no evidence has emerged to suggest that people in his care were at risk during the period" 
• He has been given an interim suspension order for 18 months by the  Nursing and Midwifery Council

Devon and Cornwall PoliceCopyright: Devon and Cornwall Police

• In Crediton the A3072 Mill Street is closed due to a police incident between the A377 Exeter Road and Blagdon, near the supermarket 
• In Plympton, Underwood Road is blocked in both directions by a two-vehicle collision between Drunken Bridge Hill and Market Road
• On the A361 Tiverton-bound between Gornhay Cross and the Bolham Roundabout there's slow traffic due to a broken-down caravan

A council chief executive has said he is "very pleased" controversial plans to transform the seafront at Exmouth have moved a step closer today. 

After years of wrangling over what should be built, developers can now submit plans for a multimillion-pound sports centre, hotel, shops and café. 

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Mark Williams, chief executive of East Devon District Council said: "I'm very pleased. Exmouth is a world-class location and we want it to be a world-class destination and the important part of today's approval is that it allows us to get on with that now.

"It [the character] will change because there will be something different there, but actually I think it will open up the beach, it will bring more activities down to that area of the seafront for people to enjoy."

The mother of a three-year-old girl who was raped by Torbay Hospital nurse George Anderson, 27, says she doesn't think she will ever trust a man again.

In a victim impact statement, which was read out at Exeter Crown Court, she said: "I feel like the worst parent in the world. I feel like I have failed my daughter." 

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"I do not think I will be able to ever trust another man again and certainly do not think I will be able to be in a relationship with one, certainly where they have any contact with (my daughter). 

"I trusted George, I thought he was my friend, he destroyed that trust. I feel so much anger and hatred towards him that it scares me."

Anderson, 27, who raped the girl in her home,  has been jailed for more than 19 years.

A nurse convicted of raping a child has been suspended by the Nursing and Midwifery Council until the organisation hears his case.

George Anderson, 27, was convicted at Exeter Crown Court this morning.

He has been given an interim suspension order for 18 months by the NMC.

He worked at Torbay Hospital and Devon Partnership NHS Trust said he has been dismissed from the organisation.

A motorcyclist is critically ill in hospital following a crash near Helston on Saturday night.

It involved a motorbike, a car and a van, and happened just before 19:30 on the B3297 at Farms Common. 

The rider is now at Derriford Hospital and police are appealing for witnesses.