News updates for Devon & Cornwall

Health officials say the outbreak of Coronavirus cases at a meat factory near Camborne has been contained and not spreading to the community.

Tests on 500 workers at the Pilgrims Pride plant in Pool revealed 170 workers were positive for the virus.

More people are still being tested.

Rachel Wigglesworth, the Interim Director for Public Health in Cornwall, said: "Clearly we have had an outbreak in a meat processing plant ... but at the moment the incidents are very much contained within the factory setting.

"We are quite clear that the current situation is not in the local community."

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A worker at a food processing plant at the centre of a coronavirus cluster has defended its cleanliness record.

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Engineer Duncan Odgers said the Pilgrim's Pride plant at Pool near Camborne in Cornwall was "probably cleaner than a hospital".

Tests on the 500 workers at the plant revealed that 170 had tested positive for the virus.

Health officials said most of them were asymptomatic and did not know they were infected.

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The workers who tested positive and their close contacts are self isolating and the rest of the staff are being monitored.

Mr Odgers, who tested negative, said he could not understand why the plant had so many positive cases.

"The production lines are absolutely spotless," he said.

"It's probably cleaner than Treliske (Cornwall's biggest hospital), that's how good it is.

"The whole place is cleaned down every night head to toe.

"You could operate on one of our production lines in the morning, it's that clean."

Camborne has been awarded £750,000 of funding from the government to kick start plans for improving the town.

The money will be spent on improving local businesses and securing a central site to build a multi-purpose community hive.

It is one of 100 towns across the UK to benefit from the government’s Towns Fund deal.

A Cornish charity has launched what could be the first residential unit for disabled victims of domestic violence in the South West.

Harbour HousingCopyright: Harbour Housing

Harbour Housing has recently completed the standalone unit at one of its properties in mid Cornwall, the exact location is not being revealed to protect those who use it.

Studies have found that disabled women are twice as likely to be victims of domestic violence than able-bodied women.

But despite that there is a lack of dedicated facilities for those who are fleeing abuse.

With the new refuge Harbour Housing is hoping that it can provide more support for victims.

Cicely Baron from Harbour Housing said: "We believe that there is nothing like this in the south west.

"It will be a safe haven for people who need it and it will also give people that space and an opportunity to be independent."

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Five months after surviving coronavirus, Cornish based explorer Robin Hanbury-Tenison is geared up for his latest challenge.

The 84-year-old has been in training on Bodmin Moor with his wife Louella and on Saturday he is going to walk up Cornwall's highest peak Brown Willy.

He is hoping to raise money to help fund an intensive care healing garden for the Royal Cornwall Hospital which Robin said helped his recovery.

"I had lots of wonderful NHS physio people who came and made me do all sorts of silly exercises," he said.

"When I came out I could walk about five yards on my zimmerframe and since then Louella has been dragging me up and down little mountains."

For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, the number of new cases being confirmed in Exeter has risen above the national average.

There have been 78 cases confirmed in Exeter in the last seven days – a rate of 59.4 per 100,000 people - the average for England is 55.4 per 100,000.

Asked whether there were any discussions around a local lockdown for Exeter, a Devon County Council spokesman said: “A decision of a magnitude of a city-wide lockdown would be made at a national level.

"At the moment, case numbers are not there.”

Pierre Terre/GeographCopyright: Pierre Terre/Geograph

Areas of concern do not get local lockdown rules immediately but are flagged on the watchlist to ensure they get extra testing capacity and are more closely monitored.

Areas for enhanced support are those at a medium-high risk of intervention where there is a more detailed plan, agreed with the national authorities, while areas of intervention see ‘local lockdown’ rules imposed.

Despite case rates in Exeter being higher than some areas of the country on the the government’s coronavirus watchlist, the city was not added when the changes were made late on Thursday.

This is because despite the incidence being higher than some areas on the watchlist, the cases have mainly been confined to university students with no evidence yet of onward community transmission, and some of the areas on the list are geographically surrounded by areas where the incidence is much higher, which isn’t the case in Devon.

Steve Brown, deputy director of Public Health Devon, has thanked university students for responding to the new additional measures to curb the coronavirus infection and said it was essential that everyone in the city’s community continued to follow the rules to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Residents have been left disgusted after a woodland "enchanted fairy trail" loved by hundreds of children was destroyed by vandals.

FamilyCopyright: Family

A teenager has been ordered to complete 200-hours of unpaid work after admitting biting a student on the eyebrow on a night out in Falmouth.

The incident happened in December 2018, when Sasha Bailey, 19, "clamped on with her teeth" to the face of Agnetha Golding.

Truro Crown Court heard how the attack had left Miss Golding with "constant fear and anxiety" in addition to physical injuries to her face and hand, which was also bitten.

Bailey, from Mabe Burnthouse, admitted a charge of unlawful wounding.

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The Eden Project in St Austell has announced it will be opening its ice rink this winter.

The facility will have fewer skaters because of social distancing guidelines.

It is the 17th year the Eden project has opened an ice rink in its world-famous rainforest and mediterranean biomes.

A worker at another food plant in Cornwall - Danish Crown in Bugle - has tested positive for Covid-19.

GoogleCopyright: Google

A spokesman for the company said the employee worked the morning shift and was tested after developing symptoms on Monday and being sent home.

They said: "Immediate preventative action was taken by the company, with those identified as working near to the colleague or having extended close contact sent home to self isolate for 14 days as a precaution and preventative measure.

"Danish Crown is in contact with Cornwall Council and Public Health England who are satisfied we've taken all appropriate measures."

The spokesperson said all workers at the site had been informed and the company was "committed to keeping our colleagues safe and well".

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A powerlifter is looking to push for a world title after winning European gold in Slovakia last month.

For her day job, Ellen Freeborn, 29, who grew up in Bovey Tracey but now lives in Davidstow, works in a laboratory, using her masters degree in chemistry.

But in her spare time she lifts weights more than three times her own bodyweight.

Lockdown has forced her to set up her own home gym for the hours of training she needs to put in.

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"I think people find it quite interesting and people are quite surprised when they realise what I do in my spare time," she said.

"Nobody really expects it because it is such a contrast."

Ellen said she would like to get a couple of records and "just try to keep achieving and progressing".

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A Royal Navy sailor has been given an award for taking a "military" approach to helping his village community during the coronavirus lockdown.

Chief Petty Officer Sean Mackenzie is based at RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall and created a support network of volunteers in his home village of Tregony.

Within 24 hours he set up a system where people could indicate they needed help by putting a sign in their window.

The council has warned it may take enforcement action against a cafe owner in Plymouth who openly admitted she does not wear a mask nor actively ensures others do so.

Police are appealing for CCTV footage after a motorcycle was stolen from a road in Plymouth and placed in the back of a vehicle.

Devon and Cornwall Police said a blue Suzuki Wagon stopped on Taunton Avenue in Whitleigh at around 01:15 on Wednesday and put the red Honda CRF250, registration WF70 FWK into the boot, before driving off.

Officers are asking anyone who witnessed the incident, has been offered the motorcycle or who has CCTV footage of the area, to come forward.

Health chiefs say closure of the plant at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak was "unnecessary".

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"We have put measures in place to ensure it is a safe environment to work in," said Rachel Wigglesworth, director of public health in Cornwall.

Tests on the 500 workers at the Pilgrim's Pride plant revealed that 170 had tested positive for the virus. Health officials said most of them were asymptomatic and did not know they were infected.

Environment Secretary George Eustice, Conservative MP for Camborne and Redruth, said there would be a "major food supply issue" if "we were to close factories altogether when they have an outbreak".

Pilgrim's Pride said it had followed and exceeded government guidelines on safety and it had worked "conscientiously to do all we can to protect the workforce and the local community".

Organisers of the World Pilot Gig Championships in the Isles of Scilly said they had been expecting more than 120 boat crews from across the UK, Europe and beyond to be taking part in May 2020 for what was supposed to be its 31st year.

Now with the 2021 championships cancelled, the event is looking at two years of not happening.

Thousands of rowers and supporters annually descend on Scilly to watch the vessels power through the waves in an occasion that has grown considerably since the first championships in 1989 when a humble 19 boats competed.

But Town Beach, where gigs would usually be lined up, stayed empty this year (pictured).

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A helpline set up to deal with the coronavirus crisis is to continue with funding from the National Lottery.

The Torbay Community Coronavirus Helpline launched a week before the country went into lockdown and at its peak was dealing with more than 350 calls a day.

Staff from Torbay Community Development Trust, Age UK Torbay, Healthwatch Torbay, Citizens Advice Torbay and Brixham Does Care, came together to provide support, through the helpline.

The National Lottery Community Fund and The Office for Civil Society have stepped in with a grant of just short of £100,000 to keep the helpline funded for the next six months.

A spokesperson for the newly formed Torbay Health and Wellbeing Voluntary Sector Network said: “We realised as the helpline developed that it was not just about Covid ... We can now point people in the right direction for a whole host of services, providing a way into the system whether the need is a simple one or one that is relatively complex."