Page last updated 15th May 2008
'Rules followed' in drowning case
Police guidelines were followed by three constables involved in a drowning accident, senior officers have said. Divers recovered a man's body from the River Exe on the Quay at St Leonards in Exeter, Devon on Tuesday. Two men who tried to save the man claimed the police response was too slow and have made a complaint. The matter has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission but senior officers say procedures were followed. Many people on Exeter's waterfront witnessed the incident, which happened at about 1345 BST
Protest
sparked by pollution fear
Parents, pupils, teachers and residents took part in a peaceful protest sparked by health fears. They are concerned about decontamination plans for an old gas works wite near Preston Primary School at Hollicombe in Torbay, Devon. The site, which is thought to contain arsenic, benzo(a)pyrene and cyanide is being cleared to make way for housing.Local people fear the site will take years to decontaminate and could cause dangerous airborne pollution. Despite hundreds of letters of objection, Torbay Council's development control committee gave conditional approval to plans for 185 flats to be built on the site after an environmental review of the site was carried out.
Teignmouth boss faces £40,000 fine
A restaurant owner in Teignmouth faces a fine of up to £40,000 after illegal workers were traced to his premises in the resort.One chef found at the Naz Indian Cuisine in Somerset Place has already been removed from the UK while another and two waiters face the same fate.Immigration officials raided the restaurant after receiving intelligence about possible illegal workers.They pounced on May 1 and checked documentation of staff, establishing four Bangladeshi men they checked out were suspects.Each was arrested and taken to Torquay Police Station for questioning. Immigration officials have just released details of the arrests. A 30-year-old chef has since been removed from the UK while the other three, aged 25, 30 and 31, are in the process of being sent back to Bangladesh. A spokesman for the UK Border Agency who carried out the swoop said the restaurant owner faces a civil penalty fine in the wake of the arrests.
Teignmouth runaway caravan scare
A COUPLE had a lucky escape after their runaway caravan 'hurtled' down a steep driveway and crashed into a stationary car on a Teignmouth residential street.Brian and Inez Wall, both in their 60s and from Grenville Avenue, had just returned from a holiday when the unhitched caravan began to slide backwards down the hill, knocking both of them to the ground. The caravan collided with a parked blue car leaving glass and car parts strewn across the road.Mrs Wall sustained cuts and bruises to her face and knee and bruised ribs but did not require hospital treatment. Mr Wall said: 'We had only just come back from holiday in Weston-super-Mare. We pulled up on the opposite side of the road and I put the brake on and released the caravan from the car. 'As soon as I did that it went off down the road like a rocket. It knocked me and my wife on to the ground.'The caravan started off down the short slope towards the junction and there was a car parked right in the middle, it hit that with a big wallop and came to a stop.'
Driver freed from Dawlish smash
A driver was taken to hospital following a crash which closed off part of Dawlish for several hours yesterday.Fire crews from Dawlish and Teignmouth went to the scene of the accident involving a lorry and a car. They released the driver of a red Mercedes, from Gravesend in Kent, by cutting off one of the doors.The casualty was taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital for treatment. The extent of his injuries are not known, but they are not thought to be life threatening. The driver of a Scania Box Van from Aylesbeare, Exeter, was unhurt. The collision happened near Marine Garage, Exeter Road, at around 3.45pm.
Car wrecked in arson attack
Arsonists are being hunted after attacking a parked car in Torquay late on Monday night.The Freelander, in Babbacombe Road, had already been targeted by window-smashing vandals earlier in the day.Pub landlord Les Edwards, who runs the nearby Dog and Duck, was one of several people who raised the alarm just before 11pm."I was locking up and looked up and saw the car on fire. I don't know whose it was," he said. He added: "If the petrol tank had gone up it would have been horrendous. It must have been some stupid people passing by. We did hear the car's windows had been smashed earlier on." He had nothing but praise for the fire crews who responded to his 999 call.
