BBC Devon & Cornwall Live: 10 December

More than £7,500 worth of equipment has been taken from five vans in Exmouth, police have said.

The vehicles were parked on Broadfield Road, Langstone Drive, The Marles and Woodfield Close, overnight on Sunday 9 December.

A force spokesman said a sat-nav and power tools were among the equipment taken.

Officers have issued advice to the public on how to keep vehicles safe.

Two Devon councils say they are to invest a total of £100,000 to support the creation of a local bank "to support the local economy".

South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council said the bank, known for now as South West Mutual, would be "owned by its members and would pursue only what is in the customers' best interests".

The new venture, proposed to be first ever high street bank dedicated to Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset, is still subject to regulatory approvals.

South Hams leader Councillor John Tucker, said the authorities were supporting the initiative - supported by money generated from a business rates pilot, not council tax - because local branches of the big banks were "being lost at an astonishing rate".

The councils admitted the proposal was "not without risk", but, without the funding, "benefits to the local economy may never be realised".

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The overnight closure of the Shaldon's Grade II listed bridge has been postponed due to poor weather conditions.

It was due to close for essential safety repairs to a damaged pier which contained rotting timber.

A Devon County Council spokesman said: "The work will be rescheduled when suitable tide times and weather conditions permit."

Police are looking for help in the search for a missing woman after her car was found.

Joanna Aplin, 61, has not been seen near her home near Cadgwith since about 07:00 on 5 December.

Officers say they found Ms Aplin's vehicle at Coverack on Sunday night, and have been carrying out land and coastal searches around Helston and the Lizard.

Ms Aplin is described as white, around 5ft 3in tall (1.6m), with grey shoulder length hair.

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A motorcyclist is in hospital with "potentially life-changing" injuries after an accident in Ilfracombe last month.

The man, in his 40s, was driving along the A361, St Brannocks Road, at around 19:10 on Sunday 9 November when his black Hyosung motorcycle was in collision with a grey Volkswagen Golf.

He was taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth with multiple injuries to his chest and pelvis.

The driver of the car, a man in his 50s, was not badly injured in the crash.

Reports of sexual offences in the South West have nearly tripled in the last eight years, according to Public Health England.

Officials say the number of sexual offences recorded by police across the South West jumped from 4,346 in 2010/11 to 11,968 in 2017/18.

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The increase is thought to be because crimes are being recorded better by forces and victims are more willing to come forward.

But the NHS also estimates many victims are still unwilling to report sexual assaults, and are urging them to seek support through a new website.

The South West Survivor Pathway is an online resource which points people to organisations including the Devon and Cornwall Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC).

Lyndsay Howell, from SARC said receiving specialist medical treatment and support "is often the start of the recovery process" for victims.

A Plymouth MP says Prime Minister Theresa May needs to consider her next move very carefully as she considers a final decision on whether to press ahead with a House of Commons vote on her Brexit deal.

Downing Street had insisted it will take place as scheduled on Tuesday, but a statement on the delay is expected at 15:30.

Some of her backbenchers have demanded she goes back to Brussels to renegotiate the deal.

Plymouth Moor View MP Johnny Mercer, who plans to vote against it, also said a Commons defeat might mean being able to negotiate a better deal...

Current provisions for legal aid in England are "not good enough", according to the Law Society.

It comes as a BBC investigation shows cuts to the legal aid budget in England are creating so-called "advice deserts" across the country - as local solicitors, not for profits and charities close their doors.

It has also been revealed Cornwall now has just one legal aid lawyer working on housing and debt.

Up to one million people in the UK live in areas with no legal aid provision for housing at all, with a further 15 million in areas with one provider.

Richard Miller, head of justice at the Law Society, says people "struggle to defend their rights" when the right help is not available.

The Exeter-bound carriageway of the A380 Telegraph Hill will be closed for four nights from Monday night to replace safety barriers.

A section of the barrier near Kenn was damaged in a collision last month and the work will see about 150m will be removed and replaced.

Both lanes of the Exeter-bound carriageway between the Texaco garage and Splatford Spilt will be closed from 18:00 to 06:00, with traffic diverted towards Exeter Racecourse.

The road between Truro and Falmouth was closed in both directions on Sunday morning due to a fallen tree.

It happened on the A39 near Devoran at the Norway Inn about 09:00.

The road was closed for almost several hours and no-one was injured.

Rosie BrownCopyright: Rosie Brown

A Coventry man made an early voice recording in February 1938 and it has now been unearthed in Torquay.

Shaldon's Grade II listed bridge is to be shut on Monday so urgent safety repairs can be carried out.

Concrete will be poured into a large steel pipe that was placed around the bridge pier support last week.

It followed the recent discovery that it contained rotting timber.

Since then vehicles weighing more than three tonnes have not been allowed to cross.

The bridge is due to be shut from 18:30 until 22:30, although the work is subject to the weather.

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The firm which runs Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth has been shortlisted to develop its bid to build five new warships for the Royal Navy.

Babcock is among three groups competing to win a £1.25bn contract to provide the Type 31e frigates.

The preferred bidder for the design and manufacture of the ships is due to be announced by the end of next year.

The MOD wants the first ship delivered in 2023.

BBCCopyright: BBC

In a statement the company said: "Our Arrowhead 140 solution is a proven, capable, and adaptable general purpose frigate design which offers something new and exciting for export markets and will meet customers' expectations both now and in the future."