Police & Crime
Meltdown in Mylor: was there something about that Brittany “Memorandum of Understanding” that Cornwall failed to understand?
By Harold Callahan One of the details possibly overlooked by the triumphant “Memorandum of Understanding” recently celebrated by Cornwall Council leader Leigh Frost and the Vice-President of Brittany, Stephane...
“Lock them up!” says North Cornwall MP, as South West Water fined almost £8 million after six years of sewage pollution
By Rashleigh MacFarlane South West Water has been fined £7,867,733 after admitting a series of pollution offences involving untreated sewage at sites across Devon and Cornwall. The company was...
Ten arrested after powerboat lands migrants at Mylor harbour
By Harold Callahan Ten people have been arrested after a powerboat carrying Albanian nationals arrived at Mylor Harbour, the Home Office has confirmed. The landing happened in the early...
Devon and Cornwall police are a “cause of concern” says His Majesty’s Inspectorate
By Harold Callahan Devon and Cornwall police are getting worse, according to His Majesty’s Inspectorate. Already criticised for failings across a range of required competencies, the police have become...
UXB: Falmouth told to prepare for mass evacuation
By Harold Callahan More than a thousand people in Falmouth are likely to be evacuated from their homes this morning (Wednesday) as Royal Navy explosive experts deal with a...
Falmouth UXB: it might be more than 80-years-old, but making it safe is not something that can be rushed
By Harold Callahan The huge unexploded bomb found near Falmouth docks could take a while to deal with. Some homes have been evacuated and roads closed while Royal Navy...
UXB: homes evacuated and roads closed as Falmouth remembers D-Day – but not in a good way
By Harold Callahan Emergency services are pondering how to deal with a suspected unexploded ordnance device discovered in the water near Falmouth Docks on Monday morning. The response so...
CCTV footage shows how racist vandals attacked Cornwall’s only mosque
Recorded at 11.27pm on Thursday night, the CCTV captures a car being repeatedly reversed into the gates at the Islamic Community Centre, Carnon Downs, near Truro
Cornwall rallies to support Islamic Community Centre damaged by racially-aggravated vandalism
By Harold Callahan A fundraising appeal to help repair racially-aggravated criminal damage to Cornwall’s only mosque has already raised nearly £1,500. The cash is to repair gates at Cornwall’s...
Police investigate racist attack on Cornwall’s only mosque
By Harold Callahan Police are treating as racially aggravated criminal damage an attack on Cornwall's only mosque. The entrance gate was smashed and a combustible liquid, thought to be...
French authorities to lead investigation into loss of fishing boat off Cornwall’s coast
By Peter Tremayne French authorities, rather than the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch, are trying to find out what happened to the trawler Maranello, which sank off the south...
Search called off as two French sailors feared drowned
By Harold Callahan The search for two crew members of a French fishing boat which sunk off the Cornish coast on Saturday night has been called off. Three survivors...
Truro fast food boss charged with GBH
By Harold Callahan Two men are due to appear before Truro magistrates today (Wednesday) charged with causing grievous bodily harm. Sinjar Zurel, 27, and Seyin Zurel, 24, both of...
Hundreds caught up in serious police incident in Truro centre
By Harold Callahan Hundreds of people in Truro centre were caught up in a major police incident yesterday (Monday) following a brawl which resulted in two men being arrested....
Minority Report: as Live Facial Recognition technology is deployed in Cornwall for the first time, civil liberties group warns you can now be arrested for looking a bit funny
By Harold Callahan Devon & Cornwall Police have started to use controversial live facial recognition (LFR) technology. While speed and car number plate cameras, and drones, have long been...
Newquay drownings: holidaymakers had been fishing
By Harold Callahan A full inquest into the deaths of father and daughter John and Samantha Collins, of Doncaster, who drowned at Fistral beach, Newquay, on 26th July will...
Hands off my police force, says Devon and Cornwall PCC
By Harold Callahan Nearly four out of five people in Cornwall oppose the idea of an expanded police force, according to a survey carried out by the Devon and...
Newquay braced for this year’s Boardmasters’ siege
By Rashleigh MacFarlane Traffic chaos. Noise. Sexual assaults. For £331 you too can have a five day camping holiday at Trebelsue Farm, overlooking Watergate Bay, Newquay. Local shopkeepers now...
James Desborough guilty of Sticker woods murders
By Harold Callahan James Desborough, a man well-known to Cornwall Council’s emergency housing department, has been found guilty of murdering two friends, dismembering their bodies and burning and burying...
Two drown at Fistral beach, Newquay
By Peter Tremayne A man in his 60s, and his daughter, in her 30s, both from Doncaster, drowned in the sea off Fistral beach, Newquay on Sunday night. Eyewitnesses...
Hot Fuzz: we could do with a silly season story next month
By Harold Callahan We are now only a few weeks away from receiving the Independent Review of Police Force Structures, widely expected to abolish the Devon and Cornwall police...
Gardner-gate: did Cornwall Council deliberately waste police time or conspire to pervert the course of justice?
By Peter Tremayne On or before 14th May 2025, former councillor Louis Gardner resigned from the post of Head of Future Air and Space with Corserv. On or before...
Gardner-gate: while one part of Cornwall Council was making a formal complaint to the police, another part of the empire was negotiating a secret payoff to the councillor whose failure to declare an interest was followed by a £70,000 a year job at the spaceport
By Lee Trewhela Last year’s Newquay spaceport scandal, which caused so much embarrassment for Cornwall Council, has blasted into orbit again with the confirmation that the former councillor at...
Coke-snorting maths teacher banned
By Harold Callahan A Pool Academy maths teacher has been banned by the Teaching Regulation Agency after hearing how he took cocaine at a school Christmas party. Rowan Barnicoat,...
Ann Widdecombe’s home and antiques’ collection were shown on TV just five days before she was killed
By Harold Callahan Devon and Cornwall police have asked Reform UK leader Nigel Farage not to speculate about motives for the murder of former South West Euro MP Ann...
Police investigate murder of Ann Widdicombe, one of Cornwall’s last voices in Europe
By Harold Callahan Police are continuing to investigate the death of 78-year-old former South West Euro MP Ann Widdicombe, found dead at her Devon home on Thursday morning. A...
Sticker “bodies in the woods” murder trial gets underway
By Harold Callahan A jury has heard how a Newquay hostel for vulnerable people with addiction issues was at the centre of two bizarre murders which resulted in the...
Crowan parish council calls for crackdown on illegal industrial waste tip “supersite”
By Lee Trewhela Crowan parish council has written to the Environment Agency (EA) and the area’s MP raising serious concerns about the impact of one of the country’s largest...
Anti-terror cops continue investigation in South East Cornwall
By Harold Callahan Residents in the sleepy village of Millbrook, near Torpoint, say they taking in their stride a week of high-profile activity by heavily-armed anti-terrorist police. A 45-year-old...
Devon and Cornwall’s “inadequate” police force “requires improvement,” says His Majesty’s Inspectorate
By Harold Callahan Devon and Cornwall police are “inadequate” when it comes to investigating crime, according to His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary. The force is also “inadequate” at safeguarding...
A30 crash claims the life of another child
By Harold Callahan A second child has died as a result of injuries sustained in a traffic accident on the A30 at Connor Downs, near Hayle, on Friday. An...
Man charged with rape and murder of woman in her 80s
By Harold Callahan Police have charged a man in connection with the death of a woman in her 80s, following an incident in the Ashton area, near Helston which...
Jailed surgeon who froze his own legs struck off the medical register
By Anne North Truro vascular surgeon Neil Hopper, 50, has been struck off the medical register following his prison sentence for insurance fraud and possessing extreme pornography. Last year...
Penzance man arrested as police launch murder probe near Helston
By Harold Callahan Detectives are investigating the death of a woman in her 80s near Helston. The woman’s body was found in a property in the Ashton area, near...
“A particularly nasty case” – dairy farmer banned from keeping livestock after admitting cruelty
By Rashleigh MacFarlane A dairy farmer has been banned from keeping farm animals after being prosecuted for animal cruelty offences. Martin John Charles Hambly, 52, from Liskeard, admitted 13...
Defend our juries protest at Truro Crown Court
Dozens of campaigners staged a silent protest outside Truro Crown Court yesterday (Monday) to mark the government's continuing assault on one of the most fundamental tenets of the British...
New law demanding “duty of candour” could change the way decisions are made at Cornwall Council
By Graham Smith Despite the continuing real-life “The Thick of It” TV sit-comedy at Westminster, yesterday’s (Wednesday’s) King’s speech contained many measures which have the potential to change local...
Police investigate woman’s death in woods near Camborne
By Harold Callahan Police are investigating the discovery of a woman’s body in woods near Camborne. Emergency services were called yesterday morning (Sunday) following the discovery at Killivose. Police...
We didn’t start the fire – but somebody did: council consults about possible beach blaze ban
By Lee Trewhela Cornwall Council is asking the public if fires should be banned on beaches in Falmouth. The public consultation is for a proposed Public Spaces Protection Order...
New call for Cornwall to have its own police force
By Harold Callahan Cornwall Council is working on a “business case” to take over the police in 2028. Council leader Leigh Frost has said he thinks Cornwall should have...
Who should supervise Cornwall’s police?
By Harold Callahan Cornwall could bid to host any new Police and Crime Board, once the existing Police and Crime Commissioner is abolished in 2028. A Cornwall Council report...
All are equal, but some are more equal than others
By Rashleigh MacFarlane Government plans to this afternoon (Monday) define Islamophobia will pose a new challenge for Cornwall Council’s diversity department. Some councils, not wishing to wait for the...
“Nothing to say about Boardmasters’ links to Israel’s genocide, but we’re a bit worried about the noise”
By Rashleigh MacFarlane A decision about whether to allow this year’s Boardmasters’ festival at Newquay to increase the volume of music performed at the event is to be made...
Local news headline special: Former RNAS Culdrose helicopter pilot arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office
By Harold Callahan Thames Valley police (isn’t that the one with Inspector Morse? – Ed) have just issued this statement: "We have today (Thursday) arrested a man in his...
So, is it now OK to stage a peaceful anti-genocide protest on the steps of Truro Cathedral? Er, we’ll get back to you on that
By Harold Callahan Devon and Cornwall police are watching the government’s return to the courts next Friday (20th February) before deciding how to tackle future anti-genocide protests by Palestine...
Follow the money: how the long reach of Peter Mandelson’s corruption found its way to the heart of Cornwall’s health service
By Anne North One of the many threats to Prime Minister Keir Starmer this morning (Thursday) is the growing focus on disgraced peer Peter Mandelson’s relationship with a United...
Bomb disposal squad deals with WW2 shell at Portreath
By Harold Callahan Navy bomb disposal experts have detonated a World War Two bomb found in a stream at Portreath. Penberthy Road was closed and residents evacuated during the...
Missing man: body found in the sea at Bude
By Harold Callahan Police searching for a missing man from Boscastle have recovered the body of a man from the sea at Bude. Alexander Key, 37, was the partner...
Daylight robbery? Devon and Cornwall police launch 5.2% smash-and-grab raid on council taxpayers
By Harold Callahan The cost of policing Devon and Cornwall next year is set to rise by an average 5.2% next year. At the same time, plans for a...
Kernow Cops: give us back our own police force, urge councillors
By Lee Trewhela Cornwall’s “Fifth Nation” lobbyists want the government to consider a devolved police force, outside of the likely South West Regional constabulary revealed by Cornwall Reports on...
Hot fuzz: here comes the government plan for a new regional police force, based in Bristol
By Harold Callahan Cornwall’s senior police officers, and politicians, are bracing themselves for the prospect of a government announcement tomorrow (Monday) which would create a new regional constabulary stretching...
If you go down to the woods today watch out for industrial-scale fly-tipping
By Rashleigh MacFarlane A Cornwall wildlife site has been identified as one of the “super-tips” used by organised criminals for illegal waste dumping. Pendarves Woods, near Illogan, has been...
Devonwall: plan to merge Devon and Cornwall police with neighbours to be unveiled next week – but who will then be in charge?
By Harold Callahan There appears to be little public support for a directly-elected mayor to replace the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner, according to a survey of...
Boardmasters: only three weeks left to tell County Hall what you think about noise, traffic chaos and genocide
By Rashleigh MacFarlane One of the lesser-publicised “public consultations” conducted by Cornwall Council is that for the annual Boardmasters’ festival, Newquay. Anyone with opinions about this event now has...
Cornwall Council in contempt, as Freedom of Information judge blasts County Hall for “illogical and irrational…cavalier, irresponsible and unreasonable” behaviour and a “litany of failings”
By Julia Penhaligon A woman’s three year quest for a Freedom of Information answer has ended with a tribunal judge issuing a damning verdict against Cornwall Council. Mrs Justice...
Storm Goretti: man found dead after tree fell on caravan
By Harold Callahan A man in his 50s has been found dead inside a caravan near Helston, underneath a tree felled during Storm Goretti. Emergency services were called to...
County Hall failed councillor over death threats
By Lee Trewhela A councillor has said Cornwall Council “should have done better” when she and her children received traumatic death threats. Cllr Kate Ewert’s comments came during a...
No Devonwall council – but perhaps a super-regional police force, overseen by a Wessex mayor?
By Graham Smith The government’s imminent White Paper on police reform looks likely to abolish the Devon and Cornwall constabulary and merge it with Dorset. There are signs that...
Crime boss quits Tories
By Harold Callahan Devon and Cornwall’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez, has resigned from the Conservative Party. Ms Hernandez, from Torbay, has been the directly-elected PCC since 2016. ...
A directly-elected mayor for Devon and Cornwall: is this the closest we’ll be allowed to get to expressing a point of view?
By Harold Callahan The results of a survey about the future of policing in Devon and Cornwall are expected to be reported at the end of this month. One...
2026? Far too difficult to make predictions for the whole year, but there’s plenty going on in just the next three months
By Graham Smith January: Five months after Cornwall councillors called for an inquiry, which has still not started, the row over the future of Cornwall’s publicly-owned farms should return,...
Ban trail hunting, says rural Britain
By Rashleigh MacFarlane A new opinion poll has confirmed overwhelming support for a ban on trail hunting. The YouGov poll found 50% want a ban while only 29% do...
Graffiti attacks across South East Cornwall
By Harold Callahan Police are investigating several graffiti attacks in the Looe, Seaton and Torpoint areas of South East Cornwall. Painting daubed on walls, including those of pubs, warned...
A Police and Crime Board or a directly-elected mayor? All should become clear in the months ahead
By Harold Callahan An indication of government thinking about whether Cornwall should take part in mayoral elections in 2028 is expected in the next few months, when the Home...
Will this year’s Boxing Day hunts be the last?
By Rashleigh MacFarlane The government’s long-awaited Animal Welfare Strategy is due to be published tomorrow (Monday) opening the way to a ban on trail hunting, which still continues in...
Falmouth’s trees were chopped down without the approval of council’s top lawyer
By Graham Smith Cornwall Council leader councillor Leigh Frost has revealed that County Hall’s senior legal officer was not involved in the secret deal which saw three healthy street...
Councillors revoke taxi licences for Cornwall’s high-speed coked-up cabbies
By Lee Trewhela A number of taxi drivers in Cornwall have had their licences to operate revoked or refused for various reasons, including being arrested for driving after taking...
Hot Fuzz: police admit they might have over-reacted in Torpoint
Armed police, supported by dogs and a helicopter, were despatched to Torpoint yesterday (Monday) and schools placed in lockdown after officers thought they had seen a photograph of a...
A very peculiar practice: after this morning’s dawn raid in Falmouth, is any tree in Cornwall safe?
By Harold Callahan It’s not every day that Cornwall Council and its Cormac company, assisted by a private security firm, turn up before 6am, in pitch dark, to start...
Cormac’s chainsaws, aided by private security firm, launch dawn raid to fell Falmouth’s trees
Outstanding citizen journalism from Zoe Young livestreamed this morning's (Monday's) standoff between protestors, security guards and police as the three healthy, mature lime trees which have graced Trelawney Road...
We’ve made mistakes, but we’re still going to chop down your trees, council tells Falmouth
By Lee Trewhela A senior Cornwall Council officer has admitted that the local authority has made mistakes concerning the controversial felling of three much-loved street trees, which is due...
20 months later, justice catches up with fly-tipper
By Harold Callahan A woman has been ordered to pay more than £700 in fines and court costs after fly-tipping rubbish at Carbean, near St Austell. In March 2024,...
Falmouth’s trees: we might comply with the law in future, says council, but not yet…
By Rashleigh MacFarlane Cormac’s chainsaw gang is preparing for a third attempt to chop down Falmouth’s Trelawney Road trees, after Cornwall Council’s Liberal Democrat councillor Dan Rogerson sought to...
The axeman cometh: County Hall again has Falmouth’s trees in its sights
By Rashleigh MacFarlane Cornwall Council appears to be preparing for another attempt to chop down three healthy trees in Trelawney Road, Falmouth. Signs have gone up warning motorists to...
Your money or your life? Few support A38 speed camera petition complaining of highway robbery
By Rashleigh MacFarlane There has been no rush to sign an anti-speed camera petition, following the introduction of a new 30 mph limit on the A38 east of the...
Devon and Cornwall police try to defend inconsistent handling of Truro’s peaceful anti-genocide protestors
By Lee Trewhela July – 8 arrested October – 0 arrested November – 7 arrested, then one more, then “we’ll come back and nick the rest of you” (but...
Peaceful protest against genocide brings seven arrests at Truro Cathedral
Devon and Cornwall police arrested seven protestors, now alleged "terrorists" as a result of government legislation shortly to be challenged at a Judicial Review. Video: Lee Trewhela, LDRS
Lift The Ban protest planned at Truro Cathedral
By Harold Callahan A protest is planned at 1pm outside Truro Cathedral tomorrow (Tuesday) ahead of the legal challenge to the government’s description of anti-genocide campaigners as “terrorists.” July’s...
Arson suspected cause of barn fire
By Harold Callahan Police are investigating suspected arson at an agricultural barn near St Mabyn. Hay bales were well alight by the time emergency services arrived at Tredinnick. Local...
Police say cause of Falmouth pub fire “suspicious”
The derelict Boslowick Inn, Falmouth, recently granted planning permission for residential development, burned down on Tuesday night. Police said: "At the moment the cause of the fire is being...
Tanker accident blocks roundabout near Devoran
A road traffic accident involving a sewage tanker and two other vehicles caused long delays on the A39 near Devoran today (Tuesday.) The collision blocked one of the exits...
Fire-damaged Newquay hotel destroyed by second blaze
By Peter Tremayne The derelict Narrowcliff hotel, Newquay, already severely damaged by a fire in July, has again been the scene of a major blaze. Fire crews were called...
Cornwall divides over mandatory digital ID cards
By Julia Penhaligon The government’s attempts to introduce mandatory digital ID cards look set to be an issue in Cornwall at the next general election. The requirement to carry...
No arrests in Truro, as police change tactics to deal with peaceful anti-genocide protestors
By Harold Callahan A calm, peaceful demonstration took place on the steps of Truro Cathedral yesterday (Saturday) as dozens of protestors again called for a halt to Israel’s genocide...
Too much gunpowder, no sign of treason but definitely not enough plot: remember, remember, the fifth of November is now the sixth of November in Truro
By Lee Trewhela Truro’s Guy Fawkes bonfire night will be a day late and at a new venue this year due to “chaos” and police concerns at last year’s...
Cornwall’s 20 mph speed limits have made the roads much safer
By Rashleigh MacFarlane The first 20 mph speed zones in Cornwall have contributed to a dramatic fall in the numbers of traffic accidents and casualties, according to new data....
Two die in Lostwithiel car crash
By Peter Tremayne Two young men have been killed in a car crash in Cornwall. Their blue Mini Cooper crashed into a wall near Lostwithiel before leaving the road...
Former Methodist leader denies sex charges
By Harold Callahan Former church leader Steven Wild, 71, of St Ives, has denied seven charges of sexual assault. Mr Wild, who chaired the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly...
Missing the point: there are plenty of reasons to ban Boardmasters, but Bob Vylan isn’t one of them
By Graham Smith Three Cornwall councillors meet next week to consider calls that the musicians known as Bob Vylan should not be allowed to perform at the Newquay Boardmasters’...
At least another 14 local voters labelled “terrorists” following MPs’ vote
By Lee Trewhela At least 14 people from Cornwall were among 857 arrested for protesting against the government ban on the Palestine Action group in London on Saturday. Many...
Cornwall’s former Methodist leader faces sex charges
By Harold Callahan Steve Wild, former leader of Cornwall’s Methodist church, is due to appear before Truro magistrates on 15th September accused of sexual misconduct. The former Reverend Wild,...
Far-Right vandals attack Cornish towns
By Harold Callahan Far-Right vandals are continuing to attack Cornish towns, daubing red paint on roundabouts and using cable-ties to attach Union Jack flags to lamp posts. At Wadebridge,...
Bodmin war memorial restored after graffiti attack by far-Right vandals
A Bodmin war memorial, defaced by far-Right vandals yesterday (Monday) has been restored by the town council in less than 24 hours. Anti-immigrant campaigners had daubed red paint, attempting...
Bodmin war memorial defaced by anti-immigrant “red flag” paint
By Harold Callahan Bodmin’s White Clock war memorial has been defaced by vandals. The red “Cross of St George” has been painted on the clock, next to the former...
Saltash pensioners charged with terrorism after their MP voted to outlaw Palestine Action
By Harold Callahan At least two people from Cornwall have been charged with terrorism offences following their participation in peaceful protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Perdita Heller, aged...
Daniel Lynch jailed for life for murdering his brother
By Harold Callahan Daniel Lynch, of Illogan, was jailed for life yesterday (Tuesday) following his conviction for murdering his brother Shane with a hammer-type weapon in their mother’s kitchen...
Rebels without a cause: the inconvenient facts getting in the way of Cornwall’s immigrant-bashers
By Julia Penhaligon There are no asylum seekers currently housed in hotels in Cornwall, according to the latest Home Office data. In fact, there are only 16 asylum seekers...
A38: slow down now, or risk a fine
By Rashleigh MacFarlane A new, lower, speed limit on the A38 in South East Cornwall comes into effect today (Wednesday.) Motorists driving through Tideford and Landrake now risk fines...
EXCLUSIVE: beyond top secret – County Hall refuses to disclose any evidence to support its felling of protected trees
By Rashleigh MacFarlane Cornwall Council has used a little-known loophole in Freedom of Information laws to justify its withholding of evidence about Falmouth’s Trelawney Road trees. The council wants...