On 2 July 2015, Visual Impairment (VI) experts from around the world are set to share advances in leading-edge research at the fourth annual WESC Foundation International Conference in Exeter. From the latest developments in medical technology, such as bionic eyes to help combat retinal eye disease, to ground-breaking design of Smart-Glasses designed to assist visually impaired people in navigating every-day obstacles, researchers will reveal the latest developments to an audience of education, healthcare and SEN professionals.

Keynote speaker at the Conference will be Dr Lauren...

Update: 4pm, Thursday 25 June

Lydia Robinson has been found safe and well. Police have thanked the public for their help in finding her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Police are seeking the public’s help to locate a 14-year-old who is missing from Bideford.

Lydia Robinson was last seen at an address in the town at lunchtime on Tuesday 23 June and officers are concerned for her welfare.

Lydia, who prefers to be called Lill, has strong ties to the Exeter area and could be in the city.

Police are conducting searches for Lydia and are asking the...

Highbullen Hotel in North Devon is hosting its first Boutique Wedding Showcase on Saturday 22 August.

This is the perfect opportunity to experience the hospitality of Highbullen and to sample the flavour of the local artisans and suppliers, such as florists, cake makers, dress makers and more.

The Wedding fair is also an opportunity to see the substantial refurbishment of the Hotel and all of their on-site facilities, including tennis courts, golf course, croquet lawn, indoor pool and the family courtyard area with outdoor pool.

The Palazzo at Highbullen is a brand...

Devon and Cornwall’s Police and Crime Commissioner has today (24th June) launched a campaign for fair funding in the fight against crime in the South West. Tony Hogg is challenging the Government to change the way cash is allocated to police forces across the country. He says Devon and Cornwall is systematically disadvantaged by a scandalous funding formula that favours big city police forces. “It is time to make the voice of the South West heard. London based civil servants need to understand the anger of the local population that receives less money for its policing and other important...

The Venus Experience will allow nominees and women who are interested in entering the awards to participate in a question and answer session about the nomination and application process.

The event, which will take place on Thursday 25th June 2015 at The Imperial Pub on New North Road, is open to all who have already entered or who are thinking of entering. This will allow women to network with other prospective nominees, have their questions answered and find out more about the Venus Awards 2015.

This networking opportunity is new for 2015 and organisers hope that it will...

There will be a live broadcast of time travel being screened at Walkabout in Exeter on Friday.

A lady known as Anna from Exminster put an ad on Gumtree to find a companion after she believed she had invented a time machine.

Similar to the story in the film Safety Not Guaranteed, which came out in 2012, Anna has faced skeptics in the press.

On 16 June, Ollie McAteer, writing for the free newspaper Metro, did a poll to see whether their readers found this hilariously funny or not.

In his article about the Gumtree ad, McAteer concludes that: “Being forced to...

A Devon photographer has won a national zoo photography award.

Ray Wiltshire, from Paignton, took the award with his picture, Forty Winks, showing Bornean orang utan mother Mali and baby Tatau asleep on their island at Paignton Zoo.

The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) announced the winners of its annual photography competition sponsored by Wildlife Vets International at an award ceremony hosted by Woburn Safari Park. There were 63 entries, with shots conveying life in a BIAZA collection, work behind the scenes and zoo conservation work around the...

Devon Wildlife Trust is delighted to announce the birth of kits born to the first wild colony of beavers in England.

The births signal the latest chapter in a story which has attracted great support from the local community.

Devon Wildlife Trust is leading the River Otter Beaver Trial in partnership with landowner Clinton Devon Estates, the University of Exeter and the Derek Gow Partnership. Devon Wildlife Trust’s Mark Elliott said: “We are thrilled that the beavers have bred. The baby kits appear fit and healthy and the adults seem as if they are taking their parenting...

National charity Living Streets, which campaigns for pedestrians, today welcomes North Dorset MP Simon Hoare’s Private Member’s Bill calling for a ban on pavement parking in England and Wales.

The bill will receive its first reading in the House of Commons today.

Living Streets’ Chief Executive Joe Irvin said: ‘We have been campaigning for years to reclaim our pavements for pedestrians and we are delighted that this important issue is finally being addressed after being delayed twice in the last Parliament.

“Pavements are for people, not vehicles and it is about...