To kick off the first May Bank Holiday 2013 the famous seaside resort of Torquay in South Devon will be holding TorqEat, a brand-new FREE Food and Drink Festival on Saturday 4 May.

The event, organised by Torquay BID and supported by Taste of the West, will be located on the vibrant Torquay harbourside and fan out over beautiful Cary Gardens.

Visitors will be able to try and buy from over 35 producers all showcasing a delicious mix of food and drink products from across the English Riviera and the West Country.

In true Masterchef style, Torquay’s very own celebrity...

Preparation has started on the build for this year's Devon County Show on 16-18 May. A team of eight contractors are making the showground home for the next month as they build marquees equivalent in size to approximately four football pitches. Show Secretary Ollie Allen said the early days of the build were a testing time for the team. “This is a really big task!” she said. “In marquee-building terms, it’s equivalent to scaling Mount Everest! “Each year, Danco, the marquee contractors, put in some new recruits with the more established staff members and within weeks, sometimes days, it is...

From its humble beginnings ten years ago, always with acclaimed chef Michael Caines MBE at its helm, the Exeter Festival of South West Food & Drink has grown into one of the largest events of its kind in the UK, its rise corresponding to the huge surge in consumer demand for local produce. More visitors than ever flock to Exeter's Northernhay Gardens each year to visit artisan food and drink producers from throughout South West England.

In the popular Cookery Theatre, Michael organises and hosts the chef demonstrations, supported by the region's best and best known chefs. Be...

Police are treating a large fire in the Millbay area of Plymouth as a major incident because some of the smoke from the fire is thought to be toxic.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service are attending a serious fire in a vehicle spray workshop in Miller Court in the Millbay area of Plymouth.

Pumping appliances from Greenbank (two), Camels Head, Crownhill and Plymstock are at the scene together with support appliances and reports suggest that huge plumes of smoke were witnessed and explosions heard in the industrial estate. For the time being, fire crews have the...

Live church bells across Exeter and the sound of artillery fire from Plymouth Citadel will be used in a performance of 1812 Overture at Exeter Cathedral on Thursday 25 April.

As well as the Cathedral bells, the bells of St Thomas Church across the city will be rung live and fed into the performance. The bells of Widecombe Church will also join the cacophony which represents the victory bells in Russia’s defence against Napoleon.

The score also calls for Russian cannon shots. To make the performance by Exeter’s EMG Symphony Orchestra more local and up-to-date, Plymouth’s Two...

Story update 20 May: Stephen Gill was arrested in Exeter on 15 May and returned to prison.

First reported 24 April: Police in Devon are seeking a 43-year-old man who has breached the terms of his release licence from Prison. Stephen Gill failed to comply with the conditions and is being sought by officers. He failed to comply with the terms of his licence and Devon and Cornwall probation service issued a prison recall making him arrestable on sight. Devon and Cornwall police are proactively following a number of lines of enquiry to ascertain his current location, and intend to...

Story update 7 May: Paul Irvine was arrested by police on 4 May and returned to prison.

Reported 23 April, 2013: Police in Exeter are seeking a 34-year-old man who has breached the terms of his Prison release licence.

Paul Irvine failed to comply with the conditions and is being sought by officers. He failed to comply with the terms of his licence and Devon and Cornwall probation service issued a prison recall making him arrestable on sight. He is known to frequent the Exeter area. Police in Exeter are proactively following a number of lines of enquiry to ascertain his...

Local computer repair firm PC PAL is celebrating after winning a coveted technology industry award in London recently.

Now in its sixth year, the PCR Awards celebrate the successes of the entire UK computer retail industry - from big name retailers such as PC World, John Lewis and Amazon, blue chip hardware and software providers such as Apple, Microsoft and Samsung through to smaller independent traders.

PC PAL was chosen from a line-up of 5 other national players in the Service and Support category, by a panel of some 100+ leading and influential computing/technology...

A trainee solicitor at Stephens Scown LLP has been awarded the esteemed Sir George Fowler Prize in 2012 by the Devon and Somerset Law Society at their recent AGM in Exeter.

Beth Johnson was awarded the prize after gaining the highest grade on the Legal Practice Course within Devon and Somerset. She successfully completed this course at the University of Plymouth.

Beth joined Stephens Scown as a paralegal in June 2012, and commenced as a trainee solicitor in April 2013. She is currently seated within the family law team in Exeter and will experience another two specialisms,...