tiverton

Budding photographers are being encouraged to capture the beauty of the Grand Western Canal for a special competition this year.

There's a £450 worth of photography vouchers up for grabs plus the chance of the pictures appearing on the website and facebook pages.

There are three categories; Canal Landscapes, Canal Activities and Canal Wildlife. Entries are welcome from anyone but limited to amateur photographers only please and 10 pictures per person.

The competition runs until 30 November 2015 so plenty of time to look for those perfect views and images. Winners...

For the first time visitors to Knightshayes, near Tiverton, will have the opportunity to see the estate all year round, providing an insight into the National Trust’s ongoing work behind the scenes to care for the historic houses and landscape.

Visiting in the winter months, a time when the house and estate would usually have been closed, the public will enter via the East Wing, once a private flat and previously unseen part of the house. Once inside, they will be given access to the conservation stores and workshops used by the house team, giving them to chance to learn all about...

Neil Parish MP, Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare, has hosted the Launch of the UK's first 'Manifesto for Cats' in the House of Commons, on Tuesday 10th February.

Cats Protection, the nation's leading cat charity, unveiled the 10-point document, with support from PetPlan, at a reception attended by more than 35 MPs and Lords including Lord de Mauley, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for natural environment and science; and Angela Smith MP, shadow minister for environment, food and rural affairs.

With 24 per cent of UK households...

On Saturday 24 January, local scout groups attended a Forester Badge day with the team at Knightshayes, the National Trust property on the outskirts of Tiverton.

2nd Tiverton scouts, Halberton and 1st Taunton scouts, Wilton took part in a number of forester activities in Impey wood, including felling and cutting back trees safely using tools like loppers and bow saws and planting sapling oak, birch and field maple trees.

Impey wood is currently undergoing a programme of regeneration, with the ranger team planning to replant 12,000 trees over the next three years. The local...

Devon’s Sam Baird has spoke of his optimism ahead of a Welsh Open Round One tie with Fergal O’Brien.

Being drawn against the ‘baby faced assassin’ for Tuesday 17 February was neither the best nor worst of possibilities according to Sam

“I’m just glad not to have drawn a real top player”, explained the 26 year old, “Anyone else I feel I can compete against.”

But Baird is under no illusions that O’Brien will provide easy opposition.

“Fergal is a very tough player”, continued The Blade, “He’s done well recently and gone up the rankings a bit – which is great at...

Staff and volunteers are preparing for toddlers to take over the Knightshayes for its first ever Toddler Time on Thursday 12 February.

Between 11am and 3pm the National Trust property on the outskirts of Tiverton, is opening its doors to tiny explorers and their families. Each Toddler Time has a seasonal theme, with sensory activities for little ones to enjoy.

This February, the under-fives can discover the wonder of the weather, with messy play activities exploring ice, snow and muddy puddles. Children can take part in crafts, explore the gardens, listen to stories and...

Tiverton and Honiton MP Neil Parish has signed the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment, in doing so pledging his commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day and honouring those who were murdered during the Holocaust as well as paying tribute to the extraordinary Holocaust survivors who work tirelessly to educate young people.

Tuesday 27th January will mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, the site of the largest mass murder in history. In the weeks leading up to and after Holocaust Memorial Day, thousands of...

A public exhibition will be held by Devon County Council on proposals to introduce traffic calming measures on Blundell’s Road in Tiverton. With housing and employment development planned to the east of Tiverton, improvements are needed on the local road infrastructure. Members of the local community are invited to comment on planned improvements at an exhibition at Best Western Tiverton Hotel from 11am- 5pm on Thursday 22 January and 2pm-7pm on Friday 23 January. The Tiverton Eastern Urban Extension (Tiverton EUE) proposals involve new homes, new retail development and new employment...

A fugitive drug trafficker who headed a crime group that supplied huge amounts of heroin to the South West, including Exeter, has been arrested in Tenerife.

Stephen Blundell, aged 36, of Leathers Lane, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin but fled to Spain before he could be sentenced in April 2013. He was later jailed for nine years eight months in his absence.

Blundell (pictured in 2013) controlled a crime group which included a Cornish grandmother caught transporting £50,000 heroin under pasties in her shopping bag.

He was apprehended on a...