Police investigate alleged serious sexual assault on Devon man in...

November 17, 2015, 4:57 am

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A MAN in his twenties was the victim of an alleged serious sexual assault in the early hours of this morning.Police have launched an investigation following reports on an incident in Okehampeton Road, Exeter.The victim is a local man in his twenties and is being supported by specialist officers.A cordon has been set up in the area including the public toilets as scenes of crime officers undertake forensic searches.Police are appealing for witnesses and would like to hear from anyone who noticed...

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BREAKING: Bideford drug gang jailed after being caught in police...

November 17, 2015, 6:56 am

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A drug dealer and three of his runners have been jailed for a total of almost 10 years after being trapped in a police sting operation at a seaside resort.Michael Branch's home in Westward Ho! was used as a base for him to sell drugs direct and through a group of heroin users who supplied undercover officers.Police in North Devon launched the operation, codenamed Luminous, after a series of nine drug deaths in the area over the space of two years.An undercover officer known as Rob made test...

Woman kept alleged rape secret for four years until 'chance...

November 17, 2015, 9:24 am

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A woman who allegedly kept a rape secret for four years was spurred into going to the police after a chance meeting with the man who she accuses of attacking her.The woman was allegedly raped when she was 15 and tried to put the incident behind her without going to the authorities until seeing the man again in a hospital waiting room.She became so upset that hospital staff took her to one side and the police were called after she told them the man had subjected her to a violent rape when she was...

'Give up the cannabis' says judge to 19-year-old Woolacombe man

November 17, 2015, 11:43 pm

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"GIVE up the cannabis" was a magistrate's advice to a 19-year-old caught with the drug.Daniel Jacques, of Fortescue Bungalows in Woolacombe, appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court where he pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis with the intent to supply.The court heard officers were on patrol in Ilfracombe when they noticed a Ford Fiesta in Larkstone car park.They approached the car and could smell cannabis coming from it and also spotted a bong on display.Officers also found a red...

Former Ilfracombe soldier denies assault near Fever nightclub in...

November 18, 2015, 5:21 am

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A former soldier has denied attacking a night club customer during a closing time argument at a cash point machine.Elliott Brown is alleged to have punched Matthew Edwards in the face and knocked him to the ground during a fracas near the Fever Club in Barnstaple.Brown, aged 29, was seen wearing a similar blue shirt to the attacker but says he is the victim of a case of mistaken identity and was not involved in the violence.Mr Edwards needed hospital treatment for a nosebleed and bruising while...

Barnstaple computer shop man who stole clients' laptops ordered...

November 18, 2015, 7:28 am

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A crooked computer shop owner has been ordered to pay compensation to customers who lost irreplaceable family memories when he stole their laptops.Kai Hirst ripped off clients at his business in Barnstaple to pay for his drinking habit after his marriage broke up and he was sleeping at the shop.His victims included a mother who lost family pictures of her children and a writer whose unfinished book was stored on her Macbook.He sold the £1,250 laptop on eBay and spent weeks dodging...

​Pictures show Tanis Bhandari murder accused posing with weapons...

November 18, 2015, 11:46 pm

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A JURY has been shown pictures of the two men accused of the murder of Tanis Bhandari posing with knives shortly before the 27-year-old man's death on New Year's Day.Facing trial for the alleged murder of Mr Bhandari with an axe and knife in a Devon village are Donald Pemberton, 21, and Ryan Williams, 22.A packed Plymouth Crown Court has heard the pair was "looking for trouble" and left behind "a scene of carnage" in the village of Tamerton Foliot.Pemberton, of Victoria Road,...

​Baby boy in "serious" condition as man arrested for...

November 19, 2015, 2:00 am

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A BABY boy was said to be in a "serious" condition in hospital as a South West man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm following an incident on Tuesday.The six-month old baby was left with serious injuries and a 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of GBH.A spokesman for Avon and Somerset police said he was "helping police with our inquiries".The incident happened in Bridgwater on Tuesday, November 17. The baby boy was rushed to Bristol Children's...

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Uni rugby player broke friend's cheekbone because he wanted to...

November 19, 2015, 7:16 am

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A UNIVERSITY rugby league player has been ordered to pay compensation to a team mate after he broke his cheekbone during a drunken after match celebration.Sam Ash was angry with friend Stefan Kadach because he wanted to go home early from the party at an Exeter pub and hit him with a single punch to his face.Second year student Mr Kadach needed an operation to repair the cheek bone and suffered weeks of pain as well as losing the summer holiday job which he had lined up.Ash and the victim were...

Robber attacked 77-year-old man in his home

November 19, 2015, 7:23 am

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A MAN has admitted robbing a vulnerable pensioner in his own home and stealing cash and a satchel.Luke Stocker admitted robbery when he appeared at Exeter Crown Court via video link from Exeter Prison, where he is remanded in custody.Stocker, 24, of Drake Road, Newton Abbot, admitted robbing 77-year-old Brian Newton at his home in Newton Abbot on October 25 of a wallet, satchel and cash.Judge Francis Gilbert, QC, adjourned the case for four weeks for a probation pre-sentence report.William...

Entire healthy eating business based in horsebox stolen by...

November 19, 2015, 8:39 am

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A NORTH Devon woman's culinary dream has been put on hold after thieves managed to steal her entire business from a London roadside.Former Pilton Community College pupil Tabitha Johnson spent £15,000 converting a horsebox into a healthy eating street-food business named Neigh.Tabitha, who is originally from Arlington, developed the business while working as a city analyst in London – enlisting the help of her carpenter father, Stuart Johnson, to convert the horsebox.Since then, the...

Arrest warrant for woman who made off without paying for fuel in...

November 20, 2015, 6:42 am

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AN arrest warrant has been made for a woman who failed to show up to court in Barnstaple this morning to face sentencing for taking off without paying for fuel.Nikki Marie Millings, 28, of Moyses Meadow, Okehampton, was due to be sentenced at North Devon Magistrates' Court today (November 20) but failed to turn up.She had previously pleaded guilty to making off without paying for £54.52 of fuel in Exeter on May 2, and £43.39 of fuel in Bideford on May 11.Presiding magistrate Paul...

​Barnstaple theft accused sought by police after court no-show

November 20, 2015, 6:46 am

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A WOMAN accused of two thefts failed to show up for court this morning and a warrant was made for her arrest.Bridie Hopkins, 38, of Rackfield Court, Rackfield, Barnstaple, was due to face two charges of theft at North Devon Magistrates' Court.The charges included two alleged identical thefts on successive days, wherein she was alleged to have stolen Armani gift sets worth £89.96 from Boots in Barnstaple High Street on November 1 and 2 this year.Presiding magistrate Paul Cooper made a...

​Man, 50, pleasured himself in Devon charity chop changing room

November 20, 2015, 9:04 am

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A CREDITON man has been handed a suspended prison sentence after a shocked charity shop assistant found him masturbating in the changing room.Casabra Vagra was found in the fitting rooms of the Devon Air Ambulance store in Exeter on Saturday, August 1. The 50-year-old, of Jenifer Close, admitted to pleasuring himself in the fitting room at Exeter Magistrates' Court.Vagra was jailed for four weeks, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £345 from his benefits.The magistrates said the...

Dangerous paedophile jailed for woodshed assault on vulnerable...

November 20, 2015, 9:33 am

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A DANGEROUS paedophile has been jailed after he abused a vulnerable teenage boy on a voluntary conservation project.Graham Staples lied about his previous convictions to get a job with the forestry scheme at Seale Hayne, Newton Abbot, and used his position to groom a 17-year-old boy with learning difficulties.The teenager was so embarrassed after being sexually assaulted in a woodshed he threatened to take his own life and was detained in a mental hospital for a short time.Staples, 55, moved to...

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Fever nightclub dancefloor attackers who left soldier in hospital...

November 20, 2015, 9:44 am

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A PAIR of nightclub customers have been ordered to pay compensation to a soldier who spent five days in hospital after a dancefloor attack.Liam Patrick and Jamieson Broad were caught on CCTV at Barnstaple as they punched victim Adam Groombridge so hard they broke his nose.The soldier was off sick for seven weeks and a deep cut has left a permanent scar under one eye, Exeter Crown Court was told.Patrick started the violence when he went up to Mr Groombridge, who was talking to a girl at the edge...

'Paranoid schizophrenic' shown leniency for shoplifting perfume...

November 22, 2015, 11:34 pm

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A SHOPLIFTER was shown leniency after magistrates were told of her mental illness and her partner's sickness.Kathleen Towns appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court on Friday, November 20, and pleaded guilty to stealing perfume worth £55.79 from Boots in Barnstaple on November 5.This put her in breach of a conditional discharge for handling stolen goods, which she received in August 2015. However, despite this, presiding magistrate Paul Cooper said he would take the unusual step of...

​Alcoholic shoplifter jailed for series of thefts on Morrisons...

November 23, 2015, 1:26 am

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AN habitual shoplifter has been jailed for a series of thefts committed while subject to a suspended sentence.Kevin Nixon, 30, appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court from custody on Friday, November 20, and pleaded guilty to two thefts and asked magistrates to take six other matters into consideration. He sat in the dock in handcuffs as Lyndsey Baker, for the prosecution, told magistrates his crimes included thefts of meat and alcohol from Morrisons and Co-op in Bideford.Nixon was sentenced...

Teen drove 60 miles to Barnstaple without licence or insurance...

November 23, 2015, 1:37 am

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A TEENAGER drove 60 miles from Saltash to Barnstaple after a row with his girlfriend despite not having a licence or car insurance.Dylan Caldwell, 19, who lives in a sheltered housing project in Bideford, appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court on Friday, November 20, and pleaded guilty to driving without a licence or insurance on December 16.He had already been disqualified for six months in October for speeding and failing to give the identity of a driver when required to do so by police....

Rise in attacks against North Devon medical staff

November 23, 2015, 1:37 am

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THE number of reported attacks carried out against medical staff in North Devon has risen sharply, new figures reveal.Between 2014 and 2015, the total number of physical assaults recorded against staff at Northern Devon Healthcare Trust rose from 133 to 171 – a 33% increase.At the same time, South West Ambulance Service saw 130 attacks take place against its paramedics.The increase is believed to in part be due to the previous under-reporting of attacks by staff in North Devon, a spokesman...