PICTURED: Sophisticated cannabis 'factory' at Barnstaple chicken...

July 30, 2015, 10:00 pm

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THESE exclusive pictures show the extent of the cannabis growing operation for which a Barnstaple chicken farmer rented his land out and was jailed.Struggling Edward James, of View Farm, Bratton Fleming, hired out his land to growers when he decided he could make more money out of drugs than his normal business of rearing chickens.As the images show, a sophisticated cannabis 'factory' operation was set up at the 68-year-old's farm by two men, who paid him rent.The men set up the growing rooms in...

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Exmoor buzzard poisoning prompts police investigation

July 30, 2015, 10:06 pm

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THREE buzzards which were found dead on Exmoor earlier this year were poisoned, police have confirmed.An investigation has now been launched after a post-mortem revealed the suspicious circumstances surrounding the deaths of the three birds.They were all discovered in April this year at Molland Common by rangers for Exmoor National Park.Inspector Roger Bartlett said: "The talons show indications of poisoning, and there is no sense of gunshot or any other injury to the bird."It is the...

Braunton bike theft crime spree prompts police appeal

July 30, 2015, 10:10 pm

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A BIKE has been stolen from a home in Chivenor in what is the latest in a series of thefts in the area.The maroon VooDoo Hoodoo mountain bike, worth around £450, was stolen from the back garden of the property in Torridge Road at around 2.30am on July 16.Police have said a man, aged between 16 and 20 and wearing jeans and a camouflage top, was seen riding the bike away from the scene. Dog units were scrambled and carried out a search of the scene, however were unable to find the suspect.It...

PICTURES: Police seek to reunite seized jewellery with owner

July 30, 2015, 10:12 pm

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POLICE have renewed an appeal for information to help reunite a treasure trove of suspected stolen property with its owner.Officers from North Devon Proactive Team seized the items last month, and have released a number of images in the hope someone will recognise the jewellery.The seized items include more than 20 rings, a small broach and unusual silver horseshoe and golfer charms. Scroll through the images above to see the full collection.PCSO Hannah Denton said: "It's all part of the...

Troubled teen who stole from dad and neighbour is thrown out of...

July 31, 2015, 4:32 am

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A TROUBLED teenager has been ordered to do community service work after he was thrown out of a therapeutic community in North Devon for breaking its rules.Autistic Michael Greenaway was sent to the Amber Foundation in Chawleigh, near Chulmleigh, after stealing from his father and a neighbour.He was expelled for smoking in his room, making lewd remarks to other residents, sniffing solvents and spilling a soft drink on a pool table.A Judge warned him he will almost certainly go to jail if he gets...

WARNING to North Devon businesses after spate of fraudulent calls...

July 31, 2015, 6:54 am

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DEVON and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has issued a warning to businesses in North Devon following a spate of fraudulent phone calls.Three businesses in the region raised concerns with the force earlier today after they received phone calls from a salesman claiming to be from the rescue service.Councillor Paul Crabb, who owns a construction business in Ilfracombe, told the Journal that during a call he received the salesman attempted to sell advertising in an emergency service magazine....

Teen fakes own kidnapping to blackmail gran for cocaine party...

July 31, 2015, 7:18 am

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A TEENAGER faked his own kidnapping to extort £100 from his grandmother so he could buy cocaine for a party with his friends. Thomas Miller claimed he was being held hostage by a gang of drug dealers and sent 50 threatening texts to his grandmother which purported to be from the kidnappers. He carried on sending the bogus threats until she agreed to pay the cash and within hours he withdrew the money from his account and spent it on drugs. He was spared jail after his grandmother Gloria...

Devon 'millionaire' teen Sam Cook jailed for 26 months for...

July 31, 2015, 7:28 am

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A DEVON teenager who made headlines when he told how he turned £2,000 into £21 million has been jailed for a £100,000 fraud – and it was a picture in the paper that rumbled him.A keen-eyed police detective spotted that the Ferrari super-car that Sam Cook, 18, was pictured with in the Journal, the Plymouth Herald and national newspapers, was in fact fake.This led to an investigation which found that Cook, from Okehampton, had actually lied about his extreme wealth to...

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Cowboy heating engineer from Instow jailed for ripping off...

July 31, 2015, 8:04 am

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A COWBOY heating engineer had been jailed for ripping off customers who were charged twice the going rate for shoddy work on stoves and boilers.Ex fireman Gary Henry sweet-talked his customer and lured them in with low verbal estimates but then stung them with bills which were much higher than expected.He lied about being authorised to work on heating systems and left angry customers facing even bigger bills to have his work sorted out by properly certified and reputable engineers.He was caught...

Help For Heroes fraudster must pay back just £6,000 of...

July 31, 2015, 9:36 am

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A SWINDLER who made £400,000 through bogus Help for Heroes collections has been ordered to repay less than £6,000 after a judge was told all the money has vanished.Christopher Copeland fleeced supermarket shoppers all over Britain with a team of people - some from North Devon - by collecting money for Help for Heroes and paying it straight into his own bank accounts.He was jailed last year for four and a half years for the massive fraud in which he sent out teams of collectors in...

Man tracked down by police with help of Gossip Around Ilfracombe...

August 1, 2015, 1:28 am

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A FACEBOOK group helped track down an Ilfracombe man who shouted "all British people should die, I support ISIS", a court heard.Luke Alexander, of Marine Place, appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court on Friday and pleaded guilty to racially, religious aggravated harassment and possession of 8.48grams of cannabis.The court heard police had only been made aware of the incident after some members of Facebook group, Gossip Around Ilfracombe, had discussed hearing the remarks and he was...

Ilfracombe woman charged with assault

August 1, 2015, 1:31 am

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AN Ilfracombe woman has appeared in court charged with the assault of another woman.Jasmine Kerr, 19, of St Brannocks Road, pleaded guilty to assault by beating of Phillipa Taylor, at North Devon Magistrates' Court on Friday.The assault happened on May 10 in the town.This was an alleged joint assault but the other defendant, Kayleigh Charlesworth, 21, of St Brannocks Road, did not turn up in court.The case was adjourned until September 11 for a full probation report to be prepared.

Barnstaple man appears in court charged with three driving...

August 1, 2015, 11:44 pm

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A BARNSTAPLE man was ordered to pay more than £350 in costs after he was caught driving without a licence, insurance and a valid test certificate.Andrew Boyle, of Sticklepath Terrace, appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court on Friday. (July 31)The 35-year-old pleaded guilty to driving a BMW on Sticklepath Terrace without a licence, third party insurance and a valid test certificate.The offences occurred on July 18.Boyle was unrepresented in court, and told magistrates he was hoping to...

Elderly woman was spat on by Ilfracombe man, a court heard

August 2, 2015, 12:43 am

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A PENSIONER was called an "ugly old woman" and was spat on by an Ilfracombe man, a court heard.Allen Groves, of Coronation Terrace, had pleaded guilty to assault by beating at an early hearing and appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court on Friday after a pre-sentence report had been prepared.Shaun Tipton, for the prosecution, read out a victim statement from Sandra Rawson who was at a bus stop in the town on October 27, last year, when she was spat on by the 26-year-old.He became...

Northam man in court charged with making indecent photographs of...

August 2, 2015, 12:53 am

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A 67-year-old man has appeared in court charged with six offences relating to making indecent photographs of a child.David Bradshaw, of Hanson Park, Northam, appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court on Friday. (July 31)He pleaded guilty to six charges of making an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child.One of the charges related to making 262 indecent images.The photographs were described as being "category C" images and Tim Hook, for the defence, said they were at the...

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Brothers appear in court charged with New Year's Eve assault

August 2, 2015, 1:03 am

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TWO Combe Martin brothers have appeared in court charged with assault.Ben Chappell, 23, of Park Crescent and Lee Chappell, 25, of the same address, appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court on Friday.The pair were both charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent to Oscar Tully, in Barnstaple on New Year's Eve.Ben Chappell was further charged with assaulting Keelan Trainor-Roulstone, on the same date.Both did not indicate a plea and the case will next be heard at Exeter Crown...

Jealous estate agent jailed for bleach attack on ex's underwear...

August 2, 2015, 2:13 am

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A jealous estate agent has been jailed after he took revenge on his ex partner by dousing her bed with diesel and pouring bleach into her underwear drawer.Timothy Neal was distraught after his 16-year-long relationship with Nicola Davey broke up and went back to her home after learning she was seeing a new man.He used a key to get in and then wrecked her bedroom by pulling all of her clothes out of her wardrobe and covering them and the bed with diesel.He also sent her texts calling her a witch...

Barnstaple sex offender, 16, warned of jail for attacks on...

August 3, 2015, 10:00 pm

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A 16-YEAR-OLD sex offender has been warned he will go to prison if he does not cooperate with probation officers who are trying to change his 'skewed' views about women.The schoolboy was enrolled on a programme to change his attitudes after having sex with a 13-year-old and encouraging other under age girls to strip off during online chats.He breached the order by becoming abusive during the sessions and went on to miss two other appointments, Exeter Crown Court was told.The boy from Barnstaple,...

Conman jailed for preying on Alzheimer's patient, 85, who died in...

August 4, 2015, 4:17 am

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A CONMAN builder has been jailed for fleecing an 85-year-old dementia patient into paying £20,000 for shoddy repairs on her home.Darren Scott was caught after a visitor from Age Concern realised that huge sums of money were being siphoned out of frail spinster Margaret Cash's bank account for minor work on her cottage near Okehampton.The police were called in because the painting and rendering and building of a new porch should have cost half of what Scott charged. Miss Cash has since died...

Man who murdered and sexually assaulted his own mother appeals 30...

August 4, 2015, 7:22 am

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A man who stabbed his own mother in the neck with a knitting needle before sexually assaulting her is appealing against his 30 year jail term.Restaurant waiter Alexander McDonald, 27, was high on cocaine and drink when he launched his brutal attack on his 57-year-old mother at her home in Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset, last September.Lawyers representing McDonald confirmed today that they have lodged an appeal against the 30 year long jail sentence imposed at Exeter Crown Court by trial judge Mr...