A homeless man with a Union Jack tattoo across his cheek asked passers-by about the value of items inside before attempting to break into a St Austell business.Gareth White, 38, previously of Horse Whim Drive in St Austell, appeared at Truro Crown Court via video link from Exeter prison to be sentenced after previously pleading guilty to two counts of possession of a knife or bladed article in public and attempted burglary.Prosecuting barrister Francesca Whebell told the court how on June 26...

Hedges can be a thing of beauty, a simple boundary, a haven for wildlife – or a source of neighbourly conflict.Now the government has issued advice to gardeners in the hope of avoiding confrontations.A hedge can be cheap to create and last for a long time. It can help bring wildlife into your garden; and its flowers, berries and leaves can add colour and beauty.What does the law say?You don't normally need permission to plant a hedge in your garden, the Department for Communities and Local...

RNLI lifeguards come from all walks of life and when they're not on patrol they get up to some really thrilling things – but what motivates them to return year after year and keep us safe on the coast?If someone is unfortunate enough to get in trouble this season they may even be rescued by a professional surfer. Mike Lay first got involved with the RNLI after spending summers on his local beach of Gwenver shortly after leaving school.To the envy of many Mike has spent the last two years...

The legendary Volkswagen Campervan is a common sight in Cornwall and now it's making a comeback - this time it will be electric and have sports car acceleration. Potential customers wrote to the German car giant urging them to turn the concept unveiled in January into reality. And VW has now announced that the surfers' favourite will be making a return to the roads by 2022. The all-electric four-door vehicle - dubbed the I.D. Buzz - will be a modern interpretation of the original model;...

A man who witnessed a seal receiving horrific injuries when it was caught on a boat's propeller on a pleasure boat tour in St Ives harbour has described the terrible incident.Reports surfaced on Saturday (August 19) that a seal in St Ives was struck by a propeller after being fed from a boat in the harbour.The seal was able to swim away but it is believed that the injuries sustained would not be survivable.Many responses have expressed concern the victim could one of the well-known harbour seals...

Police are keen to trace a man who may have information vital to a police investigation following a serious sexual assault in Falmouth earlier this year.Officers are investigating the offence, which took place at an address in Bank Place in the early hours of Sunday, May 14.The appeal for the potential witness was issued today.Read more: Police seize air rifles and replica handguns in raid near HelstonA spokesman said: "Police would like to identify and speak to the man pictured in...

Camborne Library will temporarily close for several weeks to allow an extensive repair and refurbishment programme to be completed.Ownership of the building will be transferred to Camborne Town Council and the badly needed improvement works will allow the library to be used for greater community benefit.A temporary library will be available at the Dolcoath Council Offices while the building is closed.The library service will return to its home as soon as the works are completed and the town...

Five children aged between 7 and 11 were among a group rescued after they were cut off by the tide in Cornwall. The children were with three adults and were caught in a small cove near to Porthcothan, on the north coast by Padstow. Another swimmer was also picked up in the operation, which took place on Monday at around 4.15pm. Read next: Crantock beach owners warned of 'possible fatal situation' months before man lost his life Coastguards were alerted and the Padstow and Newquay RNLI...

No one can argue that west Cornwall is not the place to be this August Bank Holiday weekend. That's a fact every year due to the Newlyn Fish Festival, but this year there's something special coming ashore in the form of the town's latest Guinness World Record attempt. The street corners of Penzance will once again become awash with buccaneers on Sunday 27. They will be hoping to regain the town's record of having "the largest gathering of people dressed as pirates". In 2014, more...

Could you decide if these were real or replica guns? Police warned that firearms officers might well shoot if confronted with similar looking weapons on the street. The two air rifles and five replica handguns were seized recently and look so much like the real thing, that police officers might well - given little time to react - assume they were real guns. Tactical firearms commander Ian Drummond Smith posted pictures of the weapons with the chilling warning: "Real or fake? One second to...

It has become one of the most talked-about 'trends' in with young babies recently.Social media has been littered with pictures of mums and dads posting snaps of their budding water baby being helped to swim with a neck float.But swimming teachers and parenting organisations have said they are seriously concerned about its safety.Read more: Mum claims she was asked to leave a pub because of her pramThey have even gone so far to label the accessory as a 'death trap'.A baby in a neck floatThe...

Good morning and welcome to our daily live blog for Tuesday, August 22. We're hoping for a scorcher today - well, at least the hottest day in August so far, which isn't saying much. We'll be bringing you all the latest news, weather, traffic, travel and information from across Cornwall to start your day today. If you see anything we're not talking about, please let us know. Did you catch the solar eclipse last night? We've seen some fab pictures from Plymouth following our live blog last...

The fate of Truro's popular bowling alley is in question after Cornwall Council purchased a large amount of land in the city centre.The council confirmed that it had bought a number properties and land at the top of Pydar Street, including the land that Truro Bowl sits on, but it won't reveal how much it paid.While the owners said that they had no plans to close the popular attraction, they added that they did not know what the future would bring.Read more: Watch driver left confused by road...

A community radio station which features a number of disabled hosts is defying its modest surroundings to build up a listener base in countries such as Ghana, Switzerland and Jamaica.KMF (Kernow Music Foundation) Radio is run from a unit in the quiet residential area of Tolgus Wartha in Redruth by a team of 75 volunteers, many of whom are disabled or from disadvantaged backgrounds.It first started broadcasting in 2015 and now features a number of hosts including Rory Bray-Harper who suffers from...

Teenagers from around Cornwall will be receiving some of their GCSE exam results under new grading rules for the first time this week.The government says replacing A* to G grades with scores of 9 to 1 will drive up standards, but teaching unions say many people are confused by the shakeup.GCSEs taken under the new rules are expected to be more challenging, with almost all exams taken at the end of the course and with less coursework.This is what you need to know to get your head around the new...

A teenager is believed to have died from an overdose while in mental health care, an inquest heard today.A pre-inquest hearing took place today (August 21) into the death of 18-year-old Courtney Doreen Saunders, also known as Courtney Smith.The teenager had been a patient at Longreach Hospital in Bodmin since December 2016, after suffering with mental health issues.She had become sick while under care at Longreach and was taken into the Royal Cornwall Hospital where it was discovered that she...

A programme of yellow lines and waiting restrictions in eight of Cornwall's towns has been drawn up to tackle increasing problems with traffic and parking.The work is part of Cornwall Council's town parking review which was carried out last year and led to 10,000 people responding to the consultation over schemes for Bude, Falmouth and Penryn, Newquay, Penzance, Newlyn, St Ives, Truro and Wadebridge.The council previously identified these towns as having the biggest problems and came up with...

A 17-year-old girl was sexually assaulted on a train by two men after she returned home from Boardmasters festival.The police are now appealing for help to find the two men, one of whom was wearing a novelty shark hat.The teenager was left upset and shocked after she was inappropriately touched by one of the men on board a train travelling between Newquay and Plymouth.A police spokesman said the incident happened on board a Great Western Railway service between approximately 8.45pm and 9pm on...

Eight homeless people have been removed from a derelict hotel in Newquay over fears for their safety.The former Edgcumbe Hotel on Narrowcliff has been closed since 2015, and is set to be torn down and demolished if a planning application gets the go ahead.Last week police officers from the Newquay force worked together with Cornwall Council's community protection team to remove eight homeless individuals from the building over fears for their safety.Read more: Crantock beach owners warned about...

This dramatic footage shows a coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Newquay battling appalling conditions to rescue a man who had fallen down a steep cliff.The incident took place at Rame Head in south east Cornwall at around 4.40pm yesterday.The man had fallen between 100ft and 200ft following a medical incident.It was attended by the Tamar, Plymouth and Looe Coastguard rescue teams and the coastguard helicopter.The man was quickly located and assessed by both the police and paramedics...