£4.5m flood defence scheme approved for Boscastle - The Pasty sells saffron cakes from Cornwall and Cornish pasties

A flood defence project that will increase the capacity of the River Valency has been approved by the North Cornwall District Council.

It is hoped that this scheme will reduce the risk of further flooding since the River Valency burst its banks in August 2004, costing millions of pounds in damage.

The scheme will involve the lowering and widening of the River Valency to increase its capacity. It will also include the demolishment of the 19th Century Lower Bridge and the replacement of it with a larger bridge further downstream.

The Environment Agency said the new defence system would reduce the risk of flooding to a one-in-75-year event.

Construction is expected to begin in October and will be completed in two years.

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Stormy gales, cramped conditions and sleep deprivation could not stop staff sergeant Ben Fouracre and three Commando comrades from rowing across the North Atlantic Ocean to help raise over £145,000 for meningitis research and treatment.

Arriving in Cornwall last Sunday, the four rowers travelled from New York to Falmouth, 3,118 miles in 84 days, 23 hours and 59 minutes, achieving the longest point-to-point crossing of the ocean by rowboat.

Fouracre said: “It’s dangerous what we did. We lost communications after four weeks. It’s quite a lonely experience - being 1,500 miles from any land mass is daunting.”

Asked if he would do it again, the husband and father of two said it would not be fair to put his family through it all again.

When they arrived home they were greeted with pasties, bacon rolls and chocolate after surviving for months on boil-in-the-bag food.

The crew hopes to raise up to £250,000 for meningitis research and treatment when all the pledges are in. Anybody who wishes to donate money can visit the team’s website.

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A 10 per cent tax could be imposed on takeaway meals in the South West, according to a proposal submitted to a Treasury-commissioned review.

Also a six per cent tax could be charged on sit-down meals in restaurants and pubs.

The taxes, which were proposed by Sir Michael Lyons, would increase government funds by £1.5 billion a year. Chancellor Gordon Brown had commissioned Sir Michael to find ways to net more money after concerns that the next round of council tax revaluation would see increased bills.

Westcountry tourism and business chiefs are concerned that the proposed taxes could severely damage the region’s holiday and tourism industry. Chief executive of South West Tourism, Malcolm Bell, labelled the tax proposals as “bordering on stupidity”. He said: “A measure like this will simply mean we will lose tourists to the foreign market.”

It is feared that more than 5,000 jobs could be on the line in the South West if the proposal is accepted.

Tim Jones, Devon and Cornwall Business Council chairman, said: “It’s nothing short of absolutely barking mad. It strikes at the heart of the Westcountry rural economy and will without doubt see businesses go bust.”

Proposals for a 5-10 per cent tax on the prices of hotels and bed and breakfast rooms were also made earlier this year.

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Police in Cornwall have threatened to arrest local resident Gordon MacKillop for placing a solar-powered gnome, dressed in police uniform, in his garden.

The police became involved in the matter when MacKillop’s neighbour John McLean, a former policeman, complained that the gnome was annoying and discouraged potential buyers viewing his home.

MacKillop claimed that he had placed the ornament in his garden to deter thieves after his motorcycle was stolen from his driveway.

Police have served MacKillop, who lives in Treovis, with a notice for ‘placing a garden gnome with intent to cause harassment’ under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

MacKillop said: “I’m not having the police telling me what type of garden gnome I can have. It’s a standard gnome I bought from a store. If they are considered harassing they should be withdrawn from sale.”

A spokeswoman for the Devon and Cornwall Police said: “This isn’t just a petty issue. This has been ongoing for two or three years.”

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Cornwall County Council has approved a company’s plans to restart tin extraction at South Crofty tin mine at Pool, near Redruth.

South Crofty was closed in March 1998 as a result of falling prices, ending the county’s 3000-year-old tin-mining tradition.

Baseresult Holdings Limited, who bought the South Crofty site in 2001, hopes to restart tin-mining and create more jobs. The company’s managing director, Kevin Williams, said: “The new South Crofty will not be the South Crofty of eight years ago. It will be a modern, high-tech mine run with the help of computers - it will be a more efficient way of mining tin.”

Before closure in 1998, South Crofty was producing 2,100 tonnes of tin per year. Baseresult plans to double its production to 4,000 tonnes a year by making use of modern technology to cut production costs.

But former miner and county councillor Mark Kaczmarek said that restarting the mine would be difficult. He said: “It’s going to cost at least £30m. That’s a lot of money before you mine one ounce of tin. I don’t believe Baseresult have got the muscle and financial backing to plough that amount of money into it.”

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Flood warnings could be issued along the coasts of South West England as the region prepares for some of the highest tides of the year.

The clash between the usual spring tides and the autumn equinox this weekend is expected to cause flooding if there is stormy weather.

The Environment Agency is monitoring the situation and has asked that residents living on the coast or in a tidal area prepare themselves for possible flooding. Tim Wood from the agency said: “It’s far too late to start thinking about it when the water is lapping at your front door, so start preparing for it now.”

The agency has issued a Flood Watch status on the north Cornwall coast, the north Devon coast from Hartland Point to Lynmouth and from Porlock to Avonmouth.

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Jamie Oliver wants to power his restaurant in Cornwall using wind energy in an attempt to save energy and halve his electricity bills.

The celebrity chef has applied to install two wind turbines on the roof of Fifteen in Watergate Bay, near Newquay.

The turbines would be 1.8m in diameter and painted the same colour as the restaurant’s roof to avoid becoming an eyesore.

Restaurant director Will Ashworth said: “The visual impact will be very low and the environmental impact very high. The only place you will be able to see them from is the beach.”

Fifteen in Cornwall is the third restaurant in Oliver’s chain, following those in London and Amsterdam. A fourth branch is due to open soon in Melbourne.

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Young leatherback turtles have been spotted along the north Cornwall coast at two locations, according to reports received by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).

Adult leatherbacks are a common sight on the Cornish coast, but juveniles measuring less than 1m in length are rarely seen.

The first sighting was reported by a wind-surfer at Constantine Bay and the second by a surfer in Fistral Beach, Newquay.

MCS species policy office Peter Richardson said: “We were fairly sceptical when we received the first sighting because leatherbacks of this size are rarely reported in UK waters. But when we received another independent sighting from a surfer who managed to get a good look at the animal we got very excited.”

The leatherback is the largest of the marine turtles, growing up to 3m in length and weighing up to a tonne.

The public has been asked to report any further turtle sightings to Turtle, the national database of turtle sightings.

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Lloyds TSB is to close three of its branches in Cornwall and 16 other branches across Wales and South West England.

The high-street bank said that the increasing usage of telephone and internet banking meant that many people did not visit bank branches anymore. The branches in St Just, Gunnislake and Tintagel will face closure as a result.

The bank added that post offices in the affected areas would offer essential bank services such as cash withdrawals, deposits and balance enquiries. But St Just Mayor Sylvia Smith criticised the move: “Customers cannot bank at the post office. For people here it may mean a daily trip into Penzance to bank money, and longer waits for cheques to clear.”

The decision was also condemned by pressure group Campaign for Community Banking Services. Campaign director Derek French said: “Banks consistently take the view that if they can’t be in a community under their own brand, they really don’t care what happens to the customer. They’re just prepared to pull out.”

The group suggested that concerned customers should contact their MPs.

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A man who grew up in a Cornish orphanage turned up for work on his 100th birthday - despite being told to take the day off by his boss.

Buster Martin was born in France, but moved to Cornwall as a baby and grew up in a Cornish orphanage until he was 10 - when he moved to London.

He retired as a market worker 3 years ago, but started working again, as a van cleaner, because he became bored.

His colleagues at the Pimlico Plumbers in Lambeth, south London, threw him a surprise party and treated him to a tour of Chelsea’s football stadium.

Mr Martin said he last had a party when he was 21, when he “got as drunk as a Lord”.

Mr Martin woked on Brixton market helping store owners, before joining the army at 15 and serving for 35 years. He got married in 1920 and had 17 children.

He put his longevity down to working, and a daily pint of bitter: “Working keeps me active, that’s the main thing. If you’re active it saves you sitting in a wheelchair.”

Asked how things had changed over the century, he said: “It’s a bit too fast… I’ve never owned a telephone and I never will.”

Colleague Charlie Mullins said: “Buster’s a lot of fun, he’s quite a character who’s got a million stories.”

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