Devolution of power to regional assemblies and to Cornwall is an emotive subject at the best of times. It is a topic which has largely been supported by the county's incumbent MPs, who are now vying to be re-elected in the forthcoming snap General Election. Cornwall may be a "vigorous" region which has found a "willing ear" in Government in its calls for greater autonomy, as the then local government secretary Greg Clarke put it back in 2015. Read more: General...

Welcome to our live coverage of all the day's biggest stories, traffic and travel from across Cornwall on Thursday, May 18, 2017. We'll be looking at all the traffic so keep checking back to make sure you get wherever you're going as quickly and safely as possible. We will of course also be breaking news as it happens and keeping an eye on the weather. It's Dave here until 2.30pm when I hand over to the late team led today by Charlotte. If you've seen something going on and want us to...

A fast-growing tech company at the heart of Cornwall's own Silicon Valley, has found an innovative way to get its staff's creative juices flowing - by supplying them with beer, of course. Headforwards is putting into practice what the tech giants of California have theorised, which is that a small amount of alcohol can loosen the creativity of staff and improve their performance. Read more: Camborne Pool Redruth: How technology is turning a deprived part of Cornwall into Silicon Valley The...

A huge statue of St Piran is being sculpted out of Cornish granite to be transported by boat to France where it will become part of the Valley of the Saints. The five-ton, three-and-a-half-metre tall piece, bring created by David Paton and Stephane Rouget, will be the 100th to go into the large sculpture park . Commissioned by La Vallee des Saints itself, where since 2008 they have been siting huge granite saints in the Breton landscape, the work will celebrate the connections between...

Relieving the pressure on hard pressed schools and mental health services have won favour with Cornish voters, according to our exclusive poll. The General Election will be held in three weeks on Thursday June 8, and Cornwall Live has already revealed that more than a third of people in some constituencies haven't made up their mind which way to vote. We can now unveil the results of a fresh poll of local people's views and the factors that are swaying opinion right now. Read more:...

Police in Cornwall are urging members of the public to help find a woman who has been missing for several days. Rita Koelewyn is missing from Bodmin, police have reported. Read more: Cornwall man Adrian Jewell guilty of of five rapes and two sexual assaults and voyeurism using phone The 53-year-old was last seen on Sunday (May 14). Missing person Rita Koelewyn, 53yrs, 5ft8, long greying hair, glasses. Not seen since Sunday. Missing from #Bodmin #Cornwall. Ref 648 16/5....

A project in Cornwall is helping combat loneliness experience by people with dementia.Side by Side, which is run by the charity, Alzheimer's Society, matches volunteers and people who have dementia, based on shared interests.Helpers give up what time they can spare to accompany the dementia partner on activities ranging from football matches, strolls and garden centre visits to simply having a chat over a cup of tea or on the phone."I am currently supporting a person to play bowls every...

People close to Dagmara Przybysz have spoken out about how much they miss her one year after her death. The schoolgirl was found hanged at Pool Academy in Redruth. Read more: Cornish man Adrian Jewell guilty of of five rapes and two sexual assaults and voyeurism using phone Her friends and family have paid a heartbreaking tribute to her on the first anniversary of her death. "People will forget what you said and people will forget [what you] did but they never forget how you...

This was the dramatic moment Cooper the boxer dog and his owner were rescued by lifeboat crews after becoming trapped on a Newquay beach. RNLI volunteers rescued Cooper and his owner from the incoming tide at Bedruthan Steps shortly after 4pm on Saturday (May 13), three hours before high tide. Read next: Newquay Fistral Bay Hotel saga rumbles on as THIRD design is unveiled with one less storeyThe crew on the charity's D class inshore lifeboat gave the woman some warm clothing and rescued the...

Cornwall's students were among the many across the country who were dumbfounded by a strange question in their biology GCSE exam. Twitter came alive as year 11 students mocked the paper, supplied by awarding body Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), for what appeared to be a totally random question about Charles Darwin. Expecting difficult questions on topics such as the menstrual cycles and photosynthesis, students were confronted by the question "Explain why Darwin is drawn...

A Falmouth burger bar which was twice slated by hygiene inspectors has turned its fortunes round. The Meat Counter received a zero-star for hygiene from Cornwall Council food inspectors last July - the worst rating possible - and only managed a one-star rating shortly before Christmas. At the time the owner said there had been structural issues with the old building the burger restaurant is located in while paperwork had also lapsed. Read more: These six Cornish restaurants got a zero...

Developers hope their latest proposals for the redevelopment of Newquay's eyesore Fistral Bay Hotel will put an end to a long-running planning saga. The third design for the Pentire Avenue site has been unveiled by Queensbridge Homes Ltd after two earlier proposals were met with fierce objection. There was uproar within the local community in August last year when plans were submitted for an eight-storey, 81-apartment block.Most claimed the development would be too big and too...

A man from Cornwall is facing a long sentence after being found guilty of rape, sexual assault and voyeurism.Adrian Jewell has been convicted of raping two girls and of secretly filming a third one on his mobile phone by placing it in a bathroom.Read more: Cornwall's police to get body cameras that upload footage to serversThe 46-year-old abused one girl when she was 11 and 12 and raped the second victim in 2015 when she was aged 18. She made a complaint to the police who then found footage on...

Two siblings attacked their brother's former partner of 26 years in broad daylight a week after he was sent to jail for torching her home. Brother and sister David Hichens and Camilla Contrino appeared at Truro Crown Court to be sentenced after Hichens, 54, admitted counts of assault occasioning actually bodily harm, criminal damage and common assault. Contrino, 55, pleaded guilty to charges of common assault and criminal damage.Read more: Meet the owner of Claire's Closet - the new shop that...

A cast-iron post box has been prised from a wall and stolen.Penzance police received reports of the theft of the traditional red letterbox from the area of Higher Trenowin, Nancledra, Penzance.Read more: Cornwall's police to get body cameras that upload footage to servers They believed that the box was prised from the wall and taken away sometime between 3.15pm and 6pm on Sunday (May 14). Read more: Churchgoing pooch Zennor receives special certificate and prize for attendance "If you...

Cornwall's wannabe MPs should ditch their beards if they want to be elected, according a new survey which could also spell bad news for the Labour leader's famous facial hair. A national male grooming product manufacturer has discovered that there hasn't been a bearded prime minister for more than 100 years. Read more: Cornwall Live election survey reveals shock results for how you'll vote and your biggest concernBut overall, the survey suggests that despite its recent popularity thanks to...

A grizzlier and more gruesome version of last year's bush tucker trials in Truro is being promised by a salon owner in a bid to bring the city's businesses together. Tracey Parry, owner of Mamouchi Hair Salon in Truro, has managed to convince some of the city's 'local celebrities' to take part in her very own version of the gross-out challenge from the hit ITV show I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! Mrs Parry coaxed 12 contestants to chow down on bugs and grubs last year and it was...

Police in Cornwall will be wearing body cameras after a successful study into the technology. Today, Wednesday 17 May, will see the deployment of Body Worn Video (BWV) which is being issued to 270 Authorised Firearm Officers (AFOs), across Devon & Cornwall Police and Dorset Police. The rollout of the cameras follows a successful trial and public consultation. Devon and Cornwall piloted head cameras in 2006, primarily to target cases of domestic abuse, and the six-month Home Office...

Discount homeware shop Wilko has opened its fourth and largest store in the county in Truro. The two-storey 16,500 ft store opened earlier today in the former BHS building in Boscawen Street. Shoppers started queuing an hour and half before the doors were finally opened on the long-awaited store at 9am. Tommie Maddox, Wilko Truro store manager, said the turnout had been overwhelming. "Even in the rain they were still out there. The fact that they have come out to see our store is...

Joyce Williams loved music and dancing. When she was coping with the devastating effects of Alzheimer's disease and feeling increasingly confused and isolated as the condition progressed, music therapy helped unlock those feelings of joy once again. Now a video showing the moving response from the Falmouth resident, then aged 90, in the final stages of Alzheimer's in which she joyfully exclaims "you've brought me back to life" during a session has attracted more than 25,000 views since...