A make or break scrutiny of Cornwall's main hospital will begin tomorrow (tues) when a team of inspectors will visit for the fifth time in two years. The Care Quality Commission will be returning to the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) just weeks after delivering a scathing report branding it wholly inadequate in two key areas.Read more: Praise for hospital staff despite damning CQC report on Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS TrustMary Cridge, head of hospital inspections for the South West,...

A decade ago a new law changed the face of British culture forever. Gone were the smoke-filled saloon bars of pubs, restaurants and public transport where people could pretty much puff away to their heart's content. In their place, pubs in particular became clean air zones with smokers banished to kerbsides or shacks in the corner of the beer garden. Read more: Smoking could be banned inside new council houses to protect children The smoking in public places ban made it illegal to smoke...

In just one month in Truro City Centre, a total of 173 crimes were reported to police, here's what offences took place on your street. The area that stretches from Highertown to Malpas experienced a range of offences reported in April, according to the latest figures available from Devon and Cornwall Police. Read more: This is how all GP surgeries in Cornwall scored in national ratings In just 30 days, 71 antisocial behaviour offences were reported. There was also a shocking number of...

The number of nurses and midwives leaving the profession has risen 51% in just four years, with those under the age of retirement citing low pay and poor working conditions. New figures from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) show that for the first time in recent history more midwives and nurses are leaving the register than are joining, with homegrown UK nurses leaving in the largest numbers. Between 2016 and 2017, 20% more people left the register than joined it, and among those...

Hundreds of thousands of houses are planned for Green Belt land, but the vast majority will not be "affordable" homes, campaigners have warned. Some 425,000 homes are proposed for land released from the Green Belt under local and regional planning policies, analysis by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) suggests, up 150,000 from its last study in March 2016. The assessment suggests that more than 70% of those homes will not be expected to be "affordable" –...

Rail passengers heading in and out Cornwall are facing severe delays this evening after a signalling problem at Exeter. Many services are being terminated at Exeter or Taunton and buses are being used instead. It is understood the problem will last several hours. National Rail said a fault with the signalling system between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple / Taunton is causing disruption to journeys between these stations. Services may be cancelled or delayed. Services between Exeter St...

A major improvement to Cornwall's road network has been confirmed by the Government which has included the dualling of the A30 between Chiverton and Carland Cross in a £6billion transport spending spree. Minister Jesse Norman has revealed that the scheme will go ahead which will remove one of the last bottlenecks on the main A30 route in Cornwall and leave only the section of single carriageway between St Erth and Marazion in Penwith. Read more: This is when the A30 roadworks at Bodmin...

Let's face it, we have a pretty good life in Cornwall, but sometimes things happen that make us question where we are living - humorously of course. We have taken a look at social media to see what you are talking about. From traffic jams caused by sheep and missing ferrets to wanting a pasty when you are out of the county and waiting for trains, #cornishproblems and #onlyincornwall has it all. #CornishProblems pic.twitter.com/mq2f8BDnTj — Jessica S (@JessicaS_PZ) April 28,...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say, and while it's true that a lot of Cornwall's natural environment is truly stunning, some of the built environment leaves a lot to be desired, writes Lyn Barton. Here we give you an entirely unscientifically chosen list of some of the biggest offenders. This compilation of Cornwall's ugliest buildings was put together with the main criteria not so much that it was an eyesore, but that the building is out of place, out of time or just...

A controlling boyfriend sent to prison for breaching a restraining order handed to him for beating his partner rang her from prison 910 times in a month, a court has been told. Philip Smyth, formerly of Newquay, appeared at Truro Crown Court on Friday to be sentenced for a charge of controlling and coercive behaviour carried out between August 1 and September 12 of last year, having pleaded guilty to the offence. Prosecutor Philip Lee told the court how Smyth, 34, had been in a relationship...

According to figures released earlier this year by the Office for National Statistics, more than 22,000 crimes were reported in Cornwall alone in 2016 - with just a quarter resulting in convictions and up by just over 1,000 from the previous year. Devon and Cornwall Police have urged people not to panic and said the force area reports the third lowest crime rate in England and Wales. Read next: Newquay police would like to speak to this woman after a house was burgled in Mount WiseThis...

A gang that flooded Cornwall with drugs has been jailed for a total of 70 years for stabbing a rival dealer in a turf war. The court heard that the victim was left for dead with 18 knife wounds after two men were drove from Penzance and Camborne to lead the vicious assault. In total, five young dealers were sent to Exeter to attack a courier from London who had refused to heed an earlier warning. The five men recruited two local junkies to help their plot, one of whom bought the knives and...

If you want to know the name of a sex offender in Cornwall, chances are it could be Kevin. Equally, you may want to be wary of sharing too many personal details with a David, as that's the name of the person most like to rip you off. Emmas are most likely to be convicted criminals while watch out for Daniels - they're the ones most likely to settle scores with their fists rather than over a nice cup of tea. Devon and Cornwall Police has released the commonest first names of male and female...

A new shop stocking retro homewares has raised its shutters on Polmear Road in St Austell. Yummy Interior Design opened at the end of May and is working to provide wares from a variety of talented local artists, with some well known designers, such as Orla Kiely, also thrown into the mix. Read more: Man injured after being shot in the face with a paintball gun Predominantly selling home items, the shop also has a coffee bar and interior designer on hand with expert knowledge to advise...

So this weekend seems to have turned out nice. Saturday was always forecast to be decent, but today has seen more sun than we might have thought. The savvy among us will have prepared, of course. But some will have been taken by surprise. Have you got home to find your skin a little more tender than you'd planned? Sunburn is irritating, sore and itchy. But it is also really dangerous. A bit of a breeze can mask the dangers of the sun. Sunburn is skin damage caused by ultra violet...

This is a vision of the future for Newquay.With more and more construction sites popping up in the resort, it is becoming increasingly hard to keep track of what exactly is being built. And with further developments planned across the town over the coming months and years, Cornwall Live has highlighted how the town might be transformed if these plans come to fruition. Read next: This is when the A30 roadworks at Bodmin will be completed and the new lanes openHere we look at the developments...

Lavender sounds more like a crop you'd find in Provence, not the Lizard peninsula. However, Mark and Sam Hall-Digweed have found the perfect place to set up Cornwall's first commercial lavender farm. Sam and Mark were looking for a place that suited their small-scale and sustainable methods. They said the old farm at Roskorwell, above the coastal village of Porthallow near St Keverne, was ideal and the couple moved in last year. Read next: Audacious appeal to horse racing sheikh of Dubai...

Literary heritage will be celebrated and championed in Cornwall next week with the return of a much-anticipated writing festival. Cornwall is regarded across the globe for its association with the arts, but next week Penzance Literary Festival 2017 will explore the significance the town had in inspiring one of the most famous writing families our nation, and indeed the world, has ever seen the Brontës. Now in its eighth year the scheduled events will again draw book lovers to fourteen...

Cash-strapped health workers are being forced to take second jobs and use food banks to make ends meet, a Westcountry nurse has revealed. The news comes as Cornwall's MPs were among the those who voted 323 to 309, a majority of just 14, against a bid to end the 1% public sector pay cap in the first Commons vote since the general election.The motion, which would have improved pay for hard-pressed nurses and public sector workers, was proposed by the Labour Party but kicked out after by...

Foreign fishing boats could be kicked out of British waters within two years after a deal unveiled in Newlyn was put in motion, the Government has confirmed. Fisheries minister and Camborne and Redruth MP George Eustice announced in May, before the General Election, that the UK was set to withdraw from the 1964 London Fisheries Convention. Pre-dating Britain's membership of the EU, the convention allows vessels from France, Belgium, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands to fish within six...