Truro City boss Lee Hodges will urge his side to enjoy their final Blue Square Bet South match of the season today.

Relegated City are at 19th-placed Tonbridge Angels, who edged further away from the basement after Tuesday's 1-1 home draw at home to Eastbourne Borough.

Hodges said: "It's the last game of the season. It's our last game in the Conference South for a while and you always want to win your last game.

"I shall be telling the boys that a lot of fans are probably travelling up to see them play and it would be nice to end on a winning note, both for themselves and the supporters. It would be great to sign off with a win."

City will be aiming to bounce back from Tuesday's 3-1 defeat at fifth-placed Eastleigh, which confirmed the Spitfires' play-off berth.

Hodges said: "We held them for nearly 70 minutes. I was proud of the lads again because it's been a very long season and yet again they put energy into getting a result."

Barry Hayles – who passed a late fitness test – scored a 39th-minute leveller, before a head injury to talismanic skipper and central defender Jake Ash.

Hodges said: "Ashy had to come off because of bruising over an eye after he headed the back of [Craig] McAllister's head and after that they scored.

"It's one of those things that typifies our season and now all I am hoping is that the swelling goes down over Jake's eye enough for him to be able to play.

"If not it's a case of looking at numbers and who we have got again."

Hodges is waiting on a late fitness check on top-scorer and City player of the year Andy Watkins (ankle).

The Truro boss said: "Andy travelled with us and sat on the bench but there was no way I could have put him on. With a couple more days gone he may be a lot closer now. We will have to wait and see on Andy and Ashy.

"Both are boys who have been through it all with us this season and I can't speak highly enough of them.

"It was Ashy's 300th club appearance on Tuesday and I am hoping it will be 301 at Tonbridge because he is so important to us. That's why he was my player of the season.

"Andy, Les [Afful] and Joe [Broad] were all right up there with him in my opinion but Ashy has proven himself as a leader, an example, both on and off the pitch this season."

Hodges added: "Whichever way you care to look at it, we are still here, playing our last league game of a very draining season."

Three former care workers at a day centre for vulnerable adults, who were charged with abusing and neglecting patients, have had their case transferred to Crown Court.

Benjamin Jenkins, Philip Sowden and Christine Keller, who were all employed at the John Daniel Centre in Heamoor, near Penzance, briefly appeared at Truro Magistrates' Court on Thursday for a committal hearing.

Jenkins, 22, of Penbeagle Crescent, St Ives, faces two counts of ill-treating and willfully neglecting a person without capacity.

One of those charges refers to an incident at the centre involving a male patient, and the other is alleged to have happened between Penzance and Stithians, in West Cornwall, involving a second male patient.

Sowden, 59, of Alverne Buildings, Penzance, faces two similar counts involving two male patients while Keller, 57, of High Lanes, Hayle, faces one similar charge against a female patient.

The charges they face cover a period from April 2007 through to December 2011. All three were released on conditional bail.

As part of their conditions they must not attend the centre or contact its staff or patients directly or indirectly.

They will reappear at the Truro Crown Court on June 7.

Charges were brought against the three when concerns were raised about the treatment of patients at the centre in November 2011.

Homes in Cornwall fall victim to a kitchen fire on average three times a week, new figures have shown.

Firefighters in the county were called to 163 house fires which started in the kitchen between April 2012 and March 2013 – more than half the total number of accidental houses fires over the same period.

Of those kitchen fires, 107 were caused by faulty or misused electrical appliances.

Mark Pratten from Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, said: "A house fire can have devastating results. Many however, are preventable and there are steps you can take to keep you and your loved ones safe.

"Kitchen fires generally have two causes – cooking or an electrical fault. Never leave food cooking unattended and make sure appliances, where appropriate, are switched off at the mains when not in use.

"It's important to check wiring, make sure plugs are not overloaded and use the appliances in accordance with the manufacturer's guidelines."

To avoid kitchen fires the fire and rescue service recommends to check smoke alarms, keep appliances in good working order, not overload plug sockets and not to wear loose fitting clothing. For more information call 0800 358 1999.

A multi-award winning photographer, based in Cornwall, has been recognised for her work at a regional awards ceremony.

This photograph of university army cadets training at Davidstow in North Cornwall was one of two photos which were enough to win Carolyn Oakley a bronze and certificate of merit at the British Institute of Photography South West Regional Awards.

The Newquay-based photographer's past success includes being named Regional Portrait Photographer of the Year in 2008 and Regional Advertising Photographer of the year in 2009.

She said:"I am constantly trying to challenge myself, so this year I entered two images into the photojournalism category and was pleased that they both gained awards.

"It is important to me with my college background that I keep submitting images to be critiqued, as I would not like to become complacent with my work. It is an honour that my work has gained such achievements from other professional photographers."

Chief Reporter

The NSPCC is calling for urgent action to further protect children in Devon and Cornwall as new figures reveal that 328 children repeatedly went missing from care last year.

Devon and Cornwall Police recorded 990 cases in 2012. Nationally, more than 28,000 incidents were documented by police with some children running away dozens of times.

The children's charity said repeated runaways were at increase risk of harm, particularly from grooming gangs, who specifically target vulnerable youngsters for sexual abuse.

It wants a more focused effort to establish why individual young people go missing and improve ways of preventing it happening.

Sharon Copsey, the NSPCC's regional head of service for the South West, said: "The state needs to be a parent for these children.

"If any other child went missing their parents would move heaven and earth to find them and to understand why they did it. It should be no different for young people in care."

A Freedom of Information Act request from the NSPCC showed police forces received, on average, more than 75 reports a day involving nearly 7,900 youngsters, many of who were aged 13-17.

At least 2,959 of the children went missing more than once with some absconding on 35 occasions.

Some were not seen for more than a week and one force reported that six had still not been found.

The true numbers are expected to be far higher with less than half of all cases thought to be reported to police while only 29 out of 43 forces responded in full.

Ms Copsey said: "Repeatedly going missing should be a big warning sign as this kind of behaviour can put them at serious risk of harm such as grooming or sexual exploitation. But we have to understand why they are doing it.

"Children go missing for many reasons – they're being bullied, they've been put in a home miles from their family and they miss them and their friends, or they just don't trust staff enough to tell them where they are.

"Many will have been abused before being placed in care and they need a lot of attention and protection. Going missing for just an hour or two can be long enough for them to come to harm.

"Of course, care staff have a difficult job and many local authorities are working hard to deal with this problem, but children tell us they are looking for someone to understand why they go missing and to help set boundaries for them.

"Children want a little love and to be able to speak to someone who understands the difficulties they face. Otherwise, in the words of one young boy in care, they are 'dead to the world'."

Two 16th-century vases from one of Cornwall's most famous stately homes sold this week for almost £750,000, setting a new world record.

The rare Iznik bottles from Trelissick House, the estate belonging to the National Trust in Feock, near Truro, date back to the time of the Ottoman Empire

The pieces were sold by Bonhams at auction on Tuesday for a total of £748,500 – one fetching £447,250, the other £301,250 – as part of an Indian and Islamic sale.

Bonhams has been charged with selling the rest of the contents of Trelissick House on July 23 and 24.

The total sale value of the 750 lots is expected to be up to £1.5 million and will include fine English and French furniture, Chinese porcelain, silver, wine, books and paintings.

Trelissick House was once home to Leonard Daneham Cunliffe, one of Britain's most distinguished collectors.

The former deputy governor of the Bank of England, and major investor in Harrods, was famed for his eclectic tastes with great eye for quality. After his death in 1987, part of his vast collection of Renaissance bronzes, Chinese ceramics, Limoges enamels, furniture and paintings, was bequeathed to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

These are just a few items from a huge collection of Toby jugs expected to fetch several thousand pounds at auction.

About 1,000 of the pottery jugs in the form of a seated person and other famous character jugs, such as the late Margaret Thatcher, are going on sale in the Westcountry next month.

Beryl Burgess, a resident of Hayle in Cornwall, spent more than 50 years collecting the items – including members of the royal family, political figures and First World War generals designed by cartoonist by Sir Francis Carruthers Gould – before she died.

Mark Hales, of Hales Auctioneers in Bovey Tracey, South Devon, said: "The sheer size of the collection is wonderful. And the variety of the items is mind-boggling: there are historical, political and theatrical figures."

The collection contains what is thought to be the world's largest Toby jug at nearly three feet tall and probably the world's smallest at just 13mm tall.

A pensioner was assaulted by two men who knocked at his home in a village near Camborne. The man answered the door of his home at Pendarves Street in Beacon between 9pm and 10pm on April 19. He found two men on the doorstep who demanded money and attacked him. The attackers were described as wearing dark coloured hooded tops with the hoods up, tracksuit bottoms and white trainers. Anyone who can help trace the men is asked to contact police.

Plymouth's League Cup visit to Rye House, due to have taken place on Saturday evening, has been postponed because of rain in the Hertfordshire area.
It is the second time the speedway fixture has been postponed as the original date, a fortnight ago, also fell victim of the weather.
Devils co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: "We had a call from the Rye House promotion before nine o'clock in the morning saying there was rain forecast in the area throughout the morning and afternoon."
A new date has not yet been arranged, but Plymouth have confirmed that their re-arranged League Cup match at Ipswich will go ahead on Thursday May 23.
Somerset, who have completed their six fixtures, currently lead the group but any of the four teams involved could qualify for the semi-finals pending the results of the two outstanding fixtures – Plymouth's visits to Ipswich and Rye House.
The Devil are due to ride the second leg of their Knockout Cup fixture at Newcastle on Sunday evening (6.30 pm).
Newcastle's Steve Worrall will guest for the Devils against Rye House while Nicki Barrett from Berwick will fill the reserve vacancy at Newcastle.
The Devils face a difficult battle to progress after losing 46-44 in the home leg of their first round tie on Friday evening.
They will have to turn around the two-point deficit to earn themselves a quarter-final tie against Edinburgh.
Co-promoter Ashley Taylor says: "We have left ourselves with a bit of work to do, but we have riders in the team who are capable of pulling off an away win.
"Mark Lemon will relish going back to Newcastle where he rode for the last four seasons and his experience will be of benefit to the rest of the team."
Ty Proctor and Cory Gathercole showed impressive form for Plymouth, scoring over half the team's points between them.
But the rest of the side struggled against a sound Newcastle outfit, although reserve Todd Kurtz redeemed himself in heat 14 with a win over Ludvig Lindgren and Lewis Kerr.
That saw the Devils go into a last heat decider, needing a 5-1 for victory on the night.
Proctor did the necessary with his fourth win of the evening to earn the Man of the Match award from sponsors Plymouth Kitchen Company.
But Gathercole overdid things in an attempt to secure second place, allowing Stuart Robson and Christian Henry to pick up the minor positions and secure the away win for Newcastle.
Plymouth: Ty Proctor 14 (5 rides), Chris Schramm 4 (4), Mark Lemon 4+2 (4), Ricky Kling 2 (3), Cory Gathercole 10+1 (5). Reserves: Jake Anderson 2+1 (3), Todd Kurtz 8+1 (6).
Newcastle: Stuart Robson 9+1 (6), rider replacement for Andrew Tully, Christian Henry 11+3 (6), Ludvig Lindgren 9+1 (5), Kyle Newman 7 (5). Reserves: Lewis Kerr 9+1 (5), Steve Worrall 1+1 (3).

Old Centralians 25 Camborne 15

Camborne's dreams of securing National League rugby status after a 17 year absence will have to be put on hold for another year after a strong second half display by Old Centralians denied the Cornish side, writes Dick Straughan.

In blustery conditions Camborne started well and after both teams had lost a man to the sin-bin – Hunt for Camborne and Knapman for the home side – following a dust-up in the Old Centralians 22, they took the lead. Camborn's pack drove over the line from a well-wroked driving lineout move and Ashley Lawton claimed the score.

But an error on the half hour mark saw Thirlby`s clearance kick charged down and Liam Hemming released wing Joe Preece to score in the corner. Worse was to follow as Hemming nicked a wayward pass on half-way and raced in unopposed from 50 metres to score, but a fine Camborne try from Richie Kevern in stoppage time converted by Thirlby made it 14-12 at the break.

Old Centralians however dominated the second half playing down the slope and getting the best from the conditions. 

Camborne conceded a string of penalties, lost Lawton and Luke Johnson to the sin bin for  different offences and apart from a Thirlby penalty cancelling out a 42nd minute Hemming effort remained largely pinned inside their own 22.

Twice the Old Centralians pack were denied by a heroic defensive effort being held up over the line and it wasn`t until the 68th minute when wing Rob Jones made the most of a three-man overlap to score his 17th try of the season.

Hemming's penalty two minutes from the end rubbed salt into the Camborne wounds but it was a deserved win for the Gloucestershire outfit.

But there was better luck for Cornwall 1 runners-up Stithians who clinched a place in the Cornwall & Devon League with a 17-12 home win over devon One runners-up Plymstock Albion Oaks

Old Centralians

May, J.Preece, Hemming, Townsend, Jones, Knight, Garrot; S.Preece, Stroud, Fritchley (capt), Phillips, Willetts, Slatter, Knapman (sin bin 10-20), Pinkney

Replacements (all used) – Mumford, West, Huxtable, Gwilliam

Tries – Preece, Hemming, Jones

Cons – Hemming (2)

Pens – Hemming (2)

Yellow Card – Knapman

Camborne

Parma, Hunt (sin-bin 10-20), R.Kevern, Kenward, Johnson (sin-bin 64-74), G.Thirlby, Jackson; Endean, Bartle, Hearn, Griffiths, Lawton (sin-bin 53-63), Woolcock, J.Goldsworthy, Roberts (capt)

Replacements (all used) – Notman, Webster, Kemp, M.Goldsworthy

Tries – Lawton, Kevern

Con – Thirlby

Pen – Thirlby

Yellow Cards – Hunt, Johnson, Lawton

Referee – C.Newton (RFU)

Tonbridge Angels 3 Truro City 2

City's two season spell in Blue Square Bet South came to a disappointing end in Kent with an unfortunate defeat – their 25th of a very difficult season.

Already relegated from Step 2, at just what level the club will be playing next season is still unclear and just how many of the current squad and management will remain is uncertain.

But again  they did the club proud after arriving just 15 minutes  before the scheduled kick-off because of traffic hold ups on the long trip from Cornwall.

And after rushing to get ready the visitors were caught "still on the bus" when Aaron Gayle gave the home side the lead after two minutes though Gayle, though Paul Hider might have done better with the shot.

However, City were soon on level terms when the excellent Barry Hayles levelled with a fine shot, but poor defending allowed the prolfic Frannie Collin to give the home side a 3-1 interval lead.

After the break, Hayles quickly pulled a goal back and City looked on course to take something from the game until midfielder Joe Broad saw red with 20 minutes to go.

City still had chances to level in  a frantic finale but it was not to be, leaving manager Lee Hodges frustrated, not for the first time this season.

He said: "We should have taken something from the game. I though the officiating was terrible.

"Joe's tackle was not even a booking and we could have had a couple of penalties.

"But I would like to thank all  the players  for what they have done for me this season."

City: Hider; Washburn, Ash (capt), Williams, Watts, Cooke, Broad,  Copp, Afful, Hayles, Wright. Subs: Watkins, Davey.

Truro City chairman Pete Masters has admitted his frustration at the uncertainity surrounding the future of the already relegated club which ended its two year spell in Blue Square South with a 3-2 defeat at Tonbridge Angels today.

In a statement issued immediately after the game he said: "Whilst clearly it is a big disappointment for the club to have been relegated from the Conference South, it remains a fantastic achievement for the club to have survived the Administration, which was assisted by the players' agreement to waive their arrears back in November 2012.

"If Truro City Football Club Limited (in Administration) is able to pass an approved Company Voluntary Arrangement, then it is understood that the club would just be relegated (due to its league position) to the Southern League Premier Division. 

"If not, then it is understood that the Club is likely to be playing in either the Southern League Division One South & West or the Western League. 

"We understand from the FA that this decision cannot be made until at least after the Football Conference's AGM, which is scheduled for 8th June 2013.

 "In the circumstances, it is clearly impossible for us to make too many plans until the situation in relation to the CVA is finalised and the FA have clarified the Club's league position.

"This is frustrating for all involved, but given the state the Club was in when we took over, we all knew it was not going to be easy.

 "We perhaps did not know that it was going to be so hard, but the fact remains that the Club has against the odds survived and, worst case, will remain the highest placed football club in the County. I will release a further statement once the League position has been clarified.

"Once again, thanks for your effort and commitment to the Club and, hopefully, next season we can look forward to stability off the pitch and success on it.

Bodmin Town 13 Liverton United 0
Champions Bodmin's record Carlsberg South West Peninsula League premier division victory over Liverton was overshadowed by a serious injury to player-manager Darren Gilbert.
Gilbert, who is 38 on Sunday, had to be carried off on a stretcher seven minutes from the end of Saturday's game with a suspected dislocated right knee cap.
It is understood the knee was put back in place as he received treatment in the dressing room but Bodmin physio Nyree Weller said the manager was 'in a lot of pain.'
He was being taken to hospital for x-rays to an injury which could end his playing days.
Gilbert brought himself on for Craig Swiggs on the hour with Bodmin already 8-0 ahead and looking for more goals.
He went down in the 83rd minute, clutching his knee after appearing to twist it as he turned away from a Liverton challenge on the edge of the visitors' penalty area.
This was his first senior appearance for Bodmin since November 17 when he came on as an 80th minute substitute against Odd Down in an FA Vase second round tie.
His appearances as a substitute have been fleeting this season – most of his six came in the early part of the season.
His injury took the gloss off a 13-goal romp led by top scorer Adam Carter with five. Substitute Luke Hodge helped himself to two goals and others came from Sam Matthews, Lee Rundle, Lee Doel, Craig Swiggs, Shane Krac, and a Terry Byrne own goal.
Carter could even afford the luxury of missing a second half penalty, Huw Morgan was denied a goal by a dubious offside decision, and Liverton keeper Ben Hardie pulled off a string of excellent saves.
Liverton's manager of the past five years, Tony Bowker, resigned in midweek when it was revealed the money had run out at the mid Devon club in their first season at premier division level.
This robbed the club of virtually all of their first team squad for the visit to Priory Park. Keeper Hardie was the only one of 19 names listed in the matchday programme to be involved.
Bodmin captain Steve Simmonds praised Liverton for fulfilling the fixture in the circumstances, and said there was little joy in a 13-goal victory in this situation.
Bodmin goal chart: 1-0 (24 mins, Carter); 2-0 (30, Carter); 3-0 (32, Matthews); 4-0 (45+2, Rundle); 5-0 (47, Doel); 6-0 (51, Byrne og); 7-0 (53, Swiggs); 8-0 (55, Krac); 9-0 (61, Carter pen); 10-0 (65, Hodge); 11-0 (69, Hodge); 12-0 (80, Carter); 13-0 (89, Carter).