In one case, a Camborne man in his 60s was telephoned on June 19th by a fake detective inspector from Scotland Yard claiming that someone had tried to access his bank account several times.

He was duped into transferring a substantial amount of money into a 'secure bank account' before he realised the call was a scam.

A 96-year-old woman was contacted in Truro on June 11th but she put the phone down without giving any bank details or money.

A man in supported living in Redruth was phoned by the fraudsters on June 17th but he was wise to the scam thanks to previous police warnings and he put the phone down.

Police are warning people in Cornwall, particularly older residents, to remain vigilant, to not go along with the scam and to report any attempts to police.

According to officers, the offenders are targeting older people across Cornwall as part of a national scam which is commonly known as a 'courier fraud'.

In many cases a person claiming to be a police officer from the Metropolitan Police will contact an elderly or vulnerable victim by telephone and inform them that their bank card has been used fraudulently.

The name DC Adams from Hammersmith police station is commonly given. The victim will then be tricked into thinking they are being put through to their bank.

The victim will then disclose banking information and will be instructed to attend the local branch of their bank to withdraw a sum of money and pass it to either a local taxi firm or to a courier sent by fraudsters.

Often elderly victims are unwittingly defrauded of their entire life savings, being left distraught and traumatised in many cases.

Anyone with any information about this fraud can contact police on 101, quoting Op Fardel crime reference CR/072154/14.

A Cornwall Council worker has sparked complaints after a passer-by snapped him flouting the rules by parking his van on double yellow lines. 

Jase Smale saw the council van parked near the Scrubb Inn Laundrette on Plain-An-Gwarry Road in Redruth last Tuesday morning.

 Incensed by the blatant disregard for the Council enforced system, Mr Smale from St Austell tweeted the West Briton and said, "one rule for one and one rule for the rest." 

 After a week of trying to get a response from Cornwall Council, the unitary authority issued the following statement today. 

 "Cornwall Council employees, unless they are carrying out some statutory and common law duties, should use designated parking areas. 

"In this case the employee was carrying out an urgent home adaptation request which required him to unload specialist equipment. He has been reminded of the Council's policy." 

Do you think Cornwall Council employees should have the right to park on double yellow lines? Leave us your comments below.

Mystery surrounds the apparent withdrawal from sale of a Cornish painting by disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris. 

The painting, "Figures on the Beach," depicts a tranquil cove in Cornwall. Limited edition prints are still on sale for nearly £700, but the original – which on Monday was advertised for nearly £1,200 – appears to have been withdrawn. 

Whitewall Galleries said it could not comment on the disappearance of the painting from its website. Harris is thought to have painted the scene early in his career, in the 1950s or 60s.

Harris  was found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault against four victims between the 1960s and 80s. One of those abused by the 84-year-old was aged seven or eight at the time.

 A car has hit a kerb and catapulted onto its roof on the A39, Playing Place, this afternoon.

The police, firefighters and an ambulance crew have been called to the overturned blue BMW 118, which crashed on the Falmouth to Truro road. 

The accident happened shortly after 5pm today. 

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said everyone is out of the vehicle. 

The accident is causing long tailbacks. 

Firefighters fitted smoke alarms inside a home at Threemilestone after being called to a property where a grill had caught fire. 

The two fire crews from Truro were called to the home shortly after 4.30 pm today, but when they arrived the blaze was already out. 

Instead, the firefighters used fans to disperse the smoke from the kitchen and fitted three smoke alarms.

Truro golfer Rhys Enoch has qualified for the Open Championship at Hoylake later this month after a dramatic play-off win in final qualifying today. 

Rounds of 70 and 68 at Woburn gave the  26-year-old  a six under total and took him into a three man play-off for the third and final qualifying place, along with Australian professional Jack Wilson and  England amateur Tomasz Anderson. 

And on the 402 yard first play off hole former Wales international Enoch chipped in from just over the green to clinch his place at Royal Liverpool when the Championship begins on July 17. 

Enoch had hit two iron off the tee but his nine iron approach was just too long, perhaps due to the adrenaline.

However, he showed great nerve to hole his chip  with a lob wedge and the other pair could not match his birdie three as Enoch went through as only one of three from a field of 72.

And a delighted Enoch tweeted Yessssss! Hoylake bound #theopen #boom

ECB WOMEN'S COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

Cornwall 178-7, Buckinghamshire 151

CORNWALL remain unbeaten after a 27 run win at Falmouth on Sunday, to follow up their eight wicket win at Dorset.

After being put into bat, Sophie Mackenzie (52) and Nicole Richards (21) put on 95 for the first wicket.

A collapse then saw five wickets fall for 27 runs, but Ashley Bridges made 25 and Sophie Richards and Fern Nicholls both got into double figures as Cornwall saw out the full fifty overs.

Emily Edgcombe then got rid of both openers as Bucks slid to 23 for four.

Judith Turner made a valiant 71 not out but they were dismissed with nine balls remaining. Edgcombe returned the excellent figures of two for 11 from ten overs.

There were also two wickets apiece for Nicholls, Nicole Richards and Kellie Williams. Cornwall complete the group games against Wiltshire at Chippenham on Sunday July 20.

Cornwall 178-7 (S Mackenzie 52, A Bridges 25, N Richards 21; H Sandy 3-12)

Buckinghamshire 151 (J Turner 71no; E Edgcombe 2-11, F Nicholls 2-14, K Williams 2-18, N Richards 2-40). Cornwall beat Buckinghamshire by 27 runs.

ECB OVER 50s CHAMPIONSHIP

CORNWALL recorded a third win in this year's ECB Over 50s Championship with a 27-run win over Dorset at North Perrott.

With Jim McKenna unavailable, Jon Nance opened with Trevor Lee and the pair added 102 in 19 overs before Lee (55) fell to a smart catch at mid off.

Nance (47) soon followed in the same way with the score on 115. Anton Luiten (14) and Nigel Sanders (27) set a platform for Steve Mitchell (37) and Steve Jenkin (16) who in a partnership of 59 took Cornwall past 200 and to an eventual total of 220 for eight.

Dorset, needing just under five an over, got off to a flying start with 18 off the first two overs and raced to 79-0 after 16.

Steve Mitchell and Mike Hoban, bowling in tandem,then took control for Cornwall and during a remarkable 11-over spell five wickets fell for 14 runs as the game was turned on its head.

Among those wickets was a first baller for Dorset skipper and prolific scorer Les Elsworth, who holed out to deep mid on where Nance took a steepling catch.

Nance, who had also taken an earlier boundary catch, completed a terrific individual performance by taking three for 24 from seven overs as Dorset tried to score at eight an over in the latter stages.

Mitchell finished with three for 23 and Hoban two for 22, both from nine overs and even more remarkable after they went for 11 and seven in their first over.

Fourth victory is all Wight

On Tuesday, Cornwall beat Isle of Wight by 129 runs at Wadebridge. Anton Luiten made 115 not out and Jon Nance 58 in Cornwall's total of 278, and Isle of Wight were dismissed for 149.

This was Cornwall's fourth win, their most successful season for many years and they could still qualify for the national knockout stages for the first time this millennium.

Unfortunately they have conceded tomorrow's scheduled game against the Channel Islands in Guernsey because not enough players could travel.

AFTER away games at Berkshire and Cheshire, Cornwall play their first Unicorns Counties Championship home game of the season on Sunday, writes Michael Weeks.

Wales Minor Counties are the visitors to Truro's Boscawen Park, with play starting at 11am on all three days.

Wales have had a good start to the season and are currently in third spot. Wiltshire and Devon are the only teams to have won both games. Wales beat Shropshire by eight wickets in their opening game.

They also looked set for victory in the last round against Berkshire at Usk. Berkshire were six wickets down, and needed a further 303 to win, at tea on the final afternoon. In a rearguard they batted out the final session to draw the game, seven wickets down. The Welsh have used 17 players in the two games to date. The side is usually predominantly made up of younger players, with close links to Glamorgan CCC.

Cornwall fought back to win their opening game against Berkshire, having had to follow on. They then almost pulled off a remarkable win against Cheshire at Alderley Edge. A superb 91 from Christian Purchase, in the second innings, got them to within 40 runs of victory.

Cornwall show just one change from the side that lost at Cheshire, with Alex Smeeth replacing Dan Jarman

Cornwall: ML Robins (capt), JD Libby, (both Callington), MH Rowe (Camborne), AG Smeeth, PS Smith (both Werrington), CBF Purchase, LIF Sanders (both Grampound Rd), KJ Snell, N Ivamy (both Truro), T Williams (wk) (St Austell) and Shakil Ahmed (Redruth).

Mrs EEI Carlyon

Camborne

THE FUNERAL service for Elvera (Elva) Carlyon, aged 87, of Camborne, and formerly of St Blazey, was held at Glynn Valley Crematorium, Bodmin, on May 8.

David Michael officiated.

Elva was born on November 19, 1926, in Marylebone, London, where she lived until she was 13.

She was evacuated to relatives in Bodelva when the Second World War began and the Blitz made London unsafe.

It was in St Blazey that she met and married Trevor; a marriage that lasted until Trevor's death in 1996.

A dressmaker by trade, Elva made many pairs of curtains for Rice's of Camborne when the family moved to the town.

Always thinking of other people, Elva looked after several elderly family members over the years and always had time for a chat.

She will be missed.

Family mourners: Ann Thomas, daughter; David Thomas, son-in-law; Rachel Ganuszko, granddaughter, and her husband Paul; Brian and Pat Haberland, brother and sister-in-law; Mark and Simon Haberland, nephews, and their wives Tanya and Sarah; Claire Orme and Lesley Carlyon, cousins; Derek and Barbara Masters, Dougie Bone; friend Dawn Clemow.

Unable to attend: Valerie and Paul Wicks, Ernestine Carlyon, Sylvia Bone, David Clemow, Joyce Bawden, Caroline Abbott-Smith, Beryl Kimberley.

A retiring collection was held for donations in Elva's memory for the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust, which amounted to £59.15.

Funeral arrangements were carried out by Mrs Stacey Lambert, of Paul Bourton Funeral Service, St Austell.

NEARLY £230,000 of a hardship fund set up to help people affected by the so-called "bedroom tax" in Cornwall has not been spent, new figures show.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) published figures this week showing Cornwall Council had the money available last year from a grant to support families hit by the benefit crackdown.

Some in government have hit out at the "scare stories" surrounding the bedroom tax, claiming the problems cannot be that bad because the hardship funds were not spent.

Nationally, more than £20 million of the Discretionary Housing Payment allocation, specifically earmarked to help social housing tenants adapt to welfare reforms, was not spent by local authorities.

Welfare Reform Minister Lord Freud said: "The figures also show that recent scare stories about councils running out of money were grossly exaggerated. We urge people who may need additional help to contact their local authority."

Dubbed a "bedroom tax" by Labour, though the Government said it ended a "spare room subsidy", the reduction in housing benefit to those deemed to have a spare bedroom means affected families will lose on average about £780 a year in the region.

The Government argued the policy was set against huge housing waiting lists to encourage families to move to smaller properties to help those living in cramped conditions.

But critics said it was cruel and there were nowhere near enough smaller properties to move into. Some £180 million was ring-fenced for councils to mitigate the impact of the reform, which was introduced in April 2013. Councils have got an extra £165 million this year.

The figures reveal:

Cornwall Council has only spent £637,185, leaving a £230,610 surplus.

Plymouth City Council has spent £329,173, leaving a £138,702 surplus.

Mid Devon Council spent £48,064, with a £53,236 surplus

West Devon Council has spent £148,993, leaving a £1,455 surplus.

Councillor Alex Folkes, Cabinet member for finance and resources at Cornwall Council, said: "While ministers have claimed that the fund was able to help people hit by the bedroom tax, in reality the rules governing the fund are quite tight and not everyone affected by the 'bedroom tax' qualifies for help. It is clear that not everyone who qualified for help knew about the funding and so we have asked officers to take extra steps to publicise this and other funding that is available to help."

A FATHER who admitted causing the deaths of two cyclists by dangerous driving when they were killed in a crash with a lorry on the A30 near Truro has been told he will go to jail.

At Truro Crown Court on Friday, Robert Palmer, 32, of Grimscott Estate, Bude, pleaded guilty to two charges of causing the deaths by dangerous driving on July 2 last year.

Andrew McMenigall, 47, and Toby Wallace, 36, were cycling from Land's End to John O' Groats when they died in the collision with a white Renault lorry on the A30 at Summercourt at about 8.30am.

The pair, who worked for Aberdeen Asset Management, were raising money for the Kirsten Scott Memorial Trust, set up in the name of a colleague who died from cancer in 2011.

Palmer also admitted a charge of dangerous driving on September 9, while on the A30 near Okehampton.

He denied one count of perverting the course of justice between September 20 to 24 by deleting mobile telephone data and this was accepted by the Crown.

William Sellick, for the defence, asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared but said that his client was under no illusions about what the sentence would be.

Judge Christopher Harvey Clark, QC, said Palmer would be going to prison.

Mr Sellick added that Palmer had gone through a recent marriage breakdown and wanted to spend as much time with his daughter as possible.

The case was adjourned to September 1 for sentencing and Palmer was granted conditional bail.

A HELSTON man who hanged himself because of the unbearable pain and suffering caused by his tinnitus could have been better helped by the NHS, an inquest heard.

Christopher Slowikowski, 60,

developed the condition, which causes a permanent ringing noise, after getting an ear infection nearly 30 years earlier.

Assistant coroner Barrie Van den Berg heard how Mr Slowikowski died just weeks after being seen by doctors from the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT), who found no evidence of any mental illness, despite an earlier suicide attempt. Instead, a review of his case only 21 days before he killed himself decided he was suffering from an acute stress reaction.

His body was found by his former partner, Felicity Paton, at the home they shared in Peverell Terrace, Helston.

Recording a verdict of suicide, Mr Van den Berg said it was tragic that Mr Slowikowski felt his pain and suffering was so acute that he had only one way out. His tinnitus had caused excruciating pain and made him 80 per cent deaf.

"His quality of life was so bad that he couldn't see any way out of it," said Mr Van den Berg.

Colin Quick, from the CPFT, said a review of the case had concluded that, with hindsight, procedures for referring Mr Slowikowski to support agencies could have been more robust.

"There was no mental illness," he said. "But after seeing Christopher we didn't contact him to discuss what should happen next, or refer him to appropriate services for counselling and support."

Detective Constable Simon Rafferty said there was no evidence that anyone else had been involved in Mr Slowikowski's death, nor anything to suggest it had been an accident.

Attempts were made to revive Mr Slowikowski but he died later at the Royal Cornwall hospital, Truro.

A MAN has admitted causing criminal damage to Barclays Bank property in Falmouth.

Alex Rudi Burgoyne, 20, of Downstream Close, Padstow, pleaded guilty to Truro Magistrates to causing criminal damage on February 21. He was conditionally discharged for a year and must pay £150 compensation.

Last year, an overhaul to slash the number of MPs from 650 to 600 and make all seats roughly the same size was halted after the two coalition parties came to blows over constitutional reform.

The boundary review sparked controversy in the South West as it would have seen the advent of a constituency split between Devon and the Duchy – which was fiercely opposed by those prizing Cornwall's independence.

However, the plan was only delayed until after next year's general election and commissioners are expected to look again at the map in 2016.

Ahead of the process, an academic report is published today that suggests "mass disruption" can be avoided.

It found that Cornwall could retain its six MPs so long as the strict rule where each constituency must differ by only 5 per cent either way was ditched.

Through computer modelling, authors Professor Ron Johnston, Professor Charles Pattie and Dr David Rossiter of the McDougall Trust found that if the leeway was increased to 9 per cent the historic Cornwall border could be retained.

The report states: "With a House of Commons comprising 600 MPs, it is possible in most of the UK to identify a substantial number of possible constituency configurations without substantial crossing of major local authority boundaries with a tolerance of +/-8% around the UK quota. With a tolerance of +/-10%, such an outcome is feasible throughout almost all of the UK."

Existing constituencies vary massively, with some Welsh seats containing as few as 40,687 voters while the Isle of Wight constituency contains around 111,109.

Under the plans, the "Devonwall" MP would have represented a constituency that included Bude in North Cornwall and Bideford in West Devon.

Of the 18 MPs that represent Devon and Cornwall in parliament, only four would have escaped with no changes to their patch.

Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats initially supported the changes as part of a package of constitutional reforms, but later said his party would try to delay the review in revenge for the Tories killing off plans to reform the House of Lords.

Scores took part in an anti-"Devonwall" demonstration on the Cornwall banks of the Tamar, and Prime Minister David Cameron was criticised for a flippant attitude towards the Cornish identity when he quipped on television: "It's the Tamar, not the Amazon, for heaven's sake."

Mr Grayling said the Government is "very open" to having a "serious discussion" about the practice - which normally involves men putting explicit pictures of their former partners online - with a view to "taking appropriate action" when Parliament returns from its summer recess.

The Justice Secretary said the uploading of sexually explicit media to the internet without the consent of the subject – often an ex-partner of the person posting the material – is becoming a bigger problem in Britain.

He spoke after former culture secretary Maria Miller called for a change in the law to tackle the "appalling" practice, saying the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill could be the vehicle for it.

Victims' lives can be devastated when images of them - either nude or in explicit poses - are posted online and visible to hundreds of thousands of people including employers and neighbours – and they often find that the pictures or videos are incredibly difficult to remove once they are put up on the internet as such images are rapidly reproduced on a host of other sites.

During justice questions in the Commons, Mr Grayling told Mrs Miller: "You have done a very important job in raising this issue.

"It's clearly becoming a bigger problem in our society.

"What I'd say to you today is the Government is very open to having a serious discussion about this with a view to taking appropriate action in the autumn if we can identify the best way of doing so."

Mrs Miller had asked: "Posting revenge pornography on the internet is an appalling crime.

"Do you agree with me that the law needs to change to ensure that perpetrators are properly punished and that perhaps the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, currently in the Lords, could provide the Government an opportunity to do just that?"

At present, legislation only covers 'malicious communications' and that normally refers to written abuse not images, or harassment laws which involves a number of repeated offences.

The incident took place shortly after 8pm.

PC Wayne Frost, investigating officer for the British Transport Police (BTP), said: "A woman was subjected to an alleged sexual assault as she disembarked from a train at Truro station at about 8.05pm on Saturday, 28 June.

"At this stage, I am appealing for any witnesses who were on the platform or who were alighting the train at the time of the incident, to come forward and make contact with British Transport Police.

"Incidents such as this are extremely rare on the rail network which is generally a safe environment on which to travel."

*A 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault at the scene. He was later released on bail pending further enquiries until Wednesday, 16 July.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, or who has any information which could help the investigation, is asked to contact British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 40 50 40, or text 61016, quoting incident reference GSUB/B3 of 02/07/2014.