A three car shunt is causing traffic chaos on the A30 between Chiverton Cross and Carland Cross this morning.

The accident involving a BMW 520 D, Audi A3 and Seat Leon happened by the junction with Zelah on the eastbound carriageway just after 10.40 am.

No-one was hurt but one lane is blocked.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: "It appears to be a shunt between three vehicles which is causing quite a lot of chaos."

Why Cornwall is better than Exeter or Plymouth…

There's a little friendly rivalry going on between our colleagues in Devon, who have come up with 12 reasons each arguing which is better – Plymouth or Exeter.

But we think living Cornwall is better than living in either of these dirty great cities. So we'll see the Express and Echo's 12 rubbish reasons and the Plymouth Herald's 12 spurious suggestions and raise them another 12 for Cornwall.

According to the Expressive Gecko, here are the 12 reasons Exeter is better than Plymouth (with our responses in brackets)

Is Exeter is better than Plymouth?

1. Exeter is not nearly in Cornwall. (And that's a good thing? Cornwall is not only the best county in the UK, but almost a country in its own right. And we have our own language)

2. Exeter has an airport - and soon you can fly direct to London. (Cornwall has two airports – one that already flies direct to London and another that flies to the amazing Isles of Scilly)

3. Exeter has a motorway. (And thank goodness Cornwall doesn't. Who wants to spoil the scenery with a motorway?)

4. Exeter has a proper Cathedral. (As does Truro - one of only three cathedrals in the UK with three spires.)

5. Exeter has a John Lewis and (nearly) an IKEA. (Trago Mills. Nuff said.)

6. Exeter has a LV Cup winning Premiership Rugby team. (Cornwall's rugby team has made it to Twickenham two years in a row. Plus we have the Pirates – from which Exeter seems to steal most of its players.)

7. Exeter has a river flowing through it. (Truro means three rivers. Plus we have the biggest and best coastline in the UK.)

8 Exeter has a High Street. (Is this even a claim?)

9. Exeter has an old white glove on a stick that it can wave about. (What. Even. Is. That?)

10. Exeter has a silver, spiky thing with balls around it standing High Street. (Truro has a naked drummer.)

11. The Rugby World Cup is heading this way. (Falmouth Tall Ships.)

12. Exeter is twinned with Bad Homburg, the best named city since Turkey Scratch USA. (Cornwall has a whole region of Brittany named after it - Cornouaille)

And here are the Plymouth Herald's claims of 'greatness'.

1. The National Marine Aquarium and Dartmoor Zoological Park - like Exeter's museum, except all the animals haven't been shot, stuffed and mounted. (The Eden Project – not only does it house some pretty great plants, it's also an outdoor stadium)

2. Plymouth Sound. Like that river you're proud of only massive and world-famous. (The Tamar Bridge – Cornwall's so good you have to pay to leave.)

3. Dartmoor - like Exmoor, but bigger, better and not mostly in Somerset. (Bodmin Moor – it's highest peak is called Brown Willy)

4. Four higher education institutions - like Exeter University, except we aren't responsible for Will Young. (Falmouth University and Camborne School of Mines – world class)

5. Plymouth Argyle - a Devon football team that has never had anything to do with Uri Gellar or Michael Jackson. (OK, we'll gloss over Truro City, but we do have some awesome surf.)

6. Plymouth Gin - have you got a drink named after you? Have you? (Doom Bar, Betty Stogs, Cornish Orchards, Camel Valley wine. Mmmmm.)

7. Royal Marines. We let you have the Marines when they're training Exeter, as soon as they're any good they come to Plymouth. (Trelawny's Army)

8. Royal Navy. No hard feelings, you can have HMS Exeter. (Ditto)

9. Theatre Royal. Our theatre creates world-class productions that go on to tour the UK and hosts top-name shows from across the world. When is Jimmy Cricket back in Exeter? (We have the Minack Theatre – the most stunning outdoor theatre in the world)

10. Unitary authority - we have our own council. Apparently someone didn't trust you enough.(So do we)

11. Celebrities. We have Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tom Daley, Dawn French, Charles Dance etc etc etc. You have Will Young and Katie Hopkins? (Kernow King, Jethro, Doc Martin – ours are funny)

12. The whole of history. OK, this is a big one, but Plymouth has had a pivotal role in everything from The Mayflower to Francis Drake, Raleigh to Darwin, Shackleton to Lawrence of Arabia, Scott to Tywin Lannister and we never had our asses handed to us by the Romans. If it wasn't for us, Exeter, you'd all be speaking Spanish, Norwegian and Russian right now and you'd have no idea what a potato is. (Really?)

But of course, we know Cornwall is better...

1.We invented the Cornish pasty and the cream tea – and yes, it is jam first!

2.We have our own flag – not like Devon's that was stolen from Cornwall and turned green.

3. The world's best beaches – Fistral, Sennen, Porthcurno, we could go on.

4. St Michael's Mount – we have a castle. On an island. Beat that.

5. Rick Stein, Nathan Outlaw, Paul Ainsworth, Jamie Oliver – the best chefs all want to come here.

6. Helen Glover – Britain's first gold medallist at London 2012 – and Ben Ainslie, of course.

7. Humphry Davy – the man who discovered laughing gas.

8. The Isles of Scilly – like the Carribean, but better.

9. The Eden Project – it's unique, it's ours and not only does it house some pretty amazing plants, it also has the best outdoor stadium there is.

10. St Ives – the art, the beaches, the cobbled streets…

11. We invented the steam engine – well Richard Trevithick did.

12. Land's End. The end.

A heavy rain warning has been issued for Cornwall by the Met Office for tomorrow (Saturday).

The Exeter-based national weather forecast company has warned of heavy rain that will settle in from 12.15am tomorrow until 11.45pm.

A spokesman said: "The rain will be persistent and sometimes heavy, especially across western areas at first, and later over northern areas.

"A developing area of low pressure is expected to track north across the UK through the weekend. The heaviest rainfall is currently expected to develop on the western flank of the low, with west Wales, some western fringes of England and southwest Scotland seeming most at risk from widespread 20 to 40 mm of rain, and locally perhaps exceeding 50 mm in 12 hours.

"This is a complex situation, and the warning may well be updated again as the situation develops."

The public are advised to be aware of the risk of disruption to travel and outdoor activities due to localised surface water flooding.

A mother and her ten-year-old daughter have thanked their local community after kind fundraisers raised enough money to buy a wig made entirely out of human hair.

Beth Yabsley's daughter Bella suffers from alopecia, a condition that affects hair growth and can lead to permanent hair loss and after developing the condition aged four, Bella has been bald on and off ever since.

Wigs made from human hair cost around £2,500 and Ms Yabsley has been overwhelmed by the support of the local community.

She said: "The campaign to raise enough money to buy Bella's wig has been ongoing for a while now and it has really escalated quickly.

"We've also been working to raise awareness about alopecia and it's surprising just how common it is."

One man in particular who has gone to great lengths to raise money for the cause is Connor Downs resident Trevor Law.

Mr Law lost his wife to cancer last year and when he walked into Carnhell Green Post Office and noticed the fundraising efforts, he was immediately touched by the plight of Bella.

Mr Law has since raised £722.08 towards Bella's wig and recently presented her the cheque at a special concert at Gwennap Church he organised with the Four Lanes Male Voice Choir, of which he is a member.

He said: "Bella is a lovely little girl and I was really thrilled to be able to present her the cheque.

"I raised the money in just four weeks at a number of vintage rallies and at Stithians Truck Show and I thought it'd be nice to get the band together to play for her."

Ms Yabsley said she didn't expect Mr Law to raise anywhere near the sum that he managed.

"It is a complete surprise as we didn't expect him to raise anywhere near that amount so we can't thank him enough.

"Bella is absolutely over the moon and loved the concert, the day after she woke up saying that she couldn't stop thinking about the night before.

"We aren't just aiming to raise money for the wig but also for Bella's self-esteem, she has now grown in confidence so much that she is brave enough to leave the house without a wig."

Ms Yabsley went on to thank Paradise Park, Royal Standard Inn and the Carnhell Green Post Office for their contribution towards the current total of £3,304.19.

In the next few weeks she will be accompanying Bella to Wales for their first human hair wig consultation.

New plans are being put forward to build a stadium for Cornwall in Indian Queens.

Greenside Real Estate Solutions said it now wants to build a multi-use stadium as part of a retail and leisure development in the village, near Newquay.

The developers said they will soon submit plans for a stadium and "a range of commercial and tourist-focused leisure attractions." The plans also include a 40,000 sq ft supermarket.

The site is near to the incinerator being built at St Dennis and the developers would hope to "utilise the energy saving opportunities".

Malcolm Lea, partner of Greenside RES LLP, said: "We are well aware of the need of a stadium for Cornwall and that previous proposals have not progressed. We believe that the Indian Queens site is the ideal location for the stadium, being easily accessible to a large part of the county by both road and rail.

"The site is also close to Newquay airport which opens up additional possibilities of a wide range of uses for the stadium including festivals and conferences as well as national sports."

Plans for a stadium for Cornwall have been in the pipeline for years, most recently for a site at Threemilestone on the edge of Truro.

The new stadium there could provide the Cornish Pirates and Truro City Football Club with a new home.

Developer Inox wants to gain planning permission for a supermarket on a site at Threemilestone that it says would fund the building of a stadium.

Prince Philip took time to enjoy a nice cuppa of Earl Grey tea after planting his very own tea bush at the Tregothnan Estate.

The Duke of Edinburgh toured the estate during a visit to Cornwall on Friday.

Despite the heavy showers His Royal Highness spent a lengthy amount of time inspecting the estate's young tea plantation, meeting staff and volunteers and planting a cameillia sinensis bush.

This was Prince Philip's first visit and he was hosted by The Honourable Evelyn Boscawen, owner of Tregothnan.

Prince Philip was invited to visit the estate and plant the tea bush after he said how impressed he was with the tea grown there.

Jonathon Jones, of the Tregothnan Estate, said within the year the bush should produce "the most royal British brew on the estate."

Prince Philip was served a cup of Earl Grey from a giant teapot announcing 'you know what this tastes like?...Tea."

He then continued his tour, which included a visit to the tea drying shed, was shown an edible bouquet and learnt about products made from Manuka honey from bushes also grown on the estate.

Before departing Prince Philip travelled to the Diamond Wood at the estate's Eglos Merther to plant a royal oak to celebrate the success of the Jubilee Woods Project. 

Firefighters were called to Laflouder Lane in Mullion this afternoon after reports that a live electricity cable had fallen across the road.

The crew arrived at the scene just before 4pm and cordoned off the area to ensure that members of the public were safe.

They remained in the area until electrical engineers arrived to make the scene safe.

Protesters are expected to gather outside the Truro's Matalan store tomorrow amid calls for the firm to reveal how much it has donated to victims of the Rana Plaza factory disaster in Bangladesh.

The campaign movement follows Matalan's refusal to disclose how much they donated to the official compensation fund for victims of the tragedy, which killed more than 1,000 people after the eight-story building collapsed.

The store agreed to donate a sum of money this week after outraged members of the public bombarded it with thousands of tweets, calls and emails.

Before Wednesday, Matalan had been the only major high street shop not to contribute.

Now, the public are calling for the chain to reveal exactly how much it paid.

Almost 12,000 people in the South West have joined the movement which is being coordinated by the nationwide campaign community, 38 Degrees.

David Babbs, executive director of 38 Degrees, said: "We're all still waiting to see whether Matalan has paid up a decent amount of money to help the survivors of this tragedy to rebuild their lives.

"Until Matalan's customers know how much it's contributed, they'll be wondering why Matalan wants to keep it a secret."

"On Saturday, hundreds of people will take their message to the shop floor."

Matalan have issued a statement on their website expressing their support for victims, but have failed to include details of their donation.

A spokesman for the company declined to comment.

A QUICK-THINKING neighbour has rescued a dog from a burning bungalow in Porthleven.

The fire at a house in Methleigh Parc caused thick black smoke to billow above the village.

It was seen by numerous people and the fire service received 25 emergency calls to report the blaze last Wednesday afternoon.

Firefighters from Helston were dispatched and back-up was summoned from Camborne and Penzance due to the size of the fire.

Meanwhile, onlookers had gathered outside the property, where it was quickly established that no one was trapped inside.

Paul Richard, who lives nearby, rushed to see what was going on and heard that a dog was still in the building.

Braving the intense smoke, he crawled into the house and said he found the terrified animal hiding in one of the rooms.

Once the dog saw him and he beckoned it over, the animal quickly ran out into the safety of the street.

Mr Richard said he was no hero and admitted entering a burning building before the fire service had arrived was not a good idea.

He said: "I think the dog was just too afraid to move until it saw me.

"It was probably a foolish thing to do, but it would have been cruel to have left the dog to die."

Helston fire station manager Keith Stringer said: "We were the first appliance there and after we had assessed the situation, we set up a hose reel jet.

"When the Camborne crew arrived, we then had another main jet and firemen wearing breathing apparatus were able to extinguish the fire.

"The reason we had three pumps there was on account of the amount of smoke. It was clearly a serious fire.

"We're still investigating the cause of the fire and I can't comment on that until that report is back."

RESIDENTS of a street which has not been maintained for decades because of a row over who is responsible for it are celebrating after a developer finally admitted it was liable.

Residents of Victoria Road in Threemilestone said the saga had rumbled on since their homes were built in the 1960s.

Because the road has not being kept up to standard with appropriate surfacing, pavements and streetlights it has never been formally adopted by highways authorities.

Over the years, many efforts have been made to establish who is responsible for the road, with nobody willing to carry out the works required.

Now developer Kier Group has accepted it is responsible and will carry out repairs.

For resident Michael Ashcroft it is a breakthrough in a battle which he has fought for several years.

"I consider it to be a victory – although only a legal victory," he said.

"While I'm pleased to get to this stage, a lot more needs to be done first before I can properly celebrate.

"I want to wait and see what works they're going to carry out and what they consider to be an appropriate standard.

"Hopefully they'll do works which are acceptable to Cornwall Council so that the council can – finally – formally adopt the road.

"However, I'm pleased that Kier has accepted responsibility for the road and I hope that they will continue to communicate with the residents here and with Cornwall Council so we can ensure the works carried out are what's needed."

Mr Ashcroft has lived in the street for five years and in that time has amassed reams of correspondence with Kier, Cornwall Council officers and councillors.

He said he only discovered that Kier had accepted liability when he followed up a request he had sent the company.

"I'd written to them again as I'd heard nothing for months about what was going on," said Mr Ashcroft.

"They came back and confirmed they are responsible. I'm pleased that we're finally getting somewhere."

Jane Mason from Kier Group wrote in her e-mail response to Mr Ashcroft, which was also copied to the West Briton: "Our legal team have now confirmed that it is Kier's responsibility to keep everything at Victoria Road in a good state of repair.

"We will therefore approach a surfacing contractor to provide us with a price to repair the roads and pavements to an appropriate standard where required."

The West Briton asked Cornwall Council whether it would now consider adopting the road.

A council spokeswoman said if the road was brought up to the proper standard it would adopt it, as this had been the policy at the time the road was first constructed.

Along with hordes of holidaymakers, many of Cornwall's long lost sons and daughters will return to her rocky coves, wooded valleys and high moors to enjoy the height of summer.

They will come by boat, plane, car and train.

But few – probably only one, in fact – will arrive captaining their own warship.

Lieutenant Gemma Britton is the commanding officer of HMS Express, one of the Royal Navy's P2000 fast patrol vessels.

Gemma was born and raised in St Agnes and is a former pupil of both Truro School and Kelly College and attended St Agnes primary school before that.

Gemma still lives in the St Agnes area as do members of her family.

HMS Express will sail into Port Pendennis Marina on Sunday for a stopover for fuel and stores prior to the final leg of her journey back to her base port in Cardiff.

The Archer-Class vessel will arrive in Pendennis Marina around 4pm on Sunday and sail once more at 6am on Tuesday August 5.

Lt Britton joined the Navy in 2006 after being inspired by the skills of the Search and Rescue Pilots from RNAS Culdrose. She was given command of her own ship at the end of February this year.

She said: "It is a great priviledge for me to be able to visit my home county in a ship that I am now in command of. I am really proud of my Cornish roots and can't wait for the chance to show the students the stunning Cornish coastline."
HMS Express is a University Royal Navy Unit (URNU) ship attached to Wales University and has spent the last seven weeks visiting 23 different ports along the north and west coasts of both France and Spain.

Each URNU ship carries a full-time Royal Navy crew of five, which will be joined by up to 12 university students at any one time.

The university students are part of the Wales University Royal Navy Unit which is based in HMS Cambria, just outside Cardiff. They are all full-time students reading degrees in Cardiff University, University of South Wales, Cardiff Metropolitan Univeristy and Swansea University.

The stopover in Falmouth will give the students an opportunity to visit the Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Culdrose, home to the Royal Navy's Merlin and Sea Kings helicopters. RNAS is the largest helicopter base in Europe with some 75 aircraft and 3,000 personnel.

One of Cornwall's key tourist attractions has received a £1m grant to help repair and it improve it – starting with 32 urgent repair works.

The South West Coast Path Association today announced their bid to the Coastal Communities Fund to secure £1 million investment in the South West Coast Path (SWCP) has been a success.

This project will repair, improve and promote the path (SWCP).

Funds will help with 32 urgent repair works to the path, information boards and signage, and marketing.

The work will also have the positive side effect of safeguard or creating around 788 jobs from construction, management and tourism generated by the path.

Management of the Coast Path is co-ordinated by the Trail Partnership, with representatives from local authorities, the National Trust and other landowners.

Trail Partnership chairman Alistair Handyside said: "The South West Coast Path is the region's biggest tourist attraction, attracting around 8.6 million people each year, this project will ensure we are able to repair the storm damaged sections and build resilience by increasing our marketing efforts."

Prior to 2012, we would expect on average 3-5 path diversions per year over the Coast Path's 630 miles, due to cliff falls or storm damage.

The cash is vitally needed.

Extreme weather over the past two years has led to more than 50 path diversions a year around our coast path – in most years the average is just three to five.

A spokesperson said: "The record breaking rainfall of 2012 resulted in a large number of cliff failures, whereas the storm surges of early 2014 caused much of the damage to low-lying infrastructure and shorelines.

"There remains a backlog of 32 locations along the path, where damage has yet to be repaired and the estimated cost of rectifying this is £552,340.

Ken Carter, vice-chairman of the South West Coast Path Association, said: "The Trustees are working hard to build thecapacity of the charity, to contribute to the marketing and fundraising effort, to ensure the path is one of the best walks in the world and to protect it for all to enjoy.

"The SWCPA will sustain and grow this marketing effort by providing opportunities for people, business and funders to show their support for the path. The funding from Coastal Communities will help the SWCPA and the National Trust to also deliver a range of events for people to enjoy our coastal assets."

£100,000 will be spent on improving signage at key coastal locations, including 43 National Trust sites.

Bella Crawford, National Trust SW Coastal engagement officer, said: "We are excited to be involved in this partnership project and the funding will provide vital and urgent repair work to some of our coastal sites that were badly damaged by last winter's devastating storms. The grant will also help improve information provision at our coastal sites across the South West."

For more information the South West Coast Path Association visit www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk

Air crews from RNAS Culdrose were praised during an emotional ceremony marking the end of their deployment to the front line in Afghanistan.

The members of 854 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) from the base near Helston departed for the last time as the White Ensign was lowered at Camp Bastion.

The last fully formed Royal Naval unit on operations in the war-torn country, they are now back on British soil with its final Sea King helicopter returned to the hangar.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon praised their work in difficult and dangerous conditions.

"I am pleased to be able to pay tribute to the contribution made by the 854 NAS, which has played an essential role in supporting troops on the ground in Afghanistan," he said.

The Royal Navy's First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambellas, added: "The contribution of the SKASaC (Sea King) force over five years has been magnificent, taking the fight to a determined enemy in a vastly unfamiliar environment," he said.

"Your vital work saved many lives and proved the value of the aircraft over land."

During their continued period in the country, 854 and its sister squadron, 857, have enabled the discovery of significant amounts of improvised explosive device (IED)-making equipment, arms, drugs and suspect insurgents.

They have regularly directed ground forces to vehicles laden with fertiliser, electric wiring and batteries, all of which are used to make explosives.

Commanding officer of RNAS Culdrose, Captain Mark Garratt, said it was good to have the unit back and they had been a credit to the base.

"We are enormously proud of the contribution of the whole Sea King ASaC Force," he said.

"Personnel have been deployed to operations in Afghanistan for long periods during the past five years and the Sea King Force has had sterling support from all at Culdrose, but we must also thank the families of those involved who have had their loved ones miss birthdays, Christmas and other important family occasions."

Since May 2009, 854 and 857 NAS have played a vital role flying Sea King Mk 7 Airborne Surveillance and Control aircraft for more than 9,000 hours over 2,000 sorties to support troops on the ground as part of 903 Expeditionary Air Wing.

In five years of unbroken commitment, the Culdrose Sea King Force has played located insurgents' arms caches, tracked drugs shipments and followed the movements of insurgents.

Their actions have directly helped to save the lives of Afghan citizens and coalition troops.

Surfers and holidaymakers reported yet another sewage incident at popular Godrevy Beach yesterday turned the waters brown.

RNLI lifeguards cleared swimmers and surfers from the sea at around 4pm yesterday after receiving a warning from Surfers Against Sewage's text alert system.

It is believed yesterday's heavy downpours again led to a dramatic discharge into the sea at Godrevy from storm drains located further up the Red River towards the sewage's source - Camborne and Redruth.

Concerns over safety at the beach led to continued disruption today, with companies like Shore Surf Cornwall cancelling some surf lesson sessions and moving others to St Ives.

Although experts say the brown colour is more likely to be soil than sewage, the latest release into the sea from storm overflows has led to fear among visitors and anger amongst locals.

Surfer Rory Steadman, who was on the beach yesterday afternoon, Tweeted Surfers Against Sewage today to say: "It was terrible that Godrevy Beach had to close yesterday due to raw sewage running into it and cutting our surf short."

He told The Cornishman today: "The lifeguards told us to get out at 4pm, little did we know the sewage had been flowing into the sea since 12.

"The river that flows into the sea had turned the waves brown, the sea still isn't 100% safe now, 24 hours on!"

This is the latest in a series of at least three incidents at Godrevy in recent months.

In July the Environment Agency moved to calm fears by explaining the brown water was most likely from soil washed off fields by heaven rain.

They released the following statement: "The Agency believes it is highly likely the brown water seen off Godrevy and Gwithian on Saturday was largely caused by soil run off and material washed into the Red River from an upstream road scheme and not a sewage slick as widely reported. Screened sewage tends to be grey in colour – not red/brown as depicted in photographs of a discoloured area of the sea at Gwithian/Godrevy at the weekend."

However, surfers and other beach users instead South West Water should be doing more to stop the releases.

Just last week 170 people gathered on adjoining Gwithian Beach to protest at the releases, calling on South West Water to stop pumping effluent into the sea via the system of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) which divert waste after heavy rain.

At the end of June South West Water issued a public apology after a release led to the cancellation of a major surf competition. The company say the storm overflows are vital and do not pose a threat to the public.