WINTRY weather is expected to hit Cornwall this week, with plunging temperatures and frosty mornings.

The forecast has led public health bosses to urge residents to keep an eye on elderly and vulnerable neighbours who suffer most during the cold weather.

Mark Wilson, a Met Office meteorologist, said winter had set in for the foreseeable future.

He said: "This week looks likely to see temperatures falling closer to the early December average across the south of England.

"This means that by day, temperatures will be around 9 Celsius, with some nights seeing temperatures falling close to or below freezing, particularly in more rural areas.

"As we look ahead to the rest of December, a return to the unseasonably mild conditions of recent times is not currently expected."

After a maximum temperature today of 8c, there will be freezing conditions overnight with lows of -1c possible.

Tomorrow, variable amounts of cloud will be thickest in the east of the county.

It will be largely dry with some bright spells, though perhaps the odd drizzly outbreak over hills and a maximum temperature of 7c.

It is estimated that every year an average of around 25,000 extra people die in England over the winter period and many of these deaths are preventable according to experts.

Professor Debra Lapthorne, Centre Director for the Devon, Cornwall and Somerset Public Health England, said there was real danger for certain groups of people as temperatures fell.

"Cold weather can lead to serious health problems, such as heart attacks and strokes, and can make chest diseases worse," she said.

The impact of cold weather is felt most by older people, the very young and those who have pre-existing health conditions, said Professor Lapthorne, adding leaflets were available containing practical advice on how to cope.

"Much of our advice on protecting health indoors is common sense," she said.

"People should eat warm food and drink hot drinks, heat homes to at least 18C and move about to keep warm."

She said they were also urging everyone to consider those who may be affected by the cold – such as an elderly relative, friend or neighbour, or someone in poor health.

Professor Keith Willett, NHS England's clinical director for acute care, said a pharmacy was a good first port of call if people were suffering coughs, colds and sneezes.

"As a doctor who has spent some 30 years working in A&E, every winter, doctors and nurses see a big increase in the number of people, particularly older and frail people, who are admitted to hospital because of respiratory or other chronic conditions usually worsened by immobility, the cold and viral illnesses."

AN OUTBREAK of the Norovirus superbug in Cornwall has prompted a public health warning.

NHS Kernow and the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust are asking people with any symptoms of diarrhoea and sickness to stay away from any hospital.

The Royal Cornwall Hospital there had been nine confirmed cases of the Norovirus in the hospital in the last week.

Health bosses have also warned the public to avoid going to the emergency department at Treliske if they are able to manage their symptoms themselves.

Lisa Johnson, NHS Kernow's infection control nurse consultant said: "Norovirus is a particularly nasty bug which can easily create huge problems for our hospitals trying to cope with ill patients as well as for individual sufferers.

"Everyone can do their bit to stop the spread of the virus by observing the basic rules of good hygiene. This will help reduce not only the spread of other bugs and infections, including seasonal flu, but will also do the same for Norovirus."

Anyone can catch Norovirus but the important thing is not passing it on

Health advice regarding the Norovirus is

*Always make sure you clean your hands with soap and hot water when you enter and leave hospital, nursing home or other place where there are vulnerable people.

*Don't visit anyone in hospital if you have symptoms of the Norovirus, including vomiting, diarrhoea, high temperature, aches and pains

*Most people with the bug will make a full recovery within two to three days and are advised to stay at home, take paracetamol to relieve fever and drink plenty of water to replace lost fluids. Make sure you have some rehydration salts in your medicine cabinet.

*If you start to feel dehydrated, it is important to seek medical attention, particularly if you have a long term condition or you are elderly

*If you are affected stay away from work and hospitals/GP surgeries until you've been symptom-free for two days

*NHS 111 can give you round-the-clock help and advice, as well as your local pharmacist. 

CHRISTMAS will be coming to Redruth Youth Centre between 11am and 2pm on Saturday when families and young people will be able to try a number of activities and games.

These will include a surf simulator, an inflatable boxing ring, and a mobile skate park, if the weather permits.

Santa will also be in his grotto at the event, which runs from 11am to 2pm at the centre on Tolgus Road.

Entry is free, but donations will be welcome.

A MISSION to Seafarers carol concert at King Charles the Martyr Church in Falmouth on Monday, at 7.30pm, featuring the church choir, Men of Good Fortune and Naomi Carne. Proceeds will raise money for The Mission to Seafarers and the church's Stairway to Heaven project.

THE Ebola-stricken country of Sierra Leone has thanked the people of Cornwall for their generous donations to its people being shipped from Falmouth this weekend.

About 57 tonnes of food, hygiene products, toys and other items worth more than £40,000 have been packed into shipping containers at Falmouth docks.

A spokesman for the Sierra Leone embassy in London said: "We want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who has donated."

For two days this week volunteers from ShelterBox, Lions' Club and RNAS Culdrose helped pack the boxes to be put on the Gypsum Centennial ready for departure.

Marjolijn Postma, from the ship's owner Beltship, said she was "amazed" at the response to the appeal, which was organised by Penny Phillips at A&P Falmouth to send provisions to the One and All charity's orphanage and four other charities as well as a hospital.

Mrs Phillips was "overwhelmed and proud" of the response.

Ms Postma said: "I cannot thank Penny and her team and the people of Cornwall enough."

Beltship has supported One and All for a few years with toys and clothes and decided to focus this appeal on food and hygiene items.

And the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Argus, currently helping with the fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone, asked ShelterBox if it could add some school supplies.

Ten boxes are being shipped out with enough equipment for 500 children.

Joe Cannon, from ShelterBox, said: "The good thing about this is everyone knows what is happening to their donations."

Steve Cook, from Falmouth and Penryn Lions, was "gob smacked" when he saw the "Mount Everest" of goods at the docks.

"The response from people has been absolutely fantastic," he said. "We feel very privileged to have been involved. There is so much satisfaction from helping out."

The Lions donated a van full of goods to the appeal.

Air engineer technician Ian Penny, from RNAS Culdrose, said he was happy to volunteer and do his bit while colleagues were out with RFA Argus.

"There has been all sorts given, we saw Christmas presents wrapped up and a note on one box from Amy, aged 5," he said. "For people to be so generous so close to Christmas shows the spirit the people of Cornwall have."

Truro 24 Pirates Amateurs 18

TRURO'S hard fought Tribute Cornwall Cup quarter-final win over the Amateurs was marred by a serious injury to second row Ross Denning.

The game was held up for 30 minutes before the unfortunate forward was taken to hospital with what proved to be a dislocated elbow, though he was well enough to return to the ground in the early evening.

Denning is likely to be out for some time, which is a big blow to Truro's Western Counties West promotion hopes as they resume their league campaign at home to Devonport Services on Saturday.

Saturday's win earned the city side a semi-final date with holders Camborne at the Recreation Ground in the new year. The other semi-final sees Penryn, who had a "walkover" against Bude, take on St Austell.

Saturday's tie was an entertaining encounter and the Cornwall & Devon League visitors made Truro fight all the way.

And it was the Amateurs who took an early 6-0 lead through two Rhys Brownfield penalties.

Truro though hit back when skipper Sean Roseveare broke from a scrum on half way and fed winger Luke Tidball who raced over in the corner for an unconverted try which left the home side 6-5 down at the interval.

Truro started the second half with more purpose and were soon rewarded with a catch and drive try credited to Will Martin, which Williams converted to put Truro 12-6 up.

The Amateurs hit back with a try by winger Nick Hitchens before Denning's injury.

When play resulted Truro edged further ahead with a Williams penalty, but the vsitors were far from finished as Josh Semmens went over for his side's second try following a quickly taken penalty. The conversion by Brownfield saw the Amateurs 18-15 up.

However, with seven minutes left Williams tied the scores with a penalty and then clinched the win with his third successful penalty and a superb 30-metre drop goal.

Truro: Eley; Tidball, Dunkin, Cross, Badcock; Williams, Brandham; Jacques, Carlyon, Gilbert; Denning, Martin; Trescothick, Heath, Roseveare (capt). Replacements (all used); J Martin, Marsh, Hinds, Excell.

CORNISH Pirates have signed Chilean international prop Francisco Deformes until the end of the season.

Francisco, 34, previously played for Mounts Bay in the National Leagues before the club folded in July 2009 and also had a brief spell at Plymouth Albion.

Cornish Pirates director of rugby Ian Davies said: "When we realised Francisco was available, player-coach Alan Paver spoke to him and he was keen to come across to the UK. He will add experience to our front-row resources."

Other Pirates news (Log etc) ...

OPM 12, Hayle 21

HAYLE returned to winning ways with an important victory away at OPM which puts more daylight between themselves and the other sides at the wrong end of the Cornwall & Devon League table.

The Lions are now 10 points clear of the drop zone, while Saturday's opponents OPM remain in the bottom three for another week, although they are no worse off than they were before the game.

Hayle haven't had the best of times this season and, with home advantage, the game was on OPMs' wish list to win.

Defeat, though, means OPMs stay in the bottom three for another week, although they are no worse off than they were before the game.

Fellow strugglers Bodmin were beaten by Crediton and remain just three points ahead.

Hayle raced into a 10-0 lead with Scott Harvey kicking a penaty, and also converted a penalty try after OPM collapsed a scrum on their own try line.

OPM replied with a try on the counter attack from Steve Cole, but Hayle added a third try on the stroke of half-time when Rob Cutter ran in from halfway after pouncing on a loose ball.

On a bad day all round OPMs lost prop Richie Brown, full-back Joe Martin and lock Tim Binding to injury.

OPM got themseleves back in the game when Martin Skelly reacted first when Hayle dropped the ball in midfield and raced unopposed to the line for Gavin Rea to add the extras.

But Hayle were not to be denied and Harvey slotted two further penalties to seal a deserved victory.

"Hayle smashed us up front in scrums and line-outs, which meant we had very little ball," admitted OPM coach Steve Luffman.

Hayle:

CORNWALL got their Under-20 County Championship campaign off to an excellent start with an impressive victory over Gloucestershire at Camborne on Sunday.

Gloucestershire thrashed the Duchy 50-19 at the quarter-final stage of last season's competition at the same venue in March, but there was no prospect of a repeat scoreline after Cornwall raced into a 17-0 lead inside the opening 23 minutes.

The Duchy made a dream start with a try after only five minutes. A driving line-out was stopped just short of the line, before they spun the ball left for fly half Dan Rutter to put centre Rhys Brownfield in for a score beside the posts, which the latter converted.

Brownfield added a penalty soon after to put the hosts into double figures, and they moved three scores clear just past the midway point in the half when Rutter's chip through was half charged down, and winger Jake Woodward gathered the ball before sidestepping a defender and running in behind the posts, with Brownfield converting for a 17-point advantage.

Cornwall looked to be heading for a comfortable victory, but Gloucestershire changed both of their props in the 32nd minute, and they suddenly looked a different proposition at scrum time.

It was from a solid set piece inside the Cornwall 22 two minutes before the break that Gloucestershire broke their duck, with inside centre Tom Francis brushing off a weak tackle to race in beside the posts, with fly half Jack Sterry converting to leave the visitors trailing 17-7 at the interval.

Cornwall did not help their cause when scrum half Zac Noeda was sin-binned early in the second half after repeated infringements by the Duchy.

However, home nerves were eased when the impressive Rutter crossed in the scoreboard corner off the back of a five-metre scrum to stretch the gap to 15 points.

Cornwall briefly went down to 13 men when lock Dan Marsh was yellow-carded for a tip tackle, but they all but wrapped up victory on the hour mark when an excellent break downfield by hooker Lochryn Williams resulted in an overlap on the left, from which replacement winger Tom Sandercock scored the bonus-point try only two minutes after coming onto the pitch.

Five minutes later, good work by Neil Stanleick and Woodward created a try for outside centre Jack Simmons, and Brownfield converted to put Cornwall out of sight at 34-7.

Gloucestershire managed an impressive late rally, and grabbed tries through two replacements - winger Tom Davies and back rower Ewan Bulger - both converted by Francis, but it was too little, too late and Cornwall now move on to their second and final pool match against Devon at Ivybridge on Sunday, January 25.

Professor Richard Charles Vincent

A MEMORIAL service has taken place at Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa, on Sunday, September 14, for Professor Richard Charles Vincent, born August 13, 1940 in Canada and died peacefully at the Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus on September 3.

The son and only child of the late Irene (nee Allison), and the late Robert Vincent, of Kingston. Educated at York University (BA), the University of Auckland, New Zealand (MA, English), and the University of Toronto (Trinity College) (M Div.).

He served on the academic staff of George Brown College in Toronto for 31 years. He was for 18 years the beloved partner of the late William Lance Twining (deceased 2006) and, since June 2009, the beloved husband of Dr Michel Gaulin, of Ottawa. He leaves cousins in the Prince Edward County/Kingston area, in Penzance and in the USA, as well as numerous friends all over the world.

He was a long-time Rector's warden and lay reader at St Mark's Anglican Church, Port Hope, and served as lay reader at Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa, from the time of his arrival in Ottawa, in 2007, until his death.

CAMPAIGNERS have warned that the future of a Hayle hospital could be at risk and are urging people to "use it or lose it".

A campaign is calling for Hayle, Camborne and Redruth town councils to urge local GPs to offer St Michael's Hospital as an option for surgery to combat under-use of its facilities.

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) said it was trying to increase usage of St Michael's Hospital but had no plans to invest in it.

Fears for the future of the hospital were sparked earlier this year when it was announced that £75 million of NHS services, including orthopaedics – one of St Michael's two specialist areas – could be put out to tender next year.

Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, Michael Foster, is asking town and parish councils to invite doctors to a meeting with a view to getting more referrals to St Michael's and suggested residents write to GPs with the same request.

Mr Foster said getting more patients into the hospital, which was currently running at less than half of capacity, would be vital in saving it from closure in the future.

"One of the problems is that when we're making our choice of a hospital we are offered [the Royal Cornwall Hospital at] Treliske and the [private] Duchy," he said. "Consultants aren't using it enough.

"One of the most ridiculous things is that wards are empty at St Michael's and at the same time operations are cancelled at Treliske because they don't have enough beds. If more procedures were done at St Michael's it would solve the bed problem."

Conservative MP for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle George Eustice, said he had met the NHS Kernow commissioning group last week and was confident about the future of St Michael's regardless of the tender process, but also urged people to choose and use the hospital.

"We want to make sure we get it some additional work," he said. "The tender process that is being run will favour local facilities like St Michael's. The RCHT has been very clear that it has no plans to close it."

Health campaign group West Cornwall HealthWatch has raised concerns about the lack of referrals at a meeting of Hayle Town Council.

"Unfortunately it's not always given clearly as an option, whether through 'Choose and Book' or through the GP or consultant," said co-ordinator Marna Blundy. "Patients do need to be asking for St Michael's at the point of referral.

"However, we feel that the compulsory tendering process currently being undertaken by the commissioners, which could see elective surgery transferred to the private sector, is perhaps the greatest threat to the future of St Michael's as a centre of surgical excellence.

"We very much hope that the RCHT will retain the contract, to safeguard the NHS facilities we treasure."

Andrew MacCallum, RCHT acting chief executive, said: "We are currently looking to increase the usage of St Michael's Hospital and the capacity available to us by extending the range of patients who can be treated there.

"Our hospital in Hayle already has an excellent reputation for services such as breast surgery, hip and knee replacements and orthopaedic treatments and we encourage patients to positively choose St Michael's Hospital when they speak to their GP about their options."

THIS year is on track to become the hottest and wettest in 100 years, according to weather experts.

"Human influence" on climate change is the likely cause of the record temperatures, not just for Cornwall and the UK, but globally, according to the Met Office.

The year's weather was shaped in January and February when Cornwall and the UK was hit by 12 major Atlantic storms, causing widespread damage to sea defences, infrastructure and homes in the wettest period since records began in 1910.

If November and December follow suit, 2014 is likely to be the hottest year on record, ahead of 2010, 2005 and 1998, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) announced.

The experts attributed the hot year mainly to record high global sea surface temperatures, which have also contributed to heavy rainfall and floods in many countries, and extreme drought in others.

Breaking the record is much more likely to occur as a result of human activity which affects the climate, such as burning fossil fuels.

Peter Stott, head of climate attribution at the Met Office, said: "Our research shows current global average temperatures are highly unlikely in a world without human influence on the climate.

"Human influence has also made breaking the UK temperature record about 10 times more likely."

This year has been extremely wet for the UK, with 1,162mm (45.7 inches) falling between January 1 and November 25.

With average rainfall in December, 2014 would be the fourth wettest in records dating back to 1910, but a very wet last month of the year could see it breaking the record set in 2000 of 1,337mm (52.6 inches).

WMO secretary-general Michel Jarraud said: "The provisional information for 2014 means that 14 of the 15 warmest years on record have all occurred in the 21st century. There is no standstill in global warming."

This year, Britain was not alone in experiencing devastating floods. In May, floods affected more than two million people in Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia and Russia, southern parts of the Balkan peninsula and Turkey, while France was also battered by very heavy rain.

Severe flooding hit Morocco in November followed heavy rain, while in April torrential rain across the south-east, mid-Atlantic and north-east US caused significant flash flooding.

UK average temperatures from the beginning of January to late November were 1.6C (2.9F) above the long-term average, making it the warmest in records dating back to 1910, the Met Office said – although a cold December could change that.

The year is also set to be one of the warmest on record in the Central England Temperature, which has recorded temperatures in an area of England since 1659 and is the longest-running record of instrumental temperature measurements in the world.

Across the world, the year is on track to be one of the hottest, with global temperatures around 0.57C (1.03F) above the long-term average of 14C (57.2F) from January to October, just ahead of the previous record of 0.56C.

A mystery of why century-old rubber blocks have been washing up around Europe for 30 years may finally have been solved - by a woman from Cornwall who found one.

The 100-year-old squares marked with the word 'Tjipetir' have washed up on beaches around Cornwall and the UK and elsewhere including Norway, France and Germany.

They started life in an old rubber plantation in Indonesia but experts have been baffled how they ended up washing ashore.

There have been various theories with some people claiming they fell off the Titanic.

But Tracey Williams, who found her first plate two years ago near her home in Newquay, may have solved the mystery.

She started a Facebook page and called on people around the world to post pictures of themselves holding the blocks they have found.

Amateur investigators who contacted her said they had discovered the 'Tjipetir' plates were on a Japanese ship which sunk in WWI 150 miles off the Isles of Scilly.

Miyazaki Maru, the Japanese liner, had been sunk in 1917 by a German submarine.

A quick check of the ship's manifesto revealed that it had been carrying the Tjipetir blocks.

Tracey, of Newquay, Cornwall, said: "I discovered one of these tiles on the beach two years ago and was intrigued.

"I didn't think much of it until I found the second one, and then I realised I had a real mystery on my hands.

"It was a really strange substance, almost a cross between MDF and rubber.

"I Google'd the word Tjipetir, and found it was the name of an old rubber plantation in Indonesia.

"I set up the Facebook page to try to collate all the findings, and have even set up a map to show where they have all been found."

She added that she and her sources have now seen evidence they may have fallen from the Miyazaki Maru.

She said: ''I checked the ship's manifest and discovered that it had indeed been carrying rubber.

"When salvage work is done, the cargo they are looking for is pulled out in large amounts and rubber bales have been released from the ship's hold as a result.

"So both my sources told me that shipwreck is where those items are mainly coming from. I've been shown evidence supporting this."

Alison Kentuck, the Governments Receiver of Wreck, who administers wreck and salvage laws with the UK territorial waters, agreed.

She said: "When we are made aware of wreckage we conduct research to find the owner.

"We look at the age of the items, where they could have come from and examine any markings.

"Our findings with these particular items pointed towards that particular wreck.

"So although we have not confirmed it, the Miyazaki Maru is our favoured possibility as the source of the washed-up blocks."

In 2012 Tracey Williams was walking her dog along a beach near Newquay, Cornwall, when she saw something strange washed up on the beach.

After taking a closer look, she discovered something that she describes as looking like a large chopping board with the word 'Tjipetir' engraved.

She thought nothing of it until two weeks later she discovered another identical block on a different beach, besides bales of rubber, washed up in a cove.

She was then suitably intrigued, and set about researching the mysterious blocks.

To her surprise she found that there were many recorded sightings across Europe, dating back to the 1980's.

Tjipetir was the name of a rubber plantation in West Java, Indonesia, which operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Research showed that the blocks are not strictly rubber, but made from a substance called gutta-percha, the gum of a tree found in the Malay Peninsula and Malaysia.

She then set up a Facebook page, called Tjipetir Mystery, where people could record their finds, so that she could draw up a map of where they were being washed up.

It turned out they were not just being found on English beaches, but had being found as far afield as Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Through the gathering interest in the mystery, a French newspaper became involved, who speculated that the gutta-percha plates may have been from the Titanic.

Williams then checked the Titanic's manifesto, and discovered that it had indeed being carrying the Tjipetir blocks, and thought the mystery was solved.

But in 2013 she was contacted by two anonymous tipsters who knew of a salvage company recovering goods from a wreckage of a Japanese liner.

The anonymous source stated who when salvage work is done, the cargo they are looking for is pulled out in large amounts.

They said that the gutta-percha blocks had most likely been dislodged from the Ship's hold as a result, before being swept away by underwater currents..

Dogs will not be allowed back on Falmouth's beaches next summer after the council agreed to stick with the current bylaws.

Following a request for the matter to be revisited, its beach management committee recommended the ban should remain in place.

A petition was raised asking for part of one of the beaches to be opened to dogs.

A bylaw currently prevents the council from doing so between Easter Sunday and September 30 .

The council received a huge amount of correspondence both for and against the ban.

The management committee looked at the impact on beach awards, such as the blue flag, and water quality as well as all the options.

This included a full lifting of the ban and lifting it early mornings and evenings.

Councillor Maureen Davies told the finance and general purposes committee last night: "We thrashed out all the why's and wherefore's and the upshot was we should retain the status quo.

"It was unanimously accepted by all at the meeting."

Councillor Steve Eva suggested making the start of the ban a fixed date.

He said Easter Sunday can vary by as much as six weeks year on year.

"I would have through Mayday would be ideal as the weather is only just starting to warm up."

But councillor Steve Gray pointed out that to change the regulations was "massive and costly".

He is on the management group and said: "We also looked at other beaches where dogs are not banned but are not accessible.

"The people who petitioned are invited to join the management group and we could try and help make these beaches more accessible."

And councillor Patricia Vinson said it would be helpful to put information on the town council website about places that dogs are allowed.

ONE of Cornwall's most famous sporting sons has announced that injury has forced him to hang up his boots for good.

Matt Etherington, who amassed 426 appearances during an illustrious career which saw him turn out for Peterborough United, Tottenham Hotspur, Stoke City and West Ham United, tweeted yesterday confirming his retirement.

He said: "Due to an ongoing back problem, the day has come for me to retire from professional football.

"I made my debut at just 15-years-old. Thank you to all the great clubs I have played for and to the supporters.

"I have made some mistakes along the way but it has made me who I am today. I look at the past with pride and to the future with optimism."

Etherington grew up in Falmouth and where his father Peter represented Falmouth Town.

A winger renowned for his crossing ability and who was once on the brink of a full England call-up, Etherington represented a number of youth teams around the Falmouth area before being spotted by Peterborough United scouts.

He then went on to establish himself in the Premier League, despite having to battle a gambling addiction that he estimates saw him lose £1.5million. 

A CORNISH organisation has been awarded a Golden Bull for issuing a document filled with incomprehensible gobbledygook.

Local Action Cornwall – part of Cornwall Development Company – has been honoured by the Plain English Campaign in their annual awards.

The 67-word paragraph which won the award came from Local Action Cornwall's Local Development Strategy. It was nominated for the honour by an anonymous supporter of the campaign.

The paragraph reads: "In the absence of the detail of the LEADER National Operational Manual the proposed decision making process is outlined below and this has been based on previous delivery of the LEADER in Cornwall and closely mirrors the process outlined in the European Network for Rural Development Guide (Nos:10) which outlines best practice for LEADER delivery and is based on experiences in the Argyll and Islands LEADER Group."

Local Action Cornwall was one of 11 organisations and companies which received Golden Bull Awards. Others included BT, Scottish Power, the BBC and City of Edinburgh Council.

Responding to the announcement Local Action Cornwall said in a statement: "We take the Award on the chin and recognise that the document is heavy on public sector jargon. However, the Strategy was developed following extensive public consultation as a bid for £9.2m of European funding and was submitted to DEFRA in a specific format. Navigating the complicated world of government departments and European funding is difficult but Cornwall has significant experience in speaking their language, and a history of success with a wide range of funding, so we are hopeful the Strategy will deliver substantial investment for the future."

The Plain English Campaign has run since 1979 and says on its website that it campaigns against "gobbledygook, jargon and misleading public information".

PUPILS at Porthleven Primary School were on their best behaviour today when an admiral of the Royal Navy called in for a visit.

Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral David Steel CBE DL, was there to perform the grand opening of a brand new play area.

It had been paid for from an Armed Forces Community Covenant grant.

Porthleven Primary School pulled out all the stops for the admiral's visit, who was invited by headteacher Duncan Ratcliffe to cut the ribbon on the £14,000 project.

The play area had been built along with a local company and the assistance from parents and personnel from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose.

It is however just stage one on a much more ambitious project to improve facilities at the school, as well as forging closer links between Culdrose and the community.

"It a fantastic achievement, that has been a huge team effort between Porthleven School and the Royal Navy," said Mr Ratcliffe.

"We've had a lot of support from Culdrose and the children and I are very proud of them all. A big thank you has to go to among others, Chief Petty Officer Jon Walsh, who's given up a lot of his spare time."

Before cutting the ribbon and touring the School, the admiral was treated to the school's famous 'signing choir' who put on an animated performance for his visit, which proved to be very popular indeed.

He said how absolutely fantastic it was to have witnessed such a special performance and thanked the children for bringing some bright sunshine of light to his afternoon.

"Well done to you all. It's a real privilege for me to represent RNAS Culdrose, the Royal Navy and the Armed Force today at the School," he said.

"It absolutely outstanding what's been achieved here and I thank everyone at Culdrose for their involvement."

The Community Covenant scheme has been an important bridge for Porthleven and the Fleet Air Arm base and the first stage success with the climbing apparatus and outdoor performance area has proved very popular with the children.

Leigh Yates, chairwoman of the Porthleven School Parents and Teachers Association added: "To have the Second Sea Lord down to our school, helping us celebrate today was pretty amazing.

"His visit has to be the cherry on the cake and truly reflects our wonderful relationship with the Royal Navy".

A BUSINESS owner from Camborne has been hit with a £5,000 fine for operating without a licence from the council.

Anthony Dale, owner of Protec Scaffolding, was fined after being found guilty of two offences of erecting scaffolding that obstructed a road without authorisation from Cornwall Council.

At a hearing at Truro Magistrates' Court on December 2, Dale was found to have violated section 169 of the Highways Act 1980.

The court also found that Protec had failed to make amendments to the scaffolds once notified by Cornwall Council.

The court was told that Dale, who failed to attend the hearing, had previous convictions for the same offence and the chairman of the bench expressed concern over the potential risk to public safety.

Dale was ordered to pay £4000 in respect of the first offence and £1000 for the second offence. He was also ordered to pay costs of £992.95 together with a victim surcharge of £120.