Latest news with #Paignton
BBC News
17 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Fire crews tackle gorse blaze in Torquay
Fire crews have tackled a gorse blaze in Torquay, from the town and Paignton responded after they received multiple calls about the fire on Rock End Avenue, in the Wellswood 20 sq m of gorse on the cliff was damaged by the blaze, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service used one jet and portable lighting to tackle the blaze.
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Seaside home on English Riviera could be yours for just £1 - but it does come with a catch
Your pocket change could buy you a seaside home on the English Riviera which has gone on the market for just £1 - but it does come with a catch. The two-bedroom apartment in Paignton, Devon - aptly named Sea Breeze - is only one minute away from the town's famous sea front. But whoever snaps up the cheap-as-chips summer bolt hole will have to be willing to accept the home needs a lot of work. Sea Breeze looks like a building site on the inside and is unfurnished as it has recently been refurbished and is in the final stages of second fix. It could be transformed into a dream home by the beach if the buyer is happy to get the finishing touches done. Sean Roper, of South Wales based Paul Fosh Auctions, said: 'This really is an opportunity not to be missed. 'If you're in the market for a seaside bolt hole or holiday let in one of England's red hot holiday spots then this chic apartment could well fit the bill. 'Sea Breeze, on Hyde Road, Paignton, is a ground floor apartment complete with open plan kitchen and living area with two bedrooms and bathroom. 'And if the beach is just a bit too sandy or it's too hot then there is a restful rear garden in which to recline and soak up the summer sunshine in peaceful Paignton.' He added: 'The property has been recently refurbished and is at final stages of second fix. 'The kitchen is already supplied and in the property. It requires skimming and painting before being ready to enjoy or let out or sell on the open market. 'This a great opportunity for an investor which won't break the bank in terms of expenditure to complete the refurbishment of the apartment. 'As serviced accommodation or as a holiday let, a well-furnished to a high standard apartment the Paignton property could well generate a rent of around £35,000 per annum on a short stay basis. 'If a long term let is considered with the property refurbished to a similar high standard it is going to command a monthly rental in the region of £900- £1,000 p.m.' Sea Breeze, along with some eighty other lots, is being offered for sale online at Paul Fosh Auctions which starts from 12 noon on Tuesday, July 29 and ends from 5pm on Thursday July 31.
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Hundreds call for Paignton ambulance station to be saved
A petition signed by nearly 900 residents calling for the preservation of an ambulance station in Devon will be presented to the board of an ambulance Totnes Road station in Paignton houses four emergency ambulances and shares its premises with St John Ambulance, said campaigners. However, the building's lease is set to expire and will not be renewed, leaving the future of the station uncertain, they Western Ambulance Service Trust has been contacted for comment. The petition will be delivered to the board later by health campaigner and former Torbay MP Kevin Foster launched the Save Paignton Ambulance Station campaign in April, urging the trust to work with local partners, including Torbay Council, to secure a new site within the town. Campaigners said despite the trust confirming it was exploring "alternative arrangements", no commitment had been made to maintain a dedicated station in Paignton."The loss of the current site should not mean the loss of Paignton's ambulance station," said Mr Foster. "There are alternative locations available, and the trust must ensure ambulances remain based in Paignton."
Telegraph
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
I've got five sons named after characters on TV – it's only adults who are negative
'Before I had children, I didn't realise what a fraught business baby-naming was. I assumed you just picked a name you both liked for your child, and that was that. But after having five sons, I've come to realise people really care what others name their children – and they're not afraid to tell you if they don't like it. Lots of people raise an eyebrow when I reel off my sons' names: Jaxon, Noah, Cole, Bodhi and Leif-Ocean. They're often even more surprised when I reveal we named them all after characters from our favourite film and TV shows. We've been told one of them sounds like a criminal, and another one's name is too popular – we just can't win. Everyone had an opinion When I met my husband, Daniel, back in 2005, we didn't know if we wanted to have children. We spent our 20s working hard, him for fisheries, often away at sea, and me in local TV and radio. We spent our free time travelling the world and relaxing with friends in our hometown of Paignton, Devon. But once we reached our 30s, we both suddenly felt incredibly broody and knew we wanted to have children. We got married in 2013, and a year later, were expecting our first baby. Neither of us came prepared with any names that we desperately wanted to call our offspring, but as soon as we announced our pregnancy, we were inundated with people's opinions and suggestions. People went to no effort to hide their feelings about our name list – one friend screwed up her face as though there were a bad smell in the room when I mentioned the name Oscar. We had cries of, 'You can't use that name, I used to work with someone called that and they were awful!' Or, 'Amelia is terribly popular, there will be too many around.' Named and shamed I was shocked that people would offer such direct opinions. I know they'd never have told me if they hadn't liked, say, my wedding dress – but they thought it was fine to dictate their preferences for something so personal to us. The older generation, in particular, seemed to have very strong feelings about what were, and were not, acceptable options. My father-in-law not-so-subtly reminded us a few times that his name, Nigel, is on the 'danger list' as becoming extinct – though I think he'd have been thrilled if we'd used it, but we just couldn't picture it for a tiny baby. As soon as someone told us they hated a name, we really felt as though we had to take it off our list. We decided to keep our son's name to ourselves until he arrived. We realised that it's a lot more difficult to be rude about a name when it's accompanied by a tiny baby (but not impossible). Small screen inspiration Both Daniel and I are film buffs, and we spent a lot of our downtime watching movies and TV shows together. Near the end of my pregnancy, we were watching the TV series Sons of Anarchy. A drama series about a gun-wielding motorbike gang might not be the obvious place to go to for baby name inspiration, but we both loved the name of the main character, Jax. It felt a little wild, independent, and different, even though it probably wasn't what people were expecting. Our immediate family were so pleased to meet him, and had so much love, that none of them questioned his name at all. However, some friends weren't impressed. One messaged me to say: 'Why have you called him Jax? He sounds like a criminal!'. I'm usually quite thick-skinned, but that upset me just after I'd given birth. Ultimately though, I realised her opinion didn't matter. When I fell pregnant again, a year later, we immediately started looking for another name. We both found girls' names harder to pick, and luckily, we've never had to come up with one. While watching another film, The Notebook, we came across the name Noah. It was so peaceful, sweet and gentle, and when our second son was born, he immediately had that feel about him. We had far fewer raised eyebrows this time; Noah was the most popular name given to boys in England and Wales the previous year. Hollywood star's birth name When our third son arrived in 2016, we realised our niche was to picking names from a TV series – it felt like it had a bit more meaning than just choosing one from a baby name book. Cole was named after Joshua Jackson's character in the series The Affair and, in 2019 we had Bodhi, named after a character in the movie Point Break. When I had our final son, in 2022, we watched Signs with Joaquin Phoenix. After a quick Google, I found out Joaquin was originally named Leaf or Leif, if you use the traditional Nordic spelling. We live five minutes away from the beach and, during my pregnancy, I loved walking by the sea, so we used the name Leif coupled with Ocean. He was the only child born with the name Leif-Ocean in 2022. Even though people were used to us picking unusual names by now, we did notice lots of friends doing a double take this time around; the older boys' teachers definitely raised an eyebrow when they told them their brother's name, and we got used to people asking us to repeat it, before adding: 'Where did you get that from?' However, we did make sure he had a more 'mainstream' middle name, Caleb, in case he wants to use that one day. A head start in life? I post about our name choices a lot online, on my Instagram account @beachlifemuma, and I get a lot of negative comments on there. People say we've been cruel to our children, or that we've set them up to be bullied. I can honestly say none of my boys have ever been teased or bullied by other children because of their names; it's only ever adults who pull a face or make a comment. One mum who mentioned how 'unusual' my boys' names were had a toddler named Graham, which I don't think I'd have ever picked for a baby, so each to their own. I was 42 when I had Leif, and I think being an older parent has given me confidence in our name choices. Lots of people are lovely and really compliment the boys' names too. People sometimes ask if Noah ever wishes his name was more unusual, but I don't think any of them really have any concept of that. We don't know any other Noahs, so to him, it's just as unique as Leif-Ocean. Children's names seem to be much more unique these days, and children are generally very accepting of each other. They don't know if a name has a particular connotation unless an adult tells them it does, they just judge their peers on whether they like them or not. I know there are many things children can get picked on for at school, but I really don't think their name is one of them. Lots of their school friends have unusual names too. When Daniel and I were at school, we both knew lots of people with the same name as us. We didn't hate it, but we do like that our boys' names stand out a bit more. Some people have suggested to us that their names might hold them back in life, or stop them getting a job when they're older. I honestly don't think my boys are going to end up unemployed because they haven't got a name in the top 100 names. If anything, I'd like to think their unusual names might actually help them stand out a bit – because ultimately, it's their personality that counts, and they have bags of that. As told to Heather Main
The Sun
20-06-2025
- The Sun
Horrifying masks & sordid sex dolls – terrifying swingers' ‘House from HELL' which lay abandoned after grisly murder
MOULDY sex dolls and creepy masks have been uncovered inside a murder mansion dubbed the "house from hell" . Porn magazines and sordid photos were among items discovered at the former brothel in Paignton, Devon, where a man was murdered more than two decades ago. 7 7 7 Condemned property 3 Keysfield Road - which was renowned for hosting wild sex parties - was dubbed the "house from hell" by neighbours. Urban explorers found boxes piled high with sordid images of a blonde girl with a group of men at the abandoned Victorian villa. Kayleigh Coulston and Proving Demons were left in shock at their "freaky" discoveries in the house, including a blow-up doll and horrifying masks. At several points in the video, they remark to one another that many of the items are not suitable to be shown on YouTube. In footage posted online, Kayleigh says: "Oh no - it's a sex doll. "I did not think we would find that in here. At least she is deflated! "That is so weird - so freaky. I can just tell we're going to be in for a field day at this place. "Already we've found a DVD cover which obviously I can't film and now we've found a blow-up naughty doll. "I'm trying not to film some of it because I can see on the floor there are a lot of dirty articles. "Unfortunately YouTube will not let me get away with that one." They pull out a variety of porn magazines from piles of rubbish on the floors and tables, including a copy of Loaded's 'Big Sexy Orgy' from 2003. The house - now being turned into 14 flats - was the scene of a gruesome murder in 2000. Inside bizarre abandoned 'love motel' where randy couples bonked on beds shaped like boxing rings & fairground rides Dad-of-three David Maher was killed after he was hit over the head with a monkey wrench by drug dealer Peter Mann in a row over cocaine. Mann later dumped the body at a nearby dairy depot. He was jailed for life. The homeowner Angela Claydon, who was the girlfriend of Mann at the time, was also convicted of trying to cover up the crime and helping the killer flee the country. She was jailed for nine months following the trial in 2002. The house was closed by cops in 2010 following complaints from neighbours about drug-taking, prostitution and anti-social behaviour. Residents reported seeing people urinating and defecating in the grounds outside the house. 7 7 7 It was the first home in Paignton to be the subject of a closure order. On the same day police were set to put a closure order on the building, firefighters had been called to the property after Peter Heron tried to burn the house down. The 43-year-old was jailed for 28 months after he used a blowtorch and had the gas turned on in while other tenants were still inside. In 2017, "rogue landlady" Claydon was also found guilty of allowing the property to be occupied - despite a prohibition order banning people from living there. Newton Abbot Magistrates' Court heard that residents and police officers had seen people on the site. The fire service had entered the property in November 2016 to rescue an occupant, thought to be aged in his 40s, during a fire in which a dog died. The former multiple-occupancy house has been described by local police as "a blot on the landscape". Council planners gave the nod to convert the crime-hit derelict home into flats in 2020. Work is now underway to breathe new life into the sordid site. At a planning meeting, Councillor Barbara Lewis said the property had been the source of problems for residents and the development would improve and regenerate the area. She added: 'All the residents of Keysfield Road will be delighted.' 7
