Latest news with #Torbay
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
Four Torbay stores closed for selling illegal vapes
Four Devon shops have been closed for selling illegal vapes and counterfeit tobacco following an operation by police. Devon and Cornwall Police said officers had worked with Heart of the South West Trading Standards to stop the sale of illegal products. It said this had resulted in four shops in Torbay being shut for three months, with an extension if necessary. The shops had previously been warned about what they were selling and continued to trade illegally, the force said. 'Safeguard local communities' Plymouth Magistrates' Court granted the closure orders for the shops at a hearing on Thursday, police added this came after previous inspections revealed stashes of illegal products, which were revealed with the help of specialist detection dogs. Insp Rob Harvey said: "This is a significant step to get four commercial premises closed on the same day by the court and sends a strong message to businesses that we will not tolerate illegal sales which could harm the public's health."We want to safeguard local communities and respond to concerns."He added: "We have found that this type of illegal activity can also harm trade for legitimate local businesses and is often linked to offences of modern-day slavery and exploitation." Devon and Cornwall Police said the premises subjected to closure orders were:American shop, 140 Union Street, TorquayPalace Mini Market, 36 Palace Ave, PaigntonTower Store, 10a Torquay Road, PaigntonPaignton Express, 40 Victoria Street, PaigntonAlex Fry, local Trading Standards operations manager, added: "This is a great example of how we have worked with our partners in Devon and Cornwall Police to act on intelligence and target unscrupulous sellers."There have been a total of 28 closure orders, commercial and residential, across Torquay, Newton, Exeter and surrounding areas of South Devon in the last 12 months, Devon and Cornwall Police said.
West Australian
6 days ago
- West Australian
Maria Jamieson: Albany police have welfare concerns for 77-year-old woman last seen in Yakamia
Albany police are urgently seeking help in locating a 77-year-old woman who was last seen in Yakamia on Thursday. Maria Jamieson was last seen at her Yakamia home on July 17. She is described as being 159cm tall, of medium build, with short white-silver hair. Police report Ms Jamieson may be driving her white Kia Cerato hatchback bearing the registration 1HCM485 and have her Maltese Shitzu dog Bonnie with her. She reportedly likes to visit The Gap, Torbay and Cozy Corner. Poice hold concerns for Ms Jamieson's welfare and urge anyone who sees her or her vehicle, or who has any information relating to her whereabouts, to call police immediately on 131 444.
The Sun
16-07-2025
- Health
- The Sun
It feels like I'm burning alive after ‘pregnancy rash' that makes me look like a corpse left me suicidal
A YOUNG MUM feels like she's 'burning alive' due to a "pregnancy rash" that erupted across her body - to the point she can't hold her baby son on her lap and has been left suicidal. Rachel Bradford, 30, was 24 weeks pregnant in March 2024 when she noticed an 'extraordinarily itchy' rash breaking out over her skin, covering her body in red blotches. 11 The mum, who lives in Torbay, Devon, with her husband of two years, Jack, 31, was told by doctors the rash was likely pregnancy-related and would go away when she gave birth. But Rachel watched in horror when just two weeks later the skin all over her body turned a 'burning' red. It 'blistered' in some spots and went black in others, making her look like 'a dead person'. Rachel kept pushing for answers in hospital but she felt 'no-one was listening' and was 'sent away' several times. Rachel gave birth to her son Michael via an emergency C-section in May 2024, as her legs were so swollen and painful she was unable to open them. But her symptoms persisted, making her body feel like like it was 'constantly on fire'. It forced her to step back from her job as a support worker. Feeling like there was "no escape" from her pain, the mum also began grappling with suicidal thoughts. In February this year, Rachel was eventually diagnosed with erythromelalgia, a rare condition that causes burning pain, redness, hot skin, and chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS). 'It feels like I'm burning alive, like my body is constantly on fire,' Rachel said. 'This condition has taken everything away from me, pregnancy and motherhood, my job, my mobility, my independence – I can't even play with my son.' Ear piercing left my 'body on fire' I can't leave home & only eat cold food Jack, an assistant store manager for an agricultural storage facility, added: 'There's always a part of Rachel's body which is constantly on fire and it doesn't go away. 'She can't escape it, from the moment she opens her eyes, it's the first thing she feels.' Rachel had no major health issues before breaking out in the 'extraordinarily itchy' rash during her pregnancy. 'There was a point where Rachel would be sleeping with her nails in her shoulders, digging in so she didn't scratch herself,' Jack recalled. 11 11 11 11 The couple visited their doctor, but Rachel said she was told it was likely a pregnancy-related symptom which would subside after she gave birth. Two weeks later however, Rachel said her rash became 'really bad', prompting the couple to phone NHS 111 – and they were advised to seek help at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. 'They told us it was nothing to worry about and we were sent away,' Jack said. Rachel's rash then changed, turning red and 'boiling hot', and Jack recalled feeling the heat radiate from his wife's skin. 'It's thought it's related to her blood vessels – so they will either completely constrict and she will look like a dead person, or it will go the other way to the point her skin will blister,' Jack explained. This started on Rachel's arms and legs, before it spread to her head, face, hands, neck, back, shoulders and ears. Jack and Rachel claim they visited the A&E department at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital several times over the subsequent weeks and were left waiting for hours before being 'sent away'. 'We were still being told it could go after pregnancy, it was just sort of brushed off,' Jack said. What is erythromelalgia? Erythromelalgia is a rare condition that causes burning pain, redness and hot skin, mainly in the feet. It can be constant or come and go, but treatment and avoiding triggers can help. The main symptoms are: Burning pain, which often starts as itching Redness – this can look different on brown or black skin Warm or hot skin Other symptoms include: Swelling Sweating more than normal The pain can either be constant or come and go. When the pain comes, it might be called a flare-up. A flare-up can come on gradually or suddenly, and last anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. Your skin may feel cold after a flare-up and look blue or grey. It's often not clear what causes erythromelalgia. Sometimes it's caused by another condition or a faulty gene inherited from one of your parents. At this stage, Rachel was heavily pregnant and wheelchair-bound as the condition left her with swollen limbs. 'Mentally, I was not right, I was suicidal,' Rachel said. 'I was praying the pain would stop – I couldn't take it anymore and I felt no one was listening to me, no one was taking me seriously.' Rachel delivered her baby, Michael, via an emergency C-section at Torbay Hospital on May 31, 2024. 'I couldn't have a natural birth anyway because I couldn't open my legs,' Rachel said. 'They were so swollen from the condition and my mobility was almost nothing at that point.' The couple later submitted a complaint to the maternity ward in Torbay Hospital, and the hospital apologised that 'Rachel's experience of her care was not a positive one'. 11 11 'Absolutely horrendous' It's not always clear what causes erythromelalgia, but sometimes another condition or a faulty gene inherited from a parent can be to blame, according to the NHS. Erythromelalgia can be difficult to treat, and those with the condition may need to try different treatment combinations to find ones that work. Rachel said she also suffers from uncontrollable spasms, brain fog, joint pain and loss of feeling in her extremities. The couple claim they visited Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital for Rachel's care and pain management but were told by hospital staff to 'put some socks on' and that they 'can't do anything else' to help Rachel. Rachel said the condition has weighed greatly on her mental health. 'If Michael sits on Rachel's lap for even just five minutes, it causes her thighs to flare up,' Jack said. 'Rachel is an amazing mum and to see her completely limited by something outside of her control, it's absolutely horrendous.' The mum is now trying new medications in the hopes it will relieve her symptoms. The couple have also launched a GoFundMe page, raising over £2,000 so far, to help them access scrambler therapy in Italy – a non-invasive treatment helping patients with chronic pain. 'If we have the money for another option, another treatment…I don't want Rachel to be hitting a point where she says we have nothing more to try,' Jack said. You can visit Jack and Rachel's GoFundMe page here.
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Devon hospital's virtual reality therapy 'helps cut chronic pain'
A hospital in Devon has been demonstrating new technology which is helping patients manage long-term chronic pain in a different way from medication virtual reality (VR) immersive therapy at Torbay Hospital involved patients stepping into another world and moving in ways where they were not concentrating on the pain, staff Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust has been offering the therapy to patients as an eight-week patients who had been using the VR system by Cureo said they had seen in improvement in the way they moved and had reduced their pain medication. Physiotherapist Phillipa Newton-Cross, the service lead for the pain rehabilitation team, said: "Working with pain is like trying to work with a central nervous system that is on high alert and hot-wired and alarmed all the time."It's really difficult to move when you are like that." "Learning these smooth calming skills allows you to work with your pain system less in a high alert fight-or-flight response."That's enough that you'll find that they [patients] can then manage to do better with conventional exercise."The team was awarded £29,000 from the NHS trust's League of Friends to support a clinical rehabilitation pathway using virtual reality Malpas is a patient with progressive myopathy who has problems moving his neck. He has completed an eight-week programme of therapy said: "It enabled me to move my body in different ways that I didn't know how to."I can't look left and right because of my neck being so pinned up and the pain."They managed to work out some different muscles in my body that I can use. So I can turn my body left and turn my body wife Claire said: "When we first started, I thought: 'It's no going to do much.' "But, after eight weeks and the input from all of the staff at the unit, the progression to moving more easily was astounding."I couldn't believe what I was seeing." Stuart Spray has chronic pain and has been taking painkillers for 23 years, ending up on the highest dose of codeine that could be attending the sessions, he said he had stopped taking codeine and was feeling a lot healthier than said: "My mind has to be occupied; that's the way am, I have to be analysing constantly. "When I put one of these headsets on, I just disappear. I'm more concerned about me now than solving the problem. I came off codeine three months ago completely." Since its introduction, 50 patients have used the system in south Devon. This particular software has been available in other countries since 2017, but Torbay's pain team is understood to be the first to use it in the UK.
BBC News
08-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Consultation on plans for Torquay's The Strand opens
Torbay residents and businesses have been invited to have their say on future plans for Torquay's The proposals were part of the wider regeneration plans to revitalise Torquay town centre, supported by money secured through the government's Towns design for the project, thought to be worth about £70m, featured a sweeping staircase which would "better connect" the harbourside to the Terrace, Torbay Council said. Redevelopment plans were projected to provide about 80 full-time jobs, £32m in wages and bring 86,000 new visitors over a 30-year period, it added. The consultation was open until 25 July, with feedback to be considered before a planning application was submitted, officials said. It was believed an application would be submitted in the autumn, they added.
