West Country (W) Plymouth

Police say the young man killed in an axe attack at Tamerton Foliot near Plymouth was chosen at random.

This morning, friends and family of 27 year old Tanis Bhandari gathered on the green where he and friends were attacked just an hour and a half into the New Year.

Police have two men in custody and are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. and are still searching the area for a large single bladed knife also used in the attack.

The Chief Executive of Plymouth Community Homes has released a statement following the New Year's Day fire at Union Street, in which a man died.

Some of the residents have been able to return home after being given shelter at a local community centre. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

Police investigating an axe attack in Plymouth have found an axe. Officers say they are still searching for a knife.

One man is dead and several people have been injured following an alleged knife and axe attack, police said. Officers were called to a "major disturbance" at The Kings Arms in Tamerton Foliot, Plymouth at around 1.30 this morning.

Numerous callers reported a man was in possession of a knife and an axe, with further calls of disorder later received.

A 27-year-old man was found seriously injured at the scene and taken to Derriford Hospital by ambulance, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Two other men were taken to the hospital with knife injuries. Detectives are treating the death as suspicious.

A weapon was recovered and two men, aged 20 and 21, both from Plymouth, have been arrested on suspicion of murder. Devon and Cornwall Police said both suspects are being detained at Charles Cross Police Station in Plymouth.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or who was in the area during this time are asked to contact police on 101 quoting police log 169 01/01/15, or alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111

It's emerged that 150 staff working for City Link in Plymouth and Exeter will lose their jobs by the end of the week.

Many workers were told of the redundancy plans on Christmas Day after the firm went into administration. The majority of staff had no idea the company was in trouble.

Plymouth swimmer Ben Proud, a double gold medallist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, was burgled over the Christmas break but is relieved that the thief or thieves did not steal his medals.

The 20-year-old was away visiting family in London with his brother Oliver when their flat in Devonport was raided over Christmas. They made the discovery when they returned home on Saturday.

People started waiting outside Drake Circus 01:08am on Boxing Day. By 6am when the shops started to open, there were 6-hundred people waiting and by ten o clock 10,000 people had passed through the doors - all eager for a bargain.

All the predictions are that the post Christmas sales will be a major boom for the retailers. There were reports of a quieter than usual period leading up to Christmas Eve. But it appears that online sales are now working well with high street retailers.

So far the main shops are reporting that the average spend of their shoppers is up in these Boxing Day sales - which has to spell good news for high streets across the west country.

Thousands of bargain hunters across the South West have been heading to the shops for the post-Christmas sales.

Queues began forming as early as 1am at Drake Circus in Plymouth. Around 600 people were in the queue by 6am. By 10am, the Drake Circus team estimate there were over 10,000 people in the centre.

Drake Circus says trading has been strong across the period with more than half a million people visiting in the week before Christmas.

Footfall was up 2% from Sunday to Tuesday.

Father Christmas was nabbed by Plymouth's community policing team when his 'sleigh' was found without an MoT. Santa was also given a parking ticket by officers as part of Op SMART, a policing scheme to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in Devonport and the west of the city.

During a fortnight this month 22 houses were searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act, resulting in four arrests for possession with intent to supply, six warnings/fines for drug misuse and further investigations into burglaries and handling stolen goods. A further six people were also arrested for other related offences.

The police team also worked in partnership with Trading Standards to seize over 300 potentially counterfeit items from a single car boot sale, as well as working to tackle bad driving and parking offences.