Customs coup brings £10m drugs haul

FALMOUTH was at the centre of another massive drugs operation this week as Customs men intercepted a £10 million haul of cannabis bound from Africa for the North West of England.

It was the second time in only a month that illegal drugs were discovered on vessels off the Cornish coast.

Three tons of cannabis from Africa was unloaded on Tuesday and yesterday at St Ives and Falmouth after a Customs and Excise swoop on a 700-ton rig supply vessel and its heavily loaded lifeboat.

Eight men were arrested. All were said to be from the North West. In a North West Regional Crime Squad swoop in North Wales a further three were arrested.

It is thought the drugs had come from Morocco like those found in a schooner off Falmouth earlier this month and the £13 million worth discovered late last year on a yacht in the Helford.

A number of men involved in those incidents are at present awaiting trial.

SW Water 'did all it could' in meat firm blaze

AN inquiry by the National Rivers Authority has cleared South West Water of any blame after the mains water supply of Falmouth was contaminated while firefighters fought the blaze which destroyed the St Merryn Meat factory.

The inquiry found that South West Water did all they could to resolve the situation during the fire. The National Rivers Authority are said to have directed the fire service to take action to prevent the run-off of contaminated water heading to a local stream and Swanpool during the blaze.

"Somehow it appears that in the confusion this contaminated water was siphoned back into the mains water supply and began to spread into supplies in the Swanvale area," said a report given to this week's Carrick environmental services committee.

Residents in the area were advised to keep doors and windows closed because of the potentially toxic elements in the fumes following the combustion of large amount of plastic packing and insulation materials.

It was only later that problems with the water supply were found.

Landlord set to lose fight for pub sign on bypass

AFTER winning the first round in his fight to be allowed to advertise his pub along the Carnon Downs bypass, the landlord of Devoran's only inn looks set to lose the second round.

Peter Stewart was given the thumbs-up for the signs by Carrick's planning committee last December, but because the application is contrary to policy it now has to go before the district's planning policy committee tonight. At tonight's meeting councillors will be urged by the council's deputy planning officer, Alan Rigby, to refuse the application.

The signs at the centre of the application measure about two feet square and are currently on display at Mid Devoran Farm which runs adjacent to the bypass. They direct drivers to the Old Quay Inn in Devoran about half a mile away.

Mr Stewart told the previous committee members that his pub has been advertised on the route for over 30 years. "The sign is, and always has been, the inn's lifeline," he said.