The boss of a local taxi firm was setting off on a 1,500-mile mission of mercy to help Ukrainian refugees by delivering a van-load of badly-needed supplies. Darren Tait, who runs St Ann’s Chapel-based Darren’s Cars, made up his mind to run the supplies to Poland after watching harrowing scenes of families fleeing war-torn Ukraine on television.

An Okehampton resident from Ukraine said he had been ‘overwhelmed’ by the support from the local people. Slava Nodd, who grew up in Ukraine, described the British response to the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis as ‘incredible’ as friends and family came forward to offer him their support.

Council chiefs were considering prefabricated homes as part of their campaign to solve a growing housing crisis in West Devon, it emerged.

Thousands of pounds worth of damage have been inflicted on two railway carriages stored at Meldon by the Dartmoor Railway Association.

Tavistock builder Colin Clarke went on a life-changing mission to raise money to buy a minivan to take Ukrainian refugees from refugee centres to safe homes. He made an impassioned plea to Tavistock and Tamar Valley residents asking for donations to buy a £10,000 17-seat ‘Van for Life.’

Okehampton’s mayor Bob Tolley completed his first ‘Challenge the Mayor’ request which saw him act as a dogs body for the North Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team (NDSART). To raise money for his chosen charity, Cllr Tolley spent a rainy night on the moor pretending to be a lost and injured person, what the NDSART call a dogs body.

A major incident was declared as a moorland fire stretched for up to two miles across Dartmoor. The police made the declaration as more than ten fire crews tackled the blaze near Yelverton.

The suspension of an outreach service offering chemotherapy at Okehampton Community Hospital for six months has left cancer patients facing a 25-mile journey to hospital in Exeter. One cancer patient in the town described the halting of the weekly service as ‘tragic’ for seriously ill people.

The leader of a rail group petitioning for the return of the Tavistock to Bere Alston railway said he was ‘optimistic’ of its return as he issued a rallying cry to people in Tavistock to attend a key meeting about the project.

The Tor Support Services and the North Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team reported that they were dealing with a higher number of children with mental health problems than ever before.

A leading councillor has apologised over the latest disruption to residents’ waste collections in West Devon which saw nearly 800 properties missed.

One of the organisers of the first-ever Pride festival in Tavistock admitted that it took some courage to decide to stage the event. But Heg Brignall said the festival had received ‘overwhelming support’ from the local community.

Following a survey into business owners’ opinions on Okehampton’s commercial success, Okehampton Town Council will approach businesses to suggest establishing a business improvement district (BID) which would see businesses given a greater say in the running of the area.

The Dartmoor Commoners’ Council has added its voice to calls for dogs to be kept under control on Dartmoor’s open spaces to prevent sheep worrying.