A 64-year-old man has criticised "irresponsible" dog owners for ruining a unique landscape in north Devon.

Barry Bassnett said dog mess was spoiling the beauty of Braunton Burrows which is Britain's first Unesco biosphere reserve.

He has been using his disability scooter to go out and pick up the mess, but is now calling for action to be taken.

Braunton Burrows has one of the largest sand dune systems in the UK.

The burrows is owned by Christie Devon Estate Trusts‎.

Christie's agent, Raymond Coldwell, said dog bins at the burrows public car parking area were removed two years ago when the car park was no longer supervised.

"The car park is free and although it's a huge tourist attraction, it doesn't generate any income and we can't justify spending the money," he said.

Mr Coldwell said he both sympathised and agreed with Mr Bassnett.

"Sadly people don't treat places correctly," he said.

"This is a public area and if the council was to consider providing a bin service, we would be more than happy to work with it."

In a statement, North Devon District Council said it had no plans to install dog litter bins, but it reminded dog owners they could face fines and possible court action for allowing pets to foul the area.
 

A disabled woman from Cornwall is facing having her car seized after a paperwork mix-up.

Aimee Plant, 22, who has had her right leg amputated, said she relies on the government-approved vehicle provided by the charity Motability.

She admitted she may not have returned some official forms quickly, but added officials should have realised that her disability was not going to improve.

The Department for Work and Pensions said that it was looking into her case.

'New adaptations'

Miss Plant, from Helston, had her leg amputated when she was 15.

She qualified for a Motability car when she turned 16 and said she has relied on it for most aspects of daily life over the past six years, including travelling to work, shopping, and getting to hospital for regular check-ups.

That has come under threat after a mix-up over paperwork she was sent by the Department for Work and Pensions asking for an update on her situation.

She admitted she may not have returned forms quickly enough, but said officials should have been aware that "I'm not going to stop being an amputee at any point in the future".

She has been told that she has to surrender her vehicle, which is due to be taken on Friday, and apply for a new one - a process which could take months.

She said: "It's going to be nightmare, and it's probably going to cost Motability more money to issue me a new car because a new one will have to be adapted as we have to start the scheme from scratch."

Miss Plant added that she was hoping that there would be a positive outcome because she was due to start a new job next week.
 

A public consultation on the future of six special needs centres in Wiltshire ends on Monday.

The council is proposing to close the centres, which are attached to schools, following a review which suggested they were under-used.

But headteacher Jeff Staton said the Malmesbury centre, one of those which could close, improved pupils' life chances and should stay open.

A decision is expected at the council's cabinet meeting in September.

The other centres under review are in Wootton Bassett, Tidworth, Durrington, Mere, and Salisbury.

A petition to save the centre at Longleaze Primary School, Wootton Bassett, has been handed to the council.

'Terrific progress'

The council has said the money for the centres would be better spent on funding other resources or helping mainstream schools improve special educational needs provision.

Pupils would either move to other specialist centres or go into the main school.

Mr Staton said: "The provision we have offered in Malmesbury has always been based on the highest principles of inclusion.

"It has been shaped by the needs of our local community and has enabled children to make terrific progress whatever their needs.

"The life chances for all these children, including the most vulnerable, have been made significantly better by the impact of the work of the specialist learning centre."

Tristan Cork, chairman of the governors, said: "Closing the unit will devastate the provision not just for those children affected, but for all the children."
 

Members of the public are to be given time to ask questions at Gloucestershire County Council cabinet meetings.

The decision was made at a full council meeting earlier following a recommendation from the constitution committee.

Thirty minutes will be allocated for questions about items on the agenda.

A committee spokesman said it was hoped the move would encourage more people to get involved in local politics.

( And also give 'disability interest groups' a chance to be heard - The Ed. )

A mother claims she was forced to take her diabetic daughter out of a school in Plymouth because staff refused to supervise insulin injections.

Helen Birchall's daughter Becky, five, has been moved from Widewell Primary School to a school which supervises injections.

Widewell's chairman of governors has apologised for "deficiencies in our policies and procedures".

Plymouth City Council said school staff were being given necessary training.

Becky had only just started at Widewell in March 2009 when she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

The result was that she needed an injection of insulin before lunch every day and had to carry out up to three blood tests a day while at school.

Mrs Birchall, 30, said the school refused to supervise her injections or blood tests.

Director's concern

She said: "They told us that it would be in Becky's best interests to take her away from the school.

"This obviously made it very difficult because she had to be taken away from friends that she loved and teachers that she loved in a school that she loved."

Chair of governors Rhodri Davey said in a letter to Mrs Birchall: "If a proper policy and procedure had been in place, I am sure that this would have been avoided."

Becky is now at another Plymouth school.

Mrs Birchall said: "I think care of children with diabetes should be standardised throughout all schools across the UK."

Bronwen Lacey, Plymouth's director of children's services, said she "shared the concern" about how Widewell treated Becky.

Officers were now giving staff advice and training on supervising children with diabetes.

According to governors, that is expected to be in place by September.
 

A campaign against plans to cut a deaf studies programme at Bristol University is being stepped up.

An emergency motion was introduced at the start of the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) disability conference to back the campaign to save the course.

Protests were held in Bristol last week against the proposals which could lead to nine job losses.

The university said the degree was going for academic reasons, as part of a review of the social science faculty.

'Academic considerations'

The TUC motion called on delegates to sign a petition on the social networking site Facebook, opposing the cuts.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said: "[The TUC], like us, recognise the incredible work the staff in the centre do delivering one of the only degree courses in deaf studies.

"Closing the course would have ramifications for deaf people throughout the country. The options available to people wishing to learn sign language, or how to teach it, would also be massively reduced."

A spokesman for the university said: "The money-saving aspect is a secondary reason. The BSc is being withdrawn because of academic considerations.

"Part of this is to due the students' own assessment, but also its relevance to the wider interest of the faculty."
 

Twenty blue badges have been confiscated in Gloucestershire in a crackdown on fraudulent use.

Four people were given warnings and 13 people reported to police for misuse of the disabled parking badges in the operation in Cheltenham and Gloucester.

Councillor Stan Waddington from Gloucestershire County Council said using a relative's badge or a stolen one was classed as fraud.

"It also prevents genuine users from finding a space to park," he said.

'Crackdown welcomed'

"The maximum fine if someone is convicted is £1,000 or even a custodial sentence if the badge is a fake or stolen," he said.

"Misusing it by allowing other people to use it could also result in the badge being taken away."

A spokeswoman for the Gloucestershire Disability Forum said she welcomed the operation.

"Disabled drivers feel that blue badge fraud impacts on them as it adversely affects the general public's view of blue badge holders as a whole," she said.

"They, quite rightly, question why an able-bodied person has a badge, not realising that the badge is a fake or being misused."

The blue badge scheme allows people with severe mobility problems to park in allocated spaces.

It is estimated 6,000 are stolen each year.

The operation was run as a partnership between Gloucestershire County Council, Gloucester City Council its parking contractor Apcoa Parking UK, and Cheltenham Borough Council.
 

A disabled man from Cornwall has been told by the council that he would have to pay more than £3,000 to create a disabled parking bay outside his home.

David Beard, 59, from Penzance, who has had cancer and spinal problems, said he needed a bay because his road was often crowded and he had problems walking.

Cornwall Council said it accepted he was eligible for such a bay as a vehicle blue badge holder.

But it added it currently had no money for any one-off bays in the county.

Mr Beard - who had been treated for a brain abscess, had cancer of the bladder and has three crumbling vertebrae - said that being able to park outside his own house was an "extremely rare situation".

'Very stressful'

He said: "It's a rare occurrence where you can find a space in the street, let alone outside my property."

Mr Beard occasionally parks in a nearby council-run car park, but he can only leave his car there for three hours before he has to move it again.

His wife, Tina, said having to monitor how long the car was parked and then move it again when time ran out was "very stressful".

She added: "David's under enough stress as it is with the illnesses he's got."

The council said: "The costs of the process for creating an isolated parking bay will exceed £3,000 and, unfortunately, the council has no control over the costs involved.

"It involves drafting a legal order, the deposition of documents, an expensive public notice as part of a public consultation exercise, the consideration of objections and further newspaper advertisements of the final decision.

"All this has to take place before any signs and lines can actually physically be put into place.

"There is no funding available for any one-off bays in the county and we're unable to accept requests for them."