TORRIDGE District Council leader Philip Collins has been to Westminster to discuss issues faced by rural areas.

Cllr Collins had a one-to-one meeting with Brandon Lewis, the Minister for Local Government, to bring him up to speed with what is happening in Torridge and discuss how the district could adhere to Government plans to continue with the policy of cuts in grant funding and still stay viable.

Cllr Collins said: "It was a very productive and useful meeting and I believe Mr Lewis has a real understanding of the rural issues we face here.

"We discussed issues that affect Torridge specifically, like fairer funding for rural districts, as well as a few county-wide issues, such as education.

"I was pleased to hear an announcement about extra funding for Devon schools — that can only be good for Torridge."

For the full report, and a round-up of the area news and sport, see this week's edition of the Post.