THREE people were hurt in a four-vehicle shunt near Torre station in Torquay.

Police and paramedics attended the accident scene on the Newton Road during yesterday afternoon's rush hour.

One of the casualties suffered a head injury in the knock while two others were treated at the scene for whiplash and neck injuries.

No-one needed treatment at Torbay Hospital.

The accident happened just after 5.40pm.

Three of the vehicles were registered to keepers in Torquay — a silver Vauxhall Vectra, a green Rover 124 and a silver Peugeot 106.

A grey Vauxhall Cavalier from Paignton was also caught up in the bump which caused heavy traffic congestion while the scene was cleared.

CONTROVERSIAL plans for Exeter to secure unitary status have been compared to Marmite by a Government minister.

The claim came as opponents challenged the legality of the move.

Torbay Lib Dem MP Adrian Sanders branded as 'nonsense' Government claims that a unitary Exeter would still be able to achieve the same economies of scale as the county in providing public services such as social care, and fellow Lib Dem MP for Teignbridge Richard Younger-Ross agreed.

Junior Local Government Minister Barbara Follett said: "The proposals have a Marmite-like quality: people either love them or hate them."

MORE than 280 homes were plunged into darkness when a power cable was severed in Kingskerswell.

The blackout, which included homes and street lights, happened at 11.32pm on Tuesday and lasted until after midnight.

Western Power Distribution said they were aware of the cable fault and did all they could to sort the problem out quickly.

John Farley, 68, a retired bus driver who lives in Kingskerswell, said: "Everything went black. It wasn't just houses it was also the street lights. As far as I could see, it was a real blackout."

A spokesman for Western Power Distribution said 286 customers were affected by the power cut.

She said: "We had everyone reconnection to the grid by 12.04am. It could have been caused by all sorts of things including the bad weather."

AN OPPORTUNIST thief stole a wallet containing £150 after the owner left it on the counter after paying for fuel at the Carew filling station on the A38 near South Brent.

RAIDERS have struck at two homes in Dartmouth, breaking in through windows and stealing cash and other property. Thieves got into one home in Clarence Hill between last Wednesday and Saturday through a set of patio doors before stealing an unknown quantity of cash and a TV set. They struck at a home in Vicarage Hill between 9.30am on Saturday and 1.30pm on Monday by smashing a basement window. Police are still waiting for the owners to return before they can discover what has been taken.

THE proposal to set up a new Torbay harbour board will go before the full council on May 12 and not March 12 as reported in our recent story.