The Isles of Scilly is one of the top travel destinations among internet users, new research reveals.

According to a survey by Continental Research, 29% of British citizens who booked a holiday online this year chose a UK destination, compared to 22% who chose Spain and 11% who chose France.

Scilly was named as one of the most desired destinations in the UK.

Devon and Cornwall were also popular, followed by the Lake District and Scotland.

Reasons for holidaying in the UK included visiting friends and family and enjoying the country’s rural areas, mountains and beaches.

Colin Shaddick, director of Continental Research, said: “What is noticeable is the UK holiday market has improved considerably in recent years, with innovative boutique hotels, well-reviewed restaurants and stunning scenery being some of the reasons why people are rediscovering it.

“Clearly the UK’s hit and miss weather drives many holidaymakers abroad. However, it does rate favourably as a main holiday destination for other reasons.

In particular the opportunity to visit friends and family, stay in a holiday home, enjoy the mountains and countryside as well as having things to do for the children.

This mix of reasons will help the UK appeal to a wider market and explain its growing popularity.”

Tourist organisation VisitBritain says it expects the number of overseas visitors to the UK to rise next year.

The poll also found that 17 million people expect to book all or part of their 2007 holiday on the internet.

With his resignation imminent and all the burdens of office upon him, it seems Harold Wilson had one thing uppermost in his mind in January 1976 - whether his dog would be able to join him on holiday.

The former Prime Minister stepped in personally when he believed his precious pet Paddy was about to be banned from the family’s Scilly holiday home, records reveal.

Previously restricted documents show a flurry of phone calls and urgent letters between the former Prime Minister and the Islands? council in early 1976.

It started when newspapers reported on January 14 that the council had proposed a ban on visitors’ dogs to prevent rabies spreading from France.

But Paddy’s presence in the Church Road bungalow was non-negotiable to the PM.

The council?s then chief executive Roland Phillips wrote a grovelling letter to Wilson on the same day, documents released by the National Archives at Kew under the 30-year rule show.

Mr Phillips wrote that a colleague ?rang me late last night to warn me that the Committee’s deliberations yesterday on the subject of Rabies was blowing up into a lot of stupidity hinging round your poor unfortunate dog?.

He said Wilson was right to be ?furious? and said he could ?well appreciate it”.

The letter said the council was anxious about animals coming ashore off yachts from the Continent and it had debated whether hoteliers could be persuaded to refuse to accept guests with dogs.

Mr Phillips wrote: “There was absolutely no intention of trying to effect any control over ?residents? dogs, in which category you would, of course, come, and the whole arrangement would, of course, have to be entirely voluntary.

?We can’t for the life of us understand why people want to bring dogs on yachts but they seem to want to do so.”

He added: “Our sincere apologies for the way in which all this has been blown up into a lot of nonsense around you -I suppose it is inevitable these days!?

But Wilson was not reassured, and within two days the Prime Minister was given a note headed ?PADDY?, and a draft of a response to the Islands. A handwritten note signed HW reads: ?Please see draft and have worked at quickly [sic].?

And on January 27, he sent a letter saying that such a ban ?would do little to safeguard the indigenous canine population?.

?Any steps designed to safeguard both the islands and the mainland would have to be related to control over French and other continental vessels,” he argued.

?This is a problem not only for the Isles of Scilly but for other islands, and those parts of the mainland [eg Cornwall] regularly visited by the yachts, and it, therefore, seems to me that the problem should be studied on a wider basis.?

There were 92 reported crimes on Scilly between April and December this year, up 12 from the same period in 2005.

The figure is a rise of 15% on last year.

Here is the reported crime breakdown followed by the number of instances of the same offence last year (in brackets).

17 violent assaults (20)
1 sexual offence (3)
6 cases of house burglary (2)
3 cases of other burglary (4)
6 theft of vehicle/taking without consent (0)
6 theft from vehicle (2)
5 theft of cycle (7)
2 cases of shoplifting (0)
26 other thefts (17)
2 cases of forgery and fraud (2)
15 cases of criminal damage (18)
2 drug offences (3)
1 other (3)

Scilly is famous for its low crime rate, but here are just a few areas with less crime than Scilly per 1000 of the population during the summer season:
East Devon
West Devon
Mid Devon
Caradon
Ryedale
Richmondshire
East Hampshire
Mid Bedfordshire
East Cambridgeshire
Ribble Valley
Rutland
North East Derbyshire

And it’s not all throwing billiard balls through pub windows on Scilly - per 1000 of the population, you’re more likely to have your house burgled or bike stolen here than in Caradon in Cornwall (just as an example) and just as likely to be the victim of a violent assault.

But don’t have nightmares - criminal damage is half as likely as in Caradon, as are several other offences, and there are parctically no serious incidents. Scilly still has a very low crime rate, especially in winter.

But locals shouldn’t be complacent - it’s not as low as some of us would like to believe.

Newquay Airport, which is used by Skybus, has been awarded an ?8 million grant from the South West Regional Development Agency (RDA).

The RDA will invest the money towards maintaining the airport and developing regional services, including links to Scilly and London.

The grant appears to safeguard its future after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced it was withdrawing from RAF St Mawgan, the airport?s site, next year.

The RDA said it decided to make the investment because the airport was key to the economic regeneration of Cornwall.

The number of passengers moving is set to top 400,000 this year, but the council is aiming for one million.

On a less positive note, a plane was forced to make an emergency landing at the airport last week when a wheel fell from the undercarriage after take-off.

The Air Southwest flight to London Gatwick had just left the runway. All 33 passengers and four crew were taken off the plane without injury.

Isles of Scilly residents have been officially named the most active in England.

While the biggest ever sports and recreation study has revealed that we are a nation of couch potatoes, Scilly News reported back in August that Islanders are leading the pack.

We published the interim results of the study three months ago - http://scillynews.severecci.net/?p=11538 - but the official statistics have now been released.

They show that half the population do not take part in any sport or active recreation at all.

Sport England, the agency that develops community sport, found that just one in five adults ? mainly young wealthy white men from the south-east - does the recommended 30 minutes of exercise three times a week.

But 32% of people on Scilly meet the 30 minutes criteria, compared to a national average of 21%.

Richmond upon Thames was the most active borough in mainland England with 29.8%. while areas hosting the 2012 Olympics, like Newham, are among the least active.

The South West was the second most active region, behind the South East.

The agency questioned 1,000 people in each of England?s 355 boroughs for the Active People Survey, which examines the participation of adults (16 years and over) in sport and active recreation in England.

It began in October 2005, and finished (with 363,724 completed interviews) a year later.

Minister for Sport Richard Caborn said the survey showed disappointing levels of participation in sport and called for individuals to take responsibility for their health and fitness.

But Liberal Democrat spokesman Don Foster said there should be more action and fewer statistics.

He pointed out that the cost of the survey - ?6 million of Lottery players? money - was enough to pay for over 100 football pitches or two weeks’ gym fees for all of the 360,000 respondents.

A former Islands visitor has made an emotional appeal - for a lost tortoise.

In the early 1970s Cynthia Page (previously Ball) was visiting Nancy Ball with her family and a baby tortoise answering to the name of MeatPie.

Cynthia claims Nancy “popped MeatPie into the garden of Diane Pearce”, who was living next door to Lloyds Bank, whilst she went into the Kavorna.

When she came out MeatPie was gone and it was the last Cynthia ever saw of him.

tortoiseold.jpg

But in Autumn this year she heard that Diane had once found a tortoise in her garden.

“It’s got to be MeatPie,” Cynthia wrote to ScillyNews. “And, as tortoises live, he’s probably still alive and longing to be reunited with his original owner - then six-year-old Sally-Jo Page, now 36-year-old SJ Page.”

The appeal has featured in the ScillyNews guestbook - and Cynthia is looking forward to some good news.

But a local said: “The place is overrun with tortoises. How can people tell which one is MeatPie?”

The Isles of Scilly council has achieved a perfect record in deciding its planning applications.

The authority is one of only three in the country to decide 100% of its major planning decisions within 13 weeks.

77% of local planning authorities (LPAs) met or surpassed the Government’s target to decide 60% of major applications decided within 13 weeks in the year ending September 2006.

But the Scilly, Ribble Valley (Lancashire) and Yorkshire Dales National Park authorities managed a perfect record.

Local planning authorities (LPAs) are continuing to improve their performance in handling planning applications, Planning Minister Baroness Andrews announced.

She said: “I warmly welcome the improvement in performance that has been made by so many local planning authorities.

“Efficiency will be rewarded. I announced earlier this week, authorities that deliver on all targets will be rewarded with a lump sum of ?50,000 through the Planning Delivery.”