Cornwall and south Devon 'originally part of mainland Europe'

Study reveals Britain acquired regions when struck by land bearing what is now France

With what can only be described as unfortunate timing, researchers have discovered that there is a corner of Britain that will forever belong to mainland Europe.

Analysis of rock from deep beneath the ground reveals that the UK only acquired Cornwall and parts of south Devon when it was struck by the landmass bearing what is now France some hundreds of millions of years ago.