Newquay, we have a problem: does Cornwall need a spaceport?

The seaside town is the frontrunner in an unlikely UK space race. Could a spaceport launch a new era of prosperity, or is it a galactic dream too far?

There is only one gate at Newquay Airport's departure lounge, where the planes park as close as cars to a petrol station, and the wireless broadband doesn't work. At the coffee shop's "Destination Cornwall" display, you can buy clotted cream shortbread, clotted cream fudge and, if your lily required further gilding, Poldark-themed Cornish ale.

There's a newspaper rack, too, which has run out of this week's edition of the Cornish Guardian. It was published on Wednesday and, next to a voucher for a two-for-one "coffee and traybake" offer at Warrens Bakery, carried a startling front-page story.