Out of synch, out of luck and out of form, but still in with a chance of an npower League Two play-offs place. That is the situation Exeter City find themselves in ahead of tonight's trip to fellow promotion hopefuls Rotherham United.

Three straight defeats against teams in the bottom half of the table have put a huge dent in the promotion aspirations of the Grecians, but, while those results have not been good, there have been mitigating circumstances.

Exeter do not possess the largest of squads, and it is being tested to the hilt in the face of an injury crisis that leaves manager Paul Tisdale without his most creative and experienced players.

Matt Oakley, Alan Gow, Liam Sercombe, Steve Tully and Jamie Cureton all missed Saturday's defeat to Dagenham and Redbridge, while Tommy Doherty played despite a long-standing back problem.

After just 30 seconds of that game, Exeter then lost Kevin Amankwaah, who twisted his ankle when blocking a cross, forcing Tisdale to field the inexperienced Aaron Dawson at right-back.

"He is a future player and he is capable," Tisdale said of the home-grown talent. "He doesn't suffer from fear, he cares – as they all do – and he is a competent footballer who is getting better.

"He has been dropped into a pressurised situation and he did OK."

On the injury situation, Tisdale said: "It's funny how it goes. What can I say? It has been a difficult couple of weeks and I would like to put a hold on the next three or four weeks and go again in May.

"Unfortunately, we can't do that. We have to play some big games very quickly, so the team that is picked has to go and do the business."

It is somewhat bizarre how certain areas seem to be affected at the same time. Last week, Tisdale had to make do without his four first-choice midfielders and, tonight, it is at right-back where the real issues lie, with both Tully and Amankwaah struggling to be fit.

It is far from the ideal scenario as the Grecians make their first trip to the New York Stadium tonight to take on big-spending Rotherham. "They are all big games, but the six-pointers, which we have done OK with to be honest, are very big games," said Tisdale. It's possible we can fashion one of our away performances, but it is going to be difficult."

Exeter go into the game in seventh with the Millers one point and one place ahead of the Grecians, with a game in hand.

In many respects, it has been an under-whelming season for Steve Evans' side, who were clear favourites for the League Two title, given the huge financial investment made by the club this campaign.

"We all want to get across that line and, if you miss out, it won't really help much," Tisdale said. "Rarely would I want to view my team as a cheaper option because they are not.

"I think our players do really well and I think we get value for what we do. I like our players, although I'd like them to be fit because we don't have a lot!"

Meanwhile, a youthful City side will travel to Home Park tonight to take on Plymouth Argyle in the semi-final of the St Luke's Devon Cup.

Exeter City (from): Krysiak, Evans; Tully, Woodman, Bennett, Baldwin, Coles, Cureton, Davies, Amankwaah, O'Flynn, Bauza, Keohane, Molesley, Dawson, Moore-Taylor, Gosling, D'Ath, Chamberlain, Rodgers, Micklewright, Roper.

Doubtful: Amankwaah (ankle), Tully (toe), Doherty (back), Cureton (hamstring).

Unavailable: Sercombe (ankle), Gow (ankle), Oakley (shoulder).

A FAMILY who lost a fight to build an eco-home have won the battle to live on agricultural land in Willand and will pursue their dream of living a carbon-neutral lifestyle.

Stig and Dinah Mason had hoped to develop a house using tyres, reclaimed windows and straw at Muxbeare Orchard, which was dismissed by both Mid Devon District Council and a planning inspector.

But due to changes to planning laws, the couple are now able to convert a redundant barn into a dwelling, which will be powered by solar panels and a small wind turbine, which they will live in while they tend to allotments, a flock of chickens and pigs.

"We are going to keep it so it looks like a barn. I want it to continue to feel like that and our whole ethos is to live as lightly as possible," said Dinah.

"The National Planning Framework has changed; paragraph 55 has been added which is about the regeneration of redundant agricultural buildings.

"We have three years to start, but we will blatantly start way before then. We have got some money saved but after watching things like Grand Designs, self builds are a license to print money.

"But if we are going to do this, we are going to do it properly.

"As a family, this means we can provide a stable home for our boys, Yosse and Dali, while they are still boys and this is the fruition of a dream we have spent a long time fighting for," added Dinah.

The barn situated on the four-acre plot divides a meadow and a smallholding, which boasts 12 piglets and a breeding trio of kune kune-cross-mangalitza pigs, Ryland pedigree sheep, a flock of 35 hens and a second polytunnel made out of recycled materials.

A pair of bedrooms, with a third on a mezzanine floor and a shower room will be developed inside the barn, and the rest will be general living space, heated by a wood-burning stove and water will be treated by a reed bed sewage system.

Mid Devon District Council awarded the Masons permission to convert the redundant building into a barn and use the surrounding land for residential use, subject to a total of 12 conditions, which include the implementation of an archaeological programme and access, parking and turning areas before development starts.

A spokesman for the council, in the planning approval statement, said "the development will neither harm the privacy or amenities of the occupants of nearby dwellings, nor will it cause harm to the safe operation of the public highway. The scheme allows for suitable access, parking and other facilities at the site and there are no highway concerns.

"It is also consistent with national and local policies relating to the conversion of redundant rural buildings to dwellings."

Stig and Dinah were refused to develop the eco-home because the land earmarked was classified as open countryside. They already sell fruit, vegetables and eggs from their chickens which are kept in the smallholding.

Dinah said: "There are lots of little buildings like this barn everywhere and they will make fantastic housing for people. We will continue to do the smallholding, but that isn't a prerequisite for planning permission.

"We can still do all of the off-grid stuff, but not the straw-bale house, but we are still recycling an old building which otherwise would have gone to rack and ruin."

After a sudden windfall, the couple bought the plot for around £47,000 and were therefore able to quit their impoverished lives on a Hertfordshire council estate in 2009.

By living sustainably from their own vegetables and renewable energy where possible, they will not be a burden on the taxpayer and both Stig and Dinah are grateful for the support they have received from family, friends and like minded individuals across the UK and beyond.

They have transformed what they described as a derelict four-acre plot into a haven of self-sufficiency boasting a 400 sq m allotment, two polytunnels and greenhouses to grow fruit and vegetables, chickens for egg production and an orchard they have regenerated by planting around 14 new apple trees of various species.

The couple felt the full force of Mid Devon District Council's enforcement officers who did not believe they needed to live on the agricultural land in a converted horsebox in order to work it.

They faced magistrates on March 31, 2011, when they were served with an injunction to leave within 28 days from June 1 but at the time, Dinah said they couldn't comply with the order because they had nowhere else to go.

The family ended up living on a roadside tent and later a site for travellers but Dinah was summoned to court again for failing to remove the horsebox only days before Christmas in 2011.

Despite the support, Stig and Dinah have received their fair share of objection locally.

Willand Parish Council neither supported or objected to the latest plan to convert the barn but it was opposed by Halberton's councillors who believed it was in appropriate development in the countryside.

Mid Devon District Council received seven letters objecting to the plan and 26 in support. One supporter from the village, Tony Mander, said: "Mr and Mrs Mason are active in the community and I have no hesitation in supporting their application."

Click on the links below for more stories and reaction on Stig and Dinah Mason...

'No crime, so no action,' say police called to 'rave'

Injunction to move by the end the of month

Father writes in support of 'off-grid' family facing eviction from their own land

So can I take over a field?

We can learn from Masons

Appalling that such hard work should go to waste

A better life is in our power

A team of stretcher bearing Royal Navy Medics will be passing through Honiton on Monday, April 15, as part of a gruelling 360 mile charity challenge.
Along the way they are hoping to raise £20,000 to support wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women.
The Royal Navy Medical Service Stretcher Carry team set off from the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine in Birmingham on Thursday, April 4, and are walking a marathon a day for 14 days while carrying a stretcher.
They are due to arrive at Hasler Company, the Naval Service Recover Centre at HMS Drake in Plymouth next week.
Funds will be pledged to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine's Patient Welfare Fund, the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity and Help for Heroes.
When they reached Chipping Norton, the team had an unexpected encounter with Prime Minister David Cameron who had come to meet them.
Led by Lieutenant Jack Nicholson, patient services officer at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, the team are carrying the stretcher through 14 destinations – representing a typical patient treatment "pathway" following serious injury.
On the final day of the challenge they will be joined by Royal Marine and Olympic athlete Chris Sherrington, who represented Team GB at London 2012 as the UK's first heavyweight judoka in 20 years.
The 28-year-old said: "I am really pleased to be able to join the team on the final leg into Hasler Company – a unit which, as a Marine, is close to my heart.
"The aim of the stretcher run is to raise awareness and funds for three very important military charities who work tirelessly to improve the quality of life for servicemen and women."

A life-size, 3-D, x-ray gorilla is the latest amazing creation of a major local project linking public art and conservation.

The sculpture has been painted black with its bones picked out in dramatic ghostly white to give the appearance of an x-ray.

The striking creation is the latest design in The Great Gorillas Project, which is celebrating the 90th birthday of Paignton Zoo and raising funds for charity.

Paignton Zoo Director of Marketing & Development Pippa Craddock said: "The Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust ran a staff competition to design a gorilla. The winning entry is by Reserves Warden Dave Ellacott, whose 'X-Ray Ape' beat numerous other entries. It is a striking and unusual design – it looks amazing."

As Reserves Warden for the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, Dave's job is to look after the Primley and Clennon Gorge nature reserves close by Paignton Zoo. At various times he can be found chain-sawing, mowing, coppicing, putting up nest boxes or working with school groups. He has been in the post for 12 years and loves it. But what about art?

"While I can't draw anything more complicated than stick men, I do like to make stuff.  I do leather work - watch straps, wrist bands and so on – and I like to construct rustic wooden furniture using scrap wood or locally-sourced timber. The more I use unwanted materials the better - people call it up-cycling, but I just see it as basic common sense!" 

Dave has also dabbled with chainsaw carving and once made a life-size wooden crocodile. Where did the inspiration for his gorilla come from? "I've always been fascinated by x-rays of myself when I go to the hospital, so perhaps that was in the back of my mind!"

His design was transferred onto one of the three-dimensional sculptures by Paignton Zoo artist Sue Misselbrook. Dave's gorilla is being sponsored by Paignton Zoo and will be placed in Exeter in the summer as part of The Great Gorillas trail.

Life-size model gorillas are being sponsored by businesses and community groups, painted in original designs by specially-commissioned artists and displayed in public, creating a unique art trail around Torbay and Exeter. For more information to go www.greatgorillas.org.uk.

An emergency hotline is being set up in a bid to bring an Exeter cat killer to justice after another cat was reportedly killed in Exwick.
A reward of £250 is also being offered in the wake of the latest incident at Farm Hill.
It is understood a cat was shot by an airgun and later died in the area. It was taken to the vet but was beyond help.
It follows reports in teh Echo of mother-of-three Zoe Butterworth, 25, of Farm Hill, whose cat Missy died as a result of being shot last month, and a second cat Sonja was badly hurt when it too was hit by an airgun pellet.
In the latest incident the cat's owner approached Exwick's "local cat lady" for help and she in turn carried out her own checks.
The woman, a trained mental health professional, who has asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said she was worried the crimes could escalate.
She said: "I have a serious concern, which I feel is well justified by my knowledge of abnormal psychology, that if the individual behind these crimes is not caught quickly, we may well end up with a fully-fledged psychopath in our community."
She said: "I am willing to put up a reward of £250 to be paid to anyone providing information leading to a conviction for the cat shootings.
"I hope that others might feel able to chip in to offer a more sizeable reward.
"I would also like to set up some means whereby people could pass on information anonymously, and my current intention is to obtain an additional mobile phone number just for this purpose, and this could be used either for people wishing to give tip-offs that I could then collate and pass to the police, and/or for anyone wishing to add to a reward fund."
The woman added that she was in the process of setting up the hotline and hoped it would operating within the next few days.

An Exeter charity has described claims by work and pensions minister Iain Duncan Smith that he could live on £53 a week as "ridiculous and insensitive".

Matt Bell, chief executive of Exeter Community Initiatives, a charity that runs projects to help people facing poverty and homelessness, was speaking following a meeting of organisers of the city's soup kitchens.

"I think it is incredibly insensitive for a man like Ian Duncan Smith to claim he knows what it feels like to live in poverty.  It's ridiculous," he said. "I don't think he knows what real poverty is."

Yesterday a petition of almost half a million signatures was delivered to Mr Duncan Smith's office, the Department for Work and Pensions, calling for him to try and live for a year on a minimal income.

Mr Bell also said: "Technically he might be able to live on £53 a week but that is not the same as living in the knowledge that you may have to do that for years.

"It ignores the fact that if you are living right on the edge you just need one unexpected event and it can result in a downward spiral that may cause homelessness."

The Exeter Soup Kitchen Collaboration is largely supported by a network of volunteers whoensure that people living rough are able to get a meal.

They are holding a special event at St Stephen's Church on Saturday, April 20, from 10am to 3pm to highlight the growing problem of homelessness in Exeter, recruit volunteers and alert people to the range of organisations offering help.

Last week Mr Duncan Smith dismissed the online petition about him as a "stunt".  He told a local London newspaper that he knew what it felt like to be poor. "I have been unemployed twice in my life so I have already done this.  I know what it is like to live on the breadline, "he said.

The petition was launched by musician and part-time shop worker Dominic Aversano on the campaigning website www.change.org after hearing a market trader tell Radio 4's Today Programme he would be left with £53 a week after his housing benefit was cut.

Aaron Dawson is ready to rise to the challenge of maintaining Exeter City's quest for an npower League Two play-offs place if he is asked to fill in at Rotherham United tonight.

The 21-year-old midfielder is on standby to start at right-back if Steve Tully and Kevin Amankwaah both miss tonight's clash through injury.

Tully has a broken toe and played through the pain barrier against Rochdale last Monday, while Amankwaah hobbled off after landing awkwardly in the first 30 seconds of Saturday's defeat to Dagenham and Redbridge.

It led to Amankwaah going to hospital for an X-ray on his ankle and ,with no other options available, manager Paul Tisdale summoned Dawson from the bench – and the youngster performed admirably in an unfamiliar role.

If both Tully and Amankwaah are out tonight, then Exmouth-born Dawson is likely to make only his third start for the injury-ravaged Grecians.

"If I get the call, I will make sure that I am ready," Dawson said. "I played up at Huddersfield as a right-back last season and that was a good day. I am just looking to kick on now, really."

However, while Dawson played well against the Daggers, it was another disappointing day for the Grecians as their third straight loss left them clinging on to their play-offs place.

Dawson said that he and his team-mates will not relinquish their position without a fight – and is hoping to end the Grecians' losing run at Rotherham tonight.

"We will be giving it everything for the rest of the season," he said. "It is a massive game, but the lads are all together and hopefully we can go there and get a result. We will go there and be confident and look to bounce back. We will dust ourselves down and go again.

"We were all gutted in the changing room after the [Dagenham] game and we have to pick ourselves up now. It's good that we have the game on Tuesday as it means we don't have to wait until next Saturday, so we have a good chance to bounce back.

"We are still in the play-offs and a lot of results went our way on Saturday. As long as we look after ourselves between now and the end of the season, we will be all right.

"All the lads are giving everything that they can and we will do that for the rest of the season. We have worked hard to get into the position we are in and we are not just going to let it go."

The Grecians' cause is not being helped by so many injuries right now, but Dawson is one of those benefiting from such a situation. However, he refuses to accept that he is coming into the side under testing circumstances and is determined to show Tisdale that he is capable of doing a job for the team.

"That is what we train for and this is what I have wanted ever since I turned pro and what I dreamt about as a young boy," Dawson said. "When I get the chance, I will make sure that I am ready.

"It's better than being down at the bottom fighting against relegation. We are at the right end of the table and it is a good headache to have.

"There are some big players out, but it gives the younger lads and the squad players a chance to show what they can do, and it is up to us to take that chance."

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