HERE is a little look back at was making the headlines over the past thirty years in the omerset County Gazette.

ONE YEAR AGO May 1, 2014: BEGGING and anti-social behaviour were on the rise in Taunton due to the persistent use of legal high drugs and alcohol, said the police.

They warned that they wouldn’t put up with inconsiderate actions impacting on others, and urged people not to give money to beggars who sometimes use it for substance abuse rather than food.

WILLITON Police Station was set to shut in 2016/17, Avon and Somerset police revealed.

The closure was part of a plan to move buildings and officers closer to local people.

A statement released confirmed that the office and local policing base will move to Minehead.

FIVE YEARS AGO April 29, 2010: SUPERMARKET giant Tesco unveiled plans to expand its main Taunton store, claiming it was too small to meet customer needs.

The company said the scheme would lead to a 47% increase in floor space at the Castle Street store, off Wellington Road, and would create 90 new jobs.

HUNDREDS of people in two villages near Taunton objected to plans for a waste processing plant near their homes, fearing it would cause traffic danger and pollution.

There was mounting opposition in Creech St Michael and Creech Heathfield to plans by Tiverton-based firm John Luffman Trading for a temporary plant that could handle tens of thousands of tonnes of construction waste per year.

TEN YEARS AGO April 29, 2005: ONE of the world’s deadliest spiders was set free in the grounds of Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton. Staff said they released the spider, thought to be a Brazilian Banana Wandering Spider, after being given advice by the RSPCA.

The spider was taken to the hospital by Matthew Stevens, who was bitten by it while he was working in the kitchen of the Quantock Gateway pub.

THIRTY YEARS AGO April 26, 1985: ONE of taunton’s biggest traffic snarl-ups for years halted hundreds of lorries and cars as farmers and hauliers tried to battle their way through the market.

The jams were due to customs officials carrying out spot checks on livestock vehicles on the approaches to Taunton to check if the types of fuel being used.