RUGBY legend Martin Johnson, who captained England to the World Cup in 2003, was banned from driving for 49 days and fined £800 at Taunton Deane Magistrates' Courts after admitting speeding at 107mph on the M5.

BEVERLEY Moore and her daughter Emily were admitted to Musgrove Park Hospital after being bitten by a false widow spider.

Emily was kept in after she went to visit her mum, whose was being treated for a nip to the finger, and showed a doctor a swelling on her neck that had been caused by the spider.

TAUNTON couple John and Jan Brooks vowed never to visit Spain again after their dream retirement home in Andalusia was bulldozed by the authorities because a rogue developer had built it without planning permission.

HELEN Adams, whose daughter Bethany-Paige, 17, died in a car crash on the A358 in West Somerset, backed calls by Avon and Somerset's Chief Constable for speed cameras to be switched back on.

TAUNTON Carnival was described as “the best ever” after thousands lined the streets of the county town for an evening of razzmatazz.

Among the big winners were Harlequin Carnival Club with their City of Rock entry.

DIONE and Richard Buss won £1.8million in the Lotto draw - the Stogursey couple nearly chucked their ticket out without checking it.

GEORGE Coate and Joanna Correya, who run Adcombe Park Alpacas, lost the Blackdown Hills home they built themselves in a fire.

Fortunately they had moved out that night to stay with relatives because they were worried a predicted storm could send nearby trees crashing onto their home.

DOZENS of jobs were lost when family butcher Gerald David closed five shops after they went into administration.