REDUCED opening hours at Taunton Library will come into effect from October 3 as part of massive cutbacks by Somerset County Council.

The facility will be closed on Mondays, open from 9am to 5pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 9am to 6pm on Wednesdays and 9.30am to 4pm on Saturdays.

The move represents a cut of ten hours a week to help the county’s library service trim its budget by 25%.

But libraries earmarked for closure – including Bishops Lydeard, Porlock, Priorswood in Taunton and Watchet – will remain open for the time being.

A county council spokesman said: “An injunction was put in place on July 21 which means that the county council cannot close any static library, terminate a lease or transfer equipment.

“Whilst the injunction stops the withdrawal of funding, the council is still able to change the opening hours of the 23 other libraries.”

The county is slashing millions of pounds from its spending to reduce its debt mountain at a time of decreased Government handouts to local authorities.