BUMPER ticket sales have put the Wellesley Cinema in Wellington, ten per cent up on last year, meaning more improvement work can be done. Big-budget Hollywood movies, which pull in the punters, are being hailed as the reason for the hike in ticket sales
PUPILS at Wellington's Court Fields Community School were honoured for all their hard work and dedication at the annual awards evening. The last full school year was a huge success for Court Fields with good exam results and an outstanding OFSTED report
A SPECIAL celebration of sport in Wellington took place on Saturday night. More than 125 people attended the first Wellington Sports Awards, organised by the town's Federation of Sports Clubs and held at the Cleve Hotel and Country Club. Guest of honour
A WEST Buckland couple are all set to start rearing pheasants for commercial shoots. Barry Smith and Sara Jenkin will run the enterprise from a disused quarry at Ford Bridge, on the outskirts of Milverton. They received the green light at Wednesday's
A NEW information centre opened in Wellington at the weekend to provide health information and advice. The service, a join project by the Westcountry Health Education and Research Enterprise (WHERE) and the Wellington and District Healthy Living Centre
EXCITEMENT is mounting for tonight's (Friday) Victorian Evening and grand switch-on of the Christmas lights in Ilminster. Christmas trees and lights have been decorated with colourful lights, and shopkeepers are getting ready to dress up in Victorian
ALL six panels of a Chard phone box were smashed last week. BT spokesman Jason Mann confirmed vandals were to blame for the incident, which happened last Wednesday on Chard Business Park. "Chard is not generally an area which has a problem with vandalism
OLD Cleeve resident Oliver Robertshaw has been recognised for his website creation skills. Oliver, who is in his final year at Oxford University, has been responsible for the creation of the websites for both the University's Isis Magazine and the Cherwell
RESTORATION work has begun to replace missing chimneys at Minehead Station. All bar one were blown down or made unsafe in the winter storms of 1989. Now, the survivor is being used as a model for the construction of replica chimneys. West Somerset Railway
SPECIAL high speed trains from Bristol will bring visitors to Dunster by Candlelight for the first time this year. First Great Western will operate a service from Bristol Temple Meads to Dunster, along the preserved West Somerset Railway. Dunster bids
SKIVING school kids are being targeted in Minehead in a major crackdown on truancy. Community beat officers and educational support workers patrolled the town centre on Wednesday in Operation Gotcha! looking for youngsters, including those accompanied
PROPOSALS for traffic calming on the busy A3141 between Woolavington and East Huntspill have been slammed as "a death trap" by people who have spent years campaigning for better road safety in the area. The road is often clogged by heavy lorries seeking
WORLD famous chef Raymond Blanc is to officially unveil the latest phase in the £15 million development of Somerset College of Arts and Technology next Friday (December 3). Raymond will be the guest of honour at the launch of the Atrium, the stunning
THE search is on for Somerset's 'specsiest' glasses wearers. Specsavers has launched a contest to find the sexiest specs wearer in the UK. Whoever wins Mr or Miss Sexy Specs 2005 will scoop a year's modelling contract, a two-week holiday for two in Mexico
FUN was the name of the game on Friday as hundreds of people, including children of all ages, joined forces in Taunton Deane and West Somerset to raise money for the BBC Children in Need appeal. Full report and lots of pictures in this week's Somerset
THE National Endometriosis Society needs adventurous volunteers for a fundraising parachute jump next spring. The tandem skydives from 10,000ft, attached to a professional instructor, can be taken from any of over 20 British Parachute Association-approved
WORK will start next spring on an £8million 733-space multi-storey car park at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital. The stack, which received the go-ahead from Taunton Deane planners on Wednesday, will create 440 extra parking spaces when it opens a year
CELEBRITY chef and former Wellington School student Keith Floyd was banned from driving this week after admitting being three-and-a-half times over the legal limit when his car was involved in a crash. The 60-year-old, who grew up in Wiveliscombe but
SOMERSET residents are urged to buy a cow for Christmas for a moo-ving cause. Staff at Send a Cow, set up by a group of West Country farmers, are urging people to make a gift of a cow to poor families in Africa to help them become self-sufficient. You
YOUR County Gazette is today calling on the Government to ensure plans for a vital bridge over the Silk Mills level crossing near Taunton are not de-railed. Fears have emerged that the Department of Transport might backtrack on its pledge to put up over
WITH the winter well upon us the National Blood Service is urging more people in Somerset to donate to help meet the constant demand. As seasonal coughs, colds and flu start to spread, many people who usually donate are unable to do so - leaving the service
WORK got under way this week to make the stretch of motorway between Wellington and Tiverton quieter. Roadworks to improve the road service on the M5 began on Monday and are expected to last until next March. The aim of the work, which will cost around
MONKTON Heathfield could expand to have the same number of homes as Wellington, Taunton Deane's second largest town. The village is already set to double in size within seven years, with 1,000 new homes and 1,600 acres of employment land allocated in
THE rain failed to dampen the sparkle at the Taunton Christmas lights switch-on ceremony last Thursday night. Large crowds turned out for the festive fun despite the wet weather. Around 5,000 people packed into the town centre for the celebrations and
VOLUNTEERS are needed to keep an eye on parish and district councillors. The Taunton Deane Standards Committee, which scrutinises councils and ensures that councillors observe a code of conduct, needs new members. There are two committee vacancies for
FUN was the name of the game on Friday as hundreds of people, including children of all ages, joined forces in Taunton Deane and West Somerset to raise money for the BBC Children in Need appeal. Full report and lots of pictures in this week's Somerset
BOSSES at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital are trying to save more than £1million - by taking on more staff. The board of the Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust believe they will save money by actively recruiting key clinical staff. They are determined to
OXFAM in Taunton is to hold a candlelit vigil for World AIDS Day on December 1. The vigil in High Street from 5pm to 6pm is a chance for everyone to remember all the HIV and AIDS sufferers around the world over Christmas. Other World AIDS Day events include
A VANDAL attack on the evening of Thursday, November 18, on a number of cars at PH Autos and HGF Motors in Galmington caused £1,500 damage. Sales cars and a customer's car were targeted, and company owner Toby Holland said: "It looked like the attacks
A SOMERSET cancer charity has been backed by a father whose 39-year-old East Huntspill daughter is suffering from the illness. Alan Reed has asked people to think about reaching into their pockets and giving cash to help the Somerset Unit for Radiotherapy
VOLUNTEERS are needed to keep an eye on parish and district councillors. The Taunton Deane Standards Committee, which scrutinises councils and ensures that councillors observe a code of conduct, needs new members. There are two committee vacancies for
YEAR 12 pupils at Kingsmead School have been honoured for their hard work at the annual GCSE Presentation Evening. The event, at the school last Wednesday evening, was particularly special as this year's results were the best ever. Taunton Mayor Cllr
NEW play equipment is providing pupils at St John's Church of England Primary School, in Wellington, with something new to do at break times. The recently-installed equipment, on a safe all-weather surface, gives the older children a new climbing frame
TAUNTON Deane Council has been landed with a legal bill of nearly £40,000 after it unsuccessfully tried to evict a Wiveliscombe family who filmed people who harassed them for four years. At Taunton County Court, district judge, Recorder Christopher Clark
CELEBRITY chef and former Wellington School student Keith Floyd (pictured) was banned from driving this week after admitting being three-and-a-half times over the legal limit when his car was involved in a crash. The 60-year-old, who grew up in Wiveliscombe
WORK got under way this week to make the stretch of motorway between Wellington and Tiverton quieter. Roadworks to improve the road service on the M5 began on Monday and are expected to last until next March. The aim of the work, which will cost around
PLANS for a new half-million pound hall at Wiveliscombe Evangelical Congregational Church were unveiled to the town at the weekend. An open morning was held at the church on Saturday morning for residents to view the proposals for the new community facility
PEOPLE power could topple a century-old regime and bring independence to Alcombe. The village, an appendage of Minehead since the start of the 20th Century, could soon get its own parish council for the first time in 100 years. A grassroots poll will
WORK to change controversial speed limits in West Somerset starts later this month. Alterations will be made on the A358 and A39 between Taunton and Minehead during the next couple of weeks and will be completed by the end of February. Most of the existing
FUN was the name of the game on Friday as hundreds of people, including children of all ages, joined forces in Taunton Deane and West Somerset to raise money for the BBC Children in Need appeal. Full report and lots of pictures in this week's Somerset
PLANS to transform Dulverton into a winter wonderland were well in hand this week. The town will be festooned with twinkling white lights and Christmas trees during December. The festive season will be kicked off with a 'Dulverton by Starlight' event
FARMERS in West Somerset are being warned to expect a blitz by health and safety inspectors in December. Officials will descend unannounced demanding to test tractors, all terrain vehicles and other farm transport. They will also want to see evidence
A PLEA has gone out for sighted volunteers to help West Somerset's visually impaired people with their Christmas shopping. The call has come from Maggie Harrison, West Somerset's volunteer visitor coordinator for Somerset Association for the Blind. She
DEPRIVED children in Eastern and Central Europe will have a happy Christmas this year, thanks to the efforts of youngsters in Minehead. The kids of Monstas Inc after school club, based at Dunster First School, have been working hard to pack more than
A SUSPICIOUS e-mail has triggered a warning to internet users from Devon police. They have acted after a Devon man received an e-mail on Thursday morning from a group claiming to be the Sun Trust Bank. It asked for his credit card number and on-line banking
PURRFECT 'Pickle' wooed the judges at the 'Supreme Cat Show' at Birmingham's NEC. Pickle, a brown tortie Burmese owned by Di Phillips in West Lyng, now has the title 'UK Grand Premier Hobberdy Comanche Warpaint' after winning three premier titles. Governing
ORGANIC dairy farmers Tom and Tara Morris have won a competition to find the best livestock farmer in Britain. At the finals of the National Grassland Management Competition run by the British Grassland Society the couple, of East Lydeard Farm, Bishops
BOSSES at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital are trying to save more than £1million - by taking on more staff. The board of the Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust believe they will save money by actively recruiting key clinical staff. They are determined to
NATIONAL retailer Carpetright has been fined £3,000 for failing to ensure the safety of staff at its Taunton branch. The company pleaded guilty to the offence before Taunton Deane Magistrates last week and was also ordered to pay £429 costs. The court
A VICAR has gone off sick with stress after he was kicked off the board of governors at his village Church of England primary school. The Church of England, which advised on his dismissal, said it still has "full faith" in the Rev David Manning as the
POLICE and social workers are collaring skiving youngsters as they shop or make mischief in Taunton in a major crackdown on truancy. There will be a series of swoops in the run-up to Christmas as part of the police's crime and disorder-busting Operation
A FIRE believed to have been started deliberately at the new Tesco Express on Severn Drive, Taunton, caused £50,000 damage. Firefighters were called to the shop shortly after 1.45am last Friday (November 19), after reports of a fire at the store. When
A TAUNTON couple has told how they are struggling to come to terms with the loss of their "kind, considerate and generous" son. An inquest heard this month how Colin Eley, 20, of Wansbeck Green, hanged himself from a tree at Wellington Monument in July
WORK will start next spring on an £8 million 733-space multi-storey car park at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital. The stack, which received the go-ahead from Taunton Deane planners on Wednesday, will create 440 extra parking spaces when it opens a year
NATIONAL retailer Carpetright has been fined £3,000 for failing to ensure the safety of staff at its Taunton branch. The company pleaded guilty to the offence before Taunton Deane Magistrates last week and was also ordered to pay £429 costs. The court
YOUR County Gazette is today calling on the Government to ensure plans for a vital bridge over the Silk Mills level crossing near Taunton are not de-railed. Fears have emerged that the Department of Transport might backtrack on its pledge to put up over
