THE first girl's only skate session held at Unit 6, Wellington's indoor skate park, proved very popular this week. The session was held between 7pm and 8pm on Monday, and each girl who attended was given a rose to celebrate Valentine's Day. The unit was
THE first girl's only skate session held at Unit 6, Wellington's indoor skate park, proved very popular this week. The session was held between 7pm and 8pm on Monday, and each girl who attended was given a rose to celebrate Valentine's Day. The unit was
Local amateur golf star Lee Corfield swapped the balmy sunshine of California for the more humid warmth of Georgia this week as he prepared for his first big tournament of the year. The 22-year-old Burnham & Berrow member, from Brent Knoll, is one
Taunton Town will be out to end a seven-match losing run when they play at home to Burnham in Division 1 West of the Southern League on Saturday.
BRASH drumming beats of Brazil came to Porlock village hall when children from the surrounding area got a chance to beat out Latin samba rhythms. Youngsters used percussion instruments including drums, bells and shakers to create the vibrant sound of
CABBIES are mourning the death of one of Minehead's best loved drivers. Richard Griffiths, 60, described as the 'king pin' of the town's only taxi firm catering for wheelchair-bound people, was found dead at his home in Hayfield Road on Saturday. Paying
WEST SOMERSET sailor Naomi Cudmore and the crew aboard BP Explorer were pipped into fourth place in a thrilling finish to the third leg of the Global Challenge round-the-world yacht race in Sydney on Sunday. The boats had set sail from Wellington, New
ANGRY publicans in Watchet have hit back after police said a new Pub Watch scheme in the town isn't working. The scheme, set up two weeks before Christmas, was designed to crack down on violent and disruptive troublemakers ahead of the festive season.
SOME 40 jobs are expected to be created when a new care facility opens in Minehead. West Someset MP Ian Liddle-Grainger was due to cut the first sod today (Friday) at Eastleigh care home, Periton Road, Minehead, where construction of a new wing will provide
BOB the Builder, the latest recruit at Butlins, rolled up his sleeves for his first day's work at the Minehead resort this week. The popular children's TV handyman is starring in his own mini stage show adventure all this week. And with attendance at
Work has begun on a new multi-million pound 60-bed unit at a Plymouth hospital. The care centre is at Mount Gould Hospital and will provide in-patient and out-patient services. It is the latest project from a public/private partnership company.
DEVON and Cornwall police are holding a number of recruitment drives for special constables. Throughout February and March special constables will be visiting various towns to talk about their work, their experiences and why they decided to join. This
A Plymouth fish and chip shop owner has broken the world record for cooking the biggest bag of chips. Kelvin Baines from the Chip Stop in the city undertook a 12-hour marathon and fried up almost 1,300lb of spuds.
Wellington AFC's top scorer Leon Taswell faces knee surgery - possibly as easly as next week.
A SEX pervert from Taunton faces jail after pleading guilty to possessing indecent photographs of children. Lee Pallant, 22, of Charles Crescent, is believed to be one of the youngest people in the South-West to be prosecuted for downloading child pornography
A WARD at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital was closed to new patients this week after an outbreak of the Norwalk virus. And in two other wards patients with a different illness were isolated for a time. There were four confirmed cases of Norwalk, which
A NETBALL goalie was hit on the head by a falling goalpost and nearly knocked out during a Taunton netball match. Jemma Gaines, 22, was injured when the goalpost she was defending was blown over by a strong gust of wind. "All I can remember is someone
A CREECH St Michael businessman has put back his retirement in a bid to save the village post office. Roger Fell offered to stay on as sub-postmaster after the transfer of the office to a neighbouring shop hit yet another snag. Mr Fell hopes to pass the
A WARD at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital was closed to new patients this week after an outbreak of the Norwalk virus. And in two other wards patients with a different illness were isolated for a time. There were four confirmed cases of Norwalk, which
A SEX pervert from Taunton faces jail after pleading guilty to possessing indecent photographs of children. Lee Pallant, 22, of Charles Crescent, is believed to be one of the youngest people in the South-West to be prosecuted for downloading child pornography
BBC Radio One's new voice of sport is a former student from Taunton. Carrie Davis works with top DJ Chris Moyles on the breakfast show and her interviews with the likes of Thierry Henry and Ellen MacArthur reach millions of listeners. The only downside
A Desperate Burnham man has hit out against a new ruling from Europe that he says will "absolutely cripple" him financially. The Working Time Directive that comes in on March 25 means truck driver Gary Millard can only work a maximum of 48 hours a week
A massive 84 hours of emergency ambulance service cover will be axed in Burnham this April. The Weekly News has received a letter and rota documents showing this from concerned staff at the Burnham Ambulance Station explaining their worries over the cutbacks
MANY people will have found Adrian Flook's kidnap stunt offensive. Even more will probably have thought it was typically trivial and ridiculous. There are so many important issues needing to be addressed locally. We need an MP who will campaign to raise
I'M LOOKING for Eddie Green whom I was stationed with in the army at Newbury. He was at the time known to me as a trained Signalman. Worked, born and bred in Taunton. He was at the School Of Military Survey, Newbury around 1954 for about two years. We
Taunton Town will be out to end a seven-match losing run when they play at home to Burnham in Division 1 West of the Southern League on Saturday.
FREE internet access could soon be handed out with fish and chips. A Dunkeswell, Burlescombe and Hemyock fish and chip shop, community centre and school will soon be able to provide free internet access to customers and residents. The Devon County Council
Taunton Tigers have a crucial home game against Cardiff Clippers in Division 3 of the National Basketball League on Saturday. Tigers are third and Clippers fourth, and both are chasing a place in the play-offs.
PUPILS at Wellington Junior School celebrated Shrove Tuesday with traditional pancake tossing. The reception class not only learnt about the meaning of the day, but also had fun flipping their pancakes. Teacher Judith Brooks is pictured with pupils Harry
WELLINGTON advocacy and advice charity Helping Hands needs to find £48,000 in the next six months - or close for good. The group has suspended activities due to a funding crisis and staff illness, but is hoping to re-open as soon as more funds have been
MILVERTON Traffic Action group is trying to raise £1,000 to employ a private roads engineer to look at traffic calming in the village. The group has decided to take action on its own after talks with Somerset Highways proved fruitless. They believe that
A new-look Oak Tree Arena will greet Somerset Rebels' speedway fans at Highbridge when they turn up for Press and Practice Night next month. New owner and co-promoter Pete Toogood has spent around £10,000 on improvements which will make sure that the
Taunton Tigers have a crucial home game against Cardiff Clippers in Division 3 of the National Basketball League on Saturday. Tigers are third and Clippers fourth, and both are chasing a place in the play-offs.
Minehead Barbarians will be looking to maintain their four-point lead at the top of Someret 1 when they play away to Imperial on Saturday.
Minehead have called up experienced striker Gareth Morgan for their home game against Weston St John in the Screwfix League on Saturday. Morgan has not been playing first team football recently.
DUE to huge demand Packet Newspapers will be publishing another eight page supplement recording the home-coming of Ellen MacArthur after her world record achievement being the fastest person ever to sail solo round the world. Copies will be available
WAR memorabilia was among items taken during five break-ins at caravans in Blue Anchor. Police in Minehead are appealing for information after all of the mobile homes on the Beeches Holiday Park were raided on Tuesday, January 25. A First World War medal
DORMICE bred at a special unit in Dulverton are being sent to all corners of the land to multiply. The small furry rodents, one of Britain's most endangered mammals, are being used to repopulate areas of the country where dormice have died out. A total
A BLITZ on pet owners who let their dogs foul public places is under way with offenders being handed £50 fixed penalty fines and verbally warned. West Somerset District Council's dog wardens have been patrolling in Dulverton, Watchet, Minehead and Porlock
POLICE in Devon will be under the spotlight as they enforce the ban on hunting with dogs which comes into effect today (Friday). As the hunts in Mid Devon have vowed to meet tomorrow and hunt within the law, Devon and Cornwall Ploice have said they will
The Plymouth Area Police Choir and Plymouth City Council have cancelled The Lord Mayor's Charity Concert in aid of the Tsunami Appeal, which was scheduled for Friday February 25. The vast majority of charities involved in the Tsunami appeal have, over
Farmers across Sedgemoor have joined forces with local police in the fight against crime using a new scheme. They are signing up to a acheme called Datatag - a security marking system - to help them protect expensive equipment from thieves.
Wellington field a strong side for the rugby match away to Tavistock in the Cornwall and Devon League on Saturday. Wellington will be chasing a double.
CHILDREN from St George's RC and Trinity Primary Schools, in Taunton, were given a talk by author Steve Voake about his first book. Mr Voake, a head teacher in Somerset, told the youngsters how he wrote The Dreamwalker's Child and read extracts from the
SOMERSET County Council's website received more than 150,000 hits last month. Website manager Nick Graham said: "We've made many changes that will help users find the information they are looking for more easily, such as improved searching and layout
A MISSING teenage girl could be in the Taunton area. Sherrie McBay, 14, was last seen at the children's centre where she lives, in Frome, on Saturday, January 29. A police spokesman said: "She is known to have a number of friends in Taunton where she
A PAIR of tawny owls nursed back to health at the RSPCA West Hatch Wildlife Centre were released back into the wild on Monday. They were found caught in fishing line suspended in mid air over a lake near Frome last month.
THE Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is planning a year of fun events to celebrate its fifth birthday. The service started in March 2000 and has been called out on nearly 3,000 missions. Director Nicola Howkins said: "We are calling all towns, villages
SOMERSET based explorer Dom Mee is featured in a new TV documentary. 'Into the Unknown' is all about his two most recent expeditions in the frozen wastes of the Arctic and will air on the National Geographic channels next week. Dom, who lives in West
SOMERSET was braced for confrontation this weekend as defiant hunt members vowed to meet 'as usual' tomorrow (Saturday). As the ban on hunting came into force today, Devon and Somerset Staghounds, Taunton Vale Fox Hounds and Quantock Staghounds said they
BBC Radio One's new voice of sport is a former student from Taunton. Carrie Davis works with top DJ Chris Moyles on the breakfast show and her interviews with the likes of Thierry Henry and Ellen MacArthur reach millions of listeners. The only downside
CHILDREN from St George's RC and Trinity Primary Schools, in Taunton, were given a talk by author Steve Voake about his first book. Mr Voake, a head teacher in Somerset, told the youngsters how he wrote The Dreamwalker's Child and read extracts from the
PLANS to replace Taunton's main swimming pools with a £7.3million leisure centre in the heart of the town are back on the agenda. Councillors met last night (Thursday) to discuss the future of swimming, in relation to the Vision for Taunton. And the likely
A MISSING teenage girl could be in the Taunton area. Sherrie McBay, 14, was last seen at the children's centre where she lives, in Frome, on Saturday, January 29. A police spokesman said: "She is known to have a number of friends in Taunton where she
BBC Radio One's new voice of sport is a former student from Taunton. Carrie Davis works with top DJ Chris Moyles on the breakfast show and her interviews with the likes of Thierry Henry and Ellen MacArthur reach millions of listeners. The only downside
FIREFIGHTERS were in exactly the right place at the right time when a television caught fire in a Taunton man's home last week. Green Watch's Sub Offr Dave Downs and FF Dan Bryants were carrying out a home fire safety visit and installing a smoke alarm
CHILDREN from St George's RC and Trinity Primary Schools, in Taunton, were given a talk by author Steve Voake about his first book. Mr Voake, a head teacher in Somerset, told the youngsters how he wrote The Dreamwalker's Child and read extracts from the
HUNDREDS of people in Taunton Deane have signed a LibDem petition opposing controversial plans to sell off the area's council houses. But Conservative-run Taunton Deane Council is going ahead with the costly transfer process, which is now expected to
LIKE Miss Compton (Somerset County Gazette, February 11) I, too, have been following the story of the "mystery graffiti artists" with great interest. In an increasingly apathetic society where we should be encouraging our young people to form their own
ON arrival at Musgrove Park Hospital last week I was horrified to see the amount of rubbish -- namely cigarette ends -- outside the main entrance to the Duchess Building. I was at the entrance at 10am and it seemed to me that the number of cigarette ends
AT a time when we suffer daily annoyance by EU regulations and our country is threatened by further loss of sovereignty to the EU, I am puzzled how well-meaning people can be favourable to the Liberal Democrat party. One can only conclude they do not
I WAS disappointed to read the comments made by Taunton town chairman Tom Harris (Somerset County Gazette, February 4), blaming budget cuts and poor crowds for the team's alarming slump in form rather than any failure on the part of Russell Musker or
WELLINGTON town council has agreed to cover the cost of a reception event for civic visitors and guests from the 40th anniversary twinning visit from Lillebonne in July. The day will begin at 9.45am on July 3 with a civic service at St John's Church,
INTREPID West Buckland-based explorer Dom Mee is being featured in a new TV documentary. Into the Unknown is about his two most recent expeditions in the frozen wastes of the Arctic and will be broadcast on the National Geographic channels next week.
TWO new websites have been created for Oake and the surrounding area by volunteers. The sites, which will be launched next Thursday, have come from the Oake community websites development project run at the community hall. Two courses gave volunteers
PUPILS from Kingsmead Comm-unity School have been banned from going to Wiveliscombe recreation ground during lunch times after vandals attacked the playground equipment. Although no pupils are thought to be involved in the vandalism, which caused damaged
DOCTORS' surgeries in Wellington and Wiveliscombe are at breaking point due to changes introduced through the new GP contract. The surgeries are struggling to keep up with the number of patients needing appointments after the new guidelines, which have
