Tuesday 6th August

Tuesday, 6 August 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Drivers are being warned not to scan QR codes when paying to park at Somerset Council-run car parks or risk being scammed. Two men from Yeovil were amongst those arrested at an anti-immigration protest held in Weymouth at the weekend. A new extension to Caryford Community Hall in Ansford has been formally opened...and more.

Drivers are being warned not to scan QR codes when paying to park at Somerset Council-run car parks. It follows the discovery of fake stickers with QR codes stuck to ticket machines in an attempt to scam motorists.

Two men from Yeovil were amongst those arrested at an anti-immigration protest in Weymouth at the weekend. Police say a 42-year-old man from Yeovil was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence, and a 62-year-old man, also from Yeovil, for being drunk and disorderly. The arrests followed disturbances involving anti-immigration protesters and Stand Up to Racism demonstrators on the seafront in Weymouth on Sunday.

Glastonbury and Somerton MP, Sarah Dyke, has called for a proposal to build a new railway station in the Somerton and Langport area to be protected from government cutbacks. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that she’s scrapping a £500m fund, launched under Boris Johnson's premiership in 2020, to re-open stations in areas closed under the Beeching cuts of the mid-1960s. Sarah Dyke says a station in the Somerton and Langport area would give access to mainline rail services for 50,000 local people, adding that the line between Taunton and Castle Cary is the longest stretch between London and Cornwall that doesn’t have a train station.

A new extension to Caryford Community Hall in Ansford has been formally opened. The extension includes a meeting room for up to sixty people and a smaller meeting room for twelve people, together with storage space and a new ladies’ toilet. The extension has cost £600k with the bulk of the money provided by the National Lottery, Castle Cary Town Council, Ansford Parish Council, and Somerset Council.

Taunton’s Gateway Park and Ride site will shut for a short time tomorrow. The closure between 1.30 and 2.30 pm is to allow for a replacement barrier to be installed. Anyone needing access to the Gateway Park and Ride during this time for hospital appointments should use the Silk Mills Park and Ride.

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