Weather warning for West Somerset as more snow on way tonight

ANOTHER weather warning for West Somerset has been issued by the Met Office as two-and-a-half inches of snow was expected to fall on Exmoor tonight.
People living in some of the highest areas were likely to receive even heavier snowfalls.
It was also forecast to be a windy night with gusts of up to 25 mph in some areas, which would make the air feel even colder.
Met Office spokeswoman Sarah Holland said most of the rest of the Westcountry was likely to escape the worst of the winter weather, and slightly warmer temperatures should move in overnight.
She said: “If people are out and about, they should still take extreme care.”
Earlier this week, there was chaos on the area’s roads with a string of minor accidents, people unable to travel to work, bus and coach runs cancelled, and schools closed in Stogumber, Crowcombe, and Milverton.

Family 'wait and see' after car shop man is seriously injured

AN elderly man who was seriously injured yesterday when he was hit by a car in Williton has been named as John Slade (pictured), the proprietor of car spares and accessories shop Motorline.
Mr Slade, aged 63, who lives with his wife Sandra in Watchet, appears to have been run over by a woman customer’s car outside his Robert Street shop.
He suffered ‘significant head injuries’and leg injuries and was flown by air ambulance to the intensive care unit of Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton.
Today, his condition was said to be “comfortable” and he was now being cared for on a general ward of the hospital.
Son-in-law Darren Elliot said Mr Slade’s condition had stablilised but he was still extremely poorly.
Mr Elliot said: “We just have to wait and see.”
Police have appealed for any witnesses to the incident to come forward to help their inquiries.
They believe Mr Slade was standing behind the customer’s car when it suddenly reversed into him and dragged him some distance along the road.
Mr Slade is the main sponsor of Watchet Cricket Club and also runs Great Western Cars, a luxury chauffeur service with a 1930s-style Asquith limousine.
Anybody with any information about the accident should call the police on 0845 4567000.

Car repair man critically injured as second vehicle hits him

A WILLITON man was airlifted to hospital this afternoon after suffering serious head injuries when he was hit by a car.
The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (pictured) was called when the accident happened in Robert Street, Williton, shortly before 12.45 pm.
The man, who lives locally and is aged his 60s, was working on a parked car when he was struck by a second car.
The air ambulance took him to Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, where his condition was said to be ‘critical’.
Police closed Robert Street for several hours while an investigation to establish the cause of the collision was started.
They appealed for any witnesses to come forward to help the inquiry.
Anybody with information about the incident should contact Avon and Somerset Constabulary by calling 0845 456 7000.

Crash closes A358 as two are cut free from wreckage

THE A358 between Williton and Taunton was closed for a number of hours last night after two vehicles were in collision near Bicknoller.
Two men - one in each vehicle – were trapped in the wreckage and had to be cut free by fire and rescue crews using hydraulic cutting equipment.
They were handed over to waiting ambulance crews who took them to Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton.
Both men’s injuries were said not to be life threatening.
Fire and rescue crews attended the scene from Williton and Nether Stowey, together with a rescue tender from Taunton, and a command support unit from Wiveliscombe.
The accident happened between Newton Lane and Slough Lane just before 9 pm and blocked the A358 in both directions, causing long traffic queues as police redirected vehicles along country lanes.

Woman in her 90s seriously injured in A39 collision

A WOMAN in her 90s has been seriously injured by a car which hit her on the A39 near Selworthy.
The accident happened at 3 pm on Thursday, March 27, at Budleigh Hill, which is between Minehead and Porlock.
A blue Peugeot car travelling towards Porlock from the direction of Minehead collided with the woman. The driver stopped at the scene.
The woman suffered a serious leg injury and was taken to Musgrove Park Hospital, in Taunton, where she remained in a serious condition.
Police are appealing for information and are keen to speak to anybody who witnessed the collision.
Anybody who can help should call the force’s collision investigation unit on 0845 4567000 or contact the police through the secure Crimestoppers contact form at https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/crimestoppers/ContactForm.aspx
Alternatively, they can call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, where they do not have to give their name but could receive a reward.

Child injured in two-car A39 accident

A FOUR-year-old child was among three casualties injured when two cars were in collision on the A39 at lunchtime today, Monday, February 18.
Fire and rescue crews from Minehead and Williton were called to the incident, which happened at Washford Cross just after 12.30 pm.
They used First Responder medical training to assist the casualties and worked with paramedics who also attended.
One person was initially trapped in one of the cars, but they were helped free by the firefighters without having to be cut out of the wreckage.
The other two casualties, including the child, who suffered neck injuries, were already out of their vehicle.
Paramedics then took the casualties to Musgrove Park Hospital, in Taunton.

A39 lorry driver dies in crash with tree

POLICE are appealing for witnesses to help trace a silver coloured 'people carrier' following a fatal road traffic accident which has closed the A39 near Kilve.
Shortly after 9.35am today, Friday, January 25, a green colour box lorry was involved in a collision with a tree between Kilve and Williton.
The male driver of the lorry suffered life threatening injuries and was given basic life support treatment by a police officer before paramedics arrived and took over.
The Devon Air Ambulance then flew the man to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, in Exeter, applying advanced life support techniques to the victim throughout the flight.
However, the man was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital at about 11.15 am.
South Western Ambulance Trust spokeswoman Melodie Juste told The Post: "When our paramedics arrived at the scene they believed the patient was in cardiac arrest and they worked extremely hard and did everything they could to save him, all the way to hospital."
Witnesses reported that soon after the crash, they saw a silver ‘people carrier’ vehicle driving away.
Police do not know if the car was involved in any way in the collision or whether the occupants may have witnessed the incident and they need to trace the car as soon as possible.
Anybody with any information is asked to contact police on 0845 4567000.
The A39 was expected to remain closed until late in the evening.

Second serious A39 three-car crash in fortnight

EMERGENCY services were this morning dealing with a second serious road accident on the A39 outside Minehead in little more than a fortnight.
The three-car crash happened just after 7 am today, Tuesday, January 22, on the Dunster straight near the sawmills works.
The drivers of the three vehicles, which were a Mini Cooper, a Vauxhall Calibra, and a Peugeot 307, were thought to have suffered serious injuries and were trapped in their vehicles.
An ambulance crew was on the scene within three minutes of the alert, followed by a fire and rescue crew from Minehead Fire Station, and they were joined by a second crew from Williton and a rescue tender from Taunton.
The firefighters used cutting gear to remove the roofs and doors of the vehicles to free the trapped casulaties, two women and a man, who were then rushed to Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton.
Long queues of traffic built up as the A39 was closed for several hours and motorists were diverted at Carhampton onto the Brendon Hills and back through Dunster.
Even children walking along the A39 to school in Minehead were turned back by police because the crash left so much debris lying around.
The clean-up operation was expected to continue well into the late morning with the road remaining closed.
The earlier accident, on January 7, also involved three cars a little further along the Dunster straight and resulted in an elderly woman being cut from her car and flown by air ambulance to hospital with a suspected broken pelvis.

Air ambulance flies A39 victim to hospital

THE A39 outside Minehead was closed for nearly an hour during the afternoon of Monday, January 7, following a serious car crash.

Three cars were involved in the accident, which happened shortly after 3 pm and left an elderly woman trapped inside one of the vehicles.
It happened on the Dunster Straight, outside the Old Dairy, Castle Home Farm, and involved a Suzuki car, a Ford Focus, and a Nissan Micra.

The woman driver of the Nissan was trapped in the wreckage and had to be freed by a fire and rescue crew using specialist cutting equipment to remove the roof of the vehicle.

The woman, who is thought to have suffered a broken hip, was then flown by Devon Air Ambulance to hospital.

One fire and rescue crew was called from Minehead and a rescue tender from Taunton also attended.

Firefighters cut woman free from ditch crash car

A WOMAN passenger had to be freed by firefighters when she became trapped in a car which left the B3188 road in Tolland, near Wiveliscombe, and plunged into a six feet deep ditch and became lodged in an upright position.
Fire crews from Wiveliscombe and Taunton were called to the scene by an ambulance crew shortly before 3.30 pm on Sunday afternoon, December 16.
They initially began to to cut out the car’s windscreen with hydraulic equipment, but the woman was eventually freed through the driver's door of the vehicle.
The woman was taken to hospital by paramedics, while the car driver, who was unhurt, remained at the scene with police officers.

Witness appeal after spate of car crashes leaves one driver critically ill

A SERIES of car crashes across two days on West Somerset roads left a total of six people trapped in wreckage.
The most serious incident occurred at about 6.20 pm on Tuesday, November 27, when a Citroen Saxo and a Mini One travelling in opposite directions collided on the A396 between Dunster and Timberscombe, close to Kittswell Farm.
Police closed the road until 12.30 am on Wednesday, November 28.
Both car drivers were trapped in the wreckage and had to be released by fire and rescue crews using hydraulic cutting gear, a process which took more than an hour.
The driver of the Citroen, a man, suffered serious head injuries and was taken to Derriford Hospital, in Plymouth, where his condition was described as ‘critical’.
The Citroen had been travelling from the Tiverton direction toward Dunster and Mini was being driven from Dunster toward Timberscombe when the accident happened.
Two fire crews from Minehead and a rescue tender from Taunton attended the incident.
Police later appealed for any witnesses to the collision, or anybody else with information about it, to contact the force’s collision investigation unit on 0845 4567000.
Or they could call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, where they do not have to give a name but could receive a reward.
The secure Crimestoppers contact form could also be used, which can be found on the internet at https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/crimestoppers/ContactForm.aspx.
Another serious incident occurred later on Tuesday, when a vehicle careered off the A39 and into a field between Williton and West Quantoxhead.
A man and a woman were trapped in the wreckage and it took fire and rescue crews working with hydraulic cutting equipment nearly two-and-a-half hours to free the pair.
Both casualties then had to be individually carried on boards in a fire service Land Rover across a field to waiting ambulances before they could be taken to hospital.
Two fire engines from Williton and a rescue tender from Taunton attended the scene of the accident, which happened a few minutes before midnight.
No other vehicle was involved in the crash.
Previously, on Monday, November 26, two people were reported trapped in a crash between two vehicles on the A39 at Carhampton.
It happened at almost 6.30 pm but when rescue services arrived on the scene the two casualties had already been freed from the damaged vehicles.
One fire engine from the Minehead station and a rescue tender from Taunton attended the incident and the crews made both vehicles safe and assisted police with lighting and removing debris from the road.

Emergency services to reconstruct car smash to teach students a graphic lesson

A GRAPHIC demonstration of the effects of poor driving is to be given to students in West Somerset as part of a road safety campaign by the emergency services.
It will involve a full reconstruction of a road traffic collision to be staged for sixth form students at the West Somerset Community College, Minehead.
The event will show exactly what happens to the occupants of a vehicle after it has been involved in a serious accident.
Ambulance, police, and firefighters will show what they do when rescuing casualties from a crashed car.
Jon Martin, of the Somerset Road Safety Partnership, who has been a fireman for 24 years, said: “Many of the students watching will be turning 17 and about to start learning to drive, so just maybe this will slow them down and make them think.
“The college has been very supportive and is keen to make it an annual event. Teachers are even designing lessons and question papers around the day.”
The demonstration takes place on Thursday, December 6, and will also include presentations by representatives from the road safety partnership, a driving simulator, and questions and answers.
The emergency services will also be highlighting their annual Christmas drink-drive message.
The national campaign will aim to convince all drivers, with a particular focus on young male drivers aged between 17 and 29 years, that a drink-drive conviction has the potential to ruin their life, by highlighting a mixture of the legal and personal consequences.
These include:

• being caught and breathalysed by the police
• a minimum12-month driving ban
• a criminal record
• a hefty fine
• lifestyle changes (ie, potential loss of job, relationships, or car)

Appeal for witnesses to death of man walking on A39

WITNESSES are being sought to an accident in which a young man was killed when he was hit by a car as he walked along the A39 early on the morning of Saturday, November 10.
The man was named by police as Ashley Richard Taylor, aged 21, of Coultings, Fiddington.
He died as a result of his injuries shortly after he was hit by a Peugeot 307 car at about 6 am.
Mr Taylor was walking along an unlit area of Quantock Road, near Wembdon, on his way out of Bridgwater toward Cannington when the accident happened.
Police would like to speak to anybody who may have witnessed the collision or may have seen Mr Taylor walking on the road a short time before.
Anybody who can help is asked to contact the Collision Investigation Unit on 0845 4567000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Alternatively, the secure Crimestoppers internet contact form can be used by logging on to https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/crimestoppers/ContactForm.aspx
Callers do not have to give their name, but they could receive a reward for helping the police.

Man, 76, dies in horse and carriage accident

AN investigation has been launched into the death of an elderly West Somerset man after he was thrown from a horse-drawn carriage which bolted down Porlock Hill.
The accident happened at about 2 pm on Friday, October 5, when Robert Griffin, aged 76, of Porlock, was driving the cart along the B3225 at Greencombe, with a woman passenger.
The horse is thought to have become spooked and then galloped down the notoriously steep hill before the cart struck a nearside hedge and turned over.
The couple were thrown into the road and Mr Griffin suffered serious head injuries and was taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, in Exeter.
However, Mr Griffin died in the hospital shortly before midnight.
Police are investigating and have appealed for any information and witnesses to the incident to contact them by calling the force’s collision investigation unit on 0845 4567000.
Alternatively, information can be provided over the internet by using the secure Crimestoppers contact form at https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/crimestoppers/ContactForm.aspx.
Callers do not have to give their names.