Exmoor village's Pubwatch scheme aims to tackle troublemakers

LICENSEES in Porlock are working closely with local police to help make the village a safer place.
Seven public houses in and around the village have signed up to a Pubwatch scheme which will help police to deal with those involved in anti-social behaviour and drink-related crime.
Anybody involved in violence, criminal damage, or causing alarm and harassment to other pub-goers, will face a six-month ban from all of the venues.
And any assaults on licensees or staff will see them banned for life from all the premises.
The move comes nearly a month after an outbreak of violence and assaults in the otherwise sleepy village which have all been linked by residents to one particular ‘problem’ family.
Police are continuing with an investigation into the New Year troubles, which included an early evening incident where a gang of hammer-wielding youths smashed every High Street window of the Ship Inn while customers were eating and drinking inside.
Sgt Andy Whysall, who heads the Dulverton area’s ‘Safer, Stronger Neighbourhood Team’, said: “Porlock is a picturesque village on Exmoor, where the local residents enjoy a peaceful way of life - we want to keep it that way.
“If somebody is ejected from one pub for being a nuisance, they will be banned from there for the night, the other premises will be informed, and that person may find themselves banned from all the venues in the village for the rest of the evening.
“Persistent troublemakers face being banned from every local pub for at least six months, something we hope will make people reform their behaviour.
“This is another example of the local community working together in partnership with the police to build a safer, stronger neighbourhood.”
The scheme includes the Royal Oak, the Lorna Doone Hotel, Castle Hotel, Ship Inn, Anchor Hotel, and the Ship Inn, at Porlock Weir, and the Culbone Inn, at Oare.
Pubwatch and the ‘banned from one, banned from all’ scheme has already been introduced successfully in many towns and large villages across the Avon and Somerset Police area.

• Our photograph shows the Lorna Doone Hotel, in Porlock, which is one of the premises taking part in the Pubwatch scheme. Photo submitted.

Muddy Matches country-minded roadshow comes to Exmoor for pub grub night

MUDDY Matches, the online community for country-minded people, is bringing its national roadshow to Exmoor on Thursday, November 8.
The two sisters behind the scheme, Emma and Lucy Reeves, are holding a pub grub night in the Royal Oak public house, in Winsford, from 7 pm.
The idea behind a Muddy Matches Pub Grub night is to for some like-minded, muddy people to come together to grab a bite to eat in a nice country pub.
It is open to anybody to attend and is intended to be a relaxed affair with each person paying for their own food and drink, and having an opportunity to meet some new people in the area.
Anybody who wants to go along should call Lucy on 07901 865283 beforehand in order that she has an idea of the number of people attending.
Lucy said: “We loved the sound of this country pub in the Exmoor National Park and thought it would be a great place to have a Pub Grub night.
“If anybody is feeling sociable but skint, they can still pop along for just a drink later.”
The Muddy Matches co-founders are in the middle of a two-month tour of Britain in a motor home and are spending six days in each region of the country to put on events and immerse themselves in all things ‘muddy’, from the traditional to the completely bonkers.
Lucy said: “We want to get out there and find out what makes other country people in Great Britain tick.
“Everybody experiences the countryside in different ways and we really want to embrace that diversity and showcase both its wonderful and whacky sides.
“We also plan to put on some great parties along the way.”
It was Lucy and Emma’s understanding of the countryside and being ‘country minded’ meaning different things to different people which led them to develop their concept of ‘muddiness’ in the first place.
“We had to figure out the one underlying thing that unites country-minded people from all walks of life,” said Lucy.
“The answer was obvious - mud. It does not matter whether you like walking or shooting, whether you grew up in the countryside, or are just hoping to move there, whether you actually live in the countryside or just like to spend time there, if you think you are country-minded, the only thing you cannot have is an aversion to mud.”
Lucy and Emma intend to film their journey and document it all in their Muddy Marathon blog, which went live on their website in October.
More details about the tour can be found at www.muddymatches.co.uk/muddy-marathon.
Anybody who would like to get involved or who has any suggestions can email lucy@muddymatches.co.uk.

• Our photographs show (top) Lucy and Emma Reeves with their camper van, and (below) the camper van painted to resemble a country cottage. Photos submitted.