Bus and car vandals leave trail of damage across Minehead

WITNESSES and information are being sought by police after a series of cars and buses in Minehead were damaged by vandals.
It happened on the town’s Mart Road industrial estate and in nearby residential roads some time between 12 midnight and 4.45 am on Saturday, March 17.
The offenders entered a compound in Brunel Way, where buses were parked overnight and stole emergency hammers from the vehicles.
Three buses then had their windows smashed and the same culprits are believed to have gone on to damage cars which were parked along Hawksworth Road, Fownes Road, Alcombe Road, Field End, and Whitegate Road.At the time of writing, 18 vehicles had been reported to police as damaged.Police have been carrying out house to house inquiries in the area, but are keen to hear from anybody who may have witnessed any of the damage taking place, or who might know the offenders involved.
Anybody who can help should contact police through the secure Crimestoppers contact form at https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/crimestoppers/ContactForm.aspxOr, they can call the Crimestoppers freephone line on 0800 555 111, where they do not have to give their name and where they could receive a reward.

• Our photo shows the Mart Road industrial estate. Photo submitted.

Top-performing recycling centre in sudden closure for revamp

THE household waste recycling centre in Minehead - one of the top-performing in Somerset - is closed for three weeks.
Residents who use the centre in Mart Road from time to time suddenly found a printed notice attached to a bin outside the gates this week announcing the closure.
But Somerset County Council, which runs the centre, denied it had failed to keep the public informed of the impending closure.
The site is undergoing safety works and will have a new lay-out when it reopens.
In the meantime, however, there was no information available to the public on where to take their waste.
County council spokesman Jan Hookings told The Crier the closure was so ‘essential safety works can be carried out and a new site layout introduced’.
Mrs Hookings said: “Notices have been up on site for the past month and visitors over the past three weeks have been given flyers when visiting the site.
“Efforts are being made to keep disruption to a minimum.
“Local recycling banks for cans, paper and glass will remain available at Alexandra car park and Tesco car park, and at similar sites in the town.
“We have made every effort to try and keep people informed of this disruption and apologise for any inconvenience caused to people who only visit the site occasionally.”

• Photo by Mark the Photographer, ref M010106. Order image reprints online at http://www.tcpbymtp.co.uk/.