ONE YEAR AGO This week in 2014

  •  HOMEOWNERS lived in fear that their properties could fall victim to a landslip as huge cracks widened in an Ilminster road.

A 70m stretch of New Road on the northern edge of the town, known as Cemetery Hill, had been closed for a week amid fears it could fall down a slope.

Ilminster beat manager PC Andy Stuart said: “It will be closed for some time as there’s clear evidence that the road’s subsiding and is, therefore, dangerous.”

Ann Leontovitsch said: “It’s very scary. All we can do is wait and watch the cracks get bigger.”

  •  A MECHANIC from Chard was handed a 4½-year jail sentence after being found with a ‘significant amount’ of heroin.

Police said they found more than 40g of the Class A drug, which had a street value of £1,660, in the car David Newby was driving when they searched it at Keele Services on the M6 in Staffordshire last May following a tip-off from a member of the public.

TEN YEARS AGO This week in 2005

  •  THE Deputy Mayor of Chard, Cllr Cathie Morrison, said there was a risk of an upsurge in tension towards foreign workers in the town after the British National Party renewed its campaign in the area.

South Somerset BNP distributed about 2,000 leaflets to Chard homes calling on employers to bring wage levels ‘in line with local expectations’, to remove the need for taking on foreign workers.

The BNP also called upon local authorities to hold a town-wide referendum on the issue to allow residents a ‘democratic opportunity’ to voice their concerns.

  •  RESIDENTS of Jocelyn Park in Chard took action to stop the antisocial behaviour and vandalism they said had been blighting their lives.

One resident contacted The News to say her neighbourhood had been on the receiving end of a host of petty crimes.

Broken fences, smashed wing mirrors and offensive graffiti were just some of the problems the people of Jocelyn Park had to put up with.

A petition was taken to the police listing all the residents who claimed to have suffered similarly.

15 YEARS AGO This week in 2000

  •  THE long-term future of Hercules Opportunity Group in Chard looked uncertain following a review of child learning difficulty centres in Somerset.

Group chairman Commander Jack Stokoe said a committee had been set up to consider options for the future running of opportunity groups in the county.

  •  A GROUP of Chard residents became so fed up waiting for a light to be installed near their homes they dug deep in their pockets to raise the money themselves.

The residents of 2 to 30 Glynswood had called for many months for a streetlight to illuminate the way to their garages.Resident Nigel Fry said: “There are a variety of ages living in the street and at this time of year it is very badly lit. We feel we need something there and we want something done about it.”