PAOLO Radmilovic, Francis Newman, Frederick Baedeker, Emmeline Pethwick Lawrence – these names will be meaningless to most modern day Weston residents.

PAOLO Radmilovic, Francis Newman, Frederick Baedeker, Emmeline Pethwick Lawrence - these names will be meaningless to most modern day Weston residents.

But that could be about to change, thanks to a new move to increase civic pride and remember some of the town's most eminent former denizens.

Those listed above include an Olympian, a key suffragette, renowned evangelist and respected academic, all from Weston, and all mostly forgotten by their home town.

But a new drive wants to see them remembered with the installation of commemorative plaques on their former homes, creating a fascinating history trail for residents and visitors to enjoy.

The scheme would involve negligible cost, but provide a significant civic boost - and since it already has the backing of town mayor Mike Kellaway-Marriott and former mayor John Crockford-Hawley, hopes are high that it could go ahead.

Weston Town Council support is vital, and since members previously spoke of the their desire to protect our heritage in their fruitless efforts to save the town's museum from destruction at the hands of North Somerset Council, it doesn't require a huge leap of faith to anticipate the council's support.

And so at a time when Weston's history heritage is on the verge of being sacrificed in the name of efficiency, it's refreshing to see new efforts being made to cherish its near-forgotten past.

WHEN accidents happen, it's important that lessons are learned - and it's heartening to see they've been absorbed in time to safeguard a popular fixture in the Weston calendar.

After 19 riders were injured in a huge pile-up at 2009's Weston Beach Race, the event's future looked bleak, with organisers at loggerheads with support services over whether it would return.

Indeed, when no agreement was reached on a re-run of October's aborted race finale, event bosses vowed to move the event away from Weston.

Since then, behind-the-scenes negotiations have seen new safety measures introduced and a happy conclusion, after it was confirmed this week that the race will return.

Congratulations must go to everyone who has played a part in securing a future for an event with a rich Weston history.