World Cup fever was about to grip the nation in 1966, with the first game due to start on July 11. The excitement was building in Weston-super-Mare, along with outrage that schools had ‘outlawed’ football.

Weston Mercury: A pause for refreshment for Susan Burton, Hilary Tyson, Linda Smalldon and Caroline Ducket who were at the Kings of Wessex School fete, Cheddar.A pause for refreshment for Susan Burton, Hilary Tyson, Linda Smalldon and Caroline Ducket who were at the Kings of Wessex School fete, Cheddar. (Image: Archant)

The following stories were included in the July 8 edition of the Weston Mercury and Somerset Herald.

* Excitement for the Football World Cup was building, and one advert in the Mercury by TV makers Rentaset targeted ‘World Cup widows’.

The advert, designed to appeal to women, said: “Remember, there will never be a better opportunity of getting rid of your tired old TV.” Husbands were offered a ‘late evening service’ to ensure they did not miss a match.

* But despite the interest in football, not one senior school in Weston taught it.

The Somerset County Football Association met in Weston, where one member said schools were biased and it was ‘rugby or nothing’.

Speaking at the meeting, George Burnham said: “We must do all we can to remind the school authorities of the complete unfairness of the fact that a national game like soccer is outlawed from schools in Weston.”

* Meanwhile, a road junction in Sand Bay was described as ‘dangerous’ as it was a blind spot where many drivers cut the corner.

* Ratepayers in Weston had paid £11,000 in fighting plans for an iron ore jetty in the Bristol Channel.

* Banwell Parish Council vowed to try again to have a by-pass built to divert heavy traffic away from the village’s narrow streets.

* Former RAF officer David Lafferty was on his 127th day of living alone in Cheddar’s caves to beat the world underground record.

* People had been using cars instead of their legs to climb to the top of Crook Peak, and it was said they had been spoiling the area.

* Burnham Urban District Council’s hope for a swimming pool to be built in the town moved closer to reality. It was hoped the £80,000 pool would be built on the site of the town hall.