Picture Past: Seaside scuffles and a lucky escape.

Several fights broke out on Weston seafront on Easter Monday as gangs of youths roamed the area.

However, large scale battles which occurred in other seaside towns were avoided by the prompt action of police.

As well as officers on foot, patrols took place by car and motorbike, with officers pouncing as soon as scuffles started, and putting troublemakers into police vans and cars.

The gangs were small but a number of fights broke out during the afternoon and 15 youths were taken to a police station, and 11 were charged with public order offences.

One fight began near Alexandra Parade, and another involving 30 youths started near the Grand Pier, which spilled onto the promenade and sands.

A Weston business owner won an appeal to build an amusement arcade in Regent Street.

The Minister of Housing and Local Government agreed with the planning inspectors recommendations, that the character of the area around the proposed site of the arcade reflected seasonal trading patterns, with the area catering almost entirely for the needs of summer visitors to the town.

The inspector agreed that the council’s efforts to confine arcades to this area seemed reasonable, but the site lay in the centre of the amusement arcade area, and the council had already given approval for an arcade in the adjoining shop and the existing arcade beyond.

He concluded a further amusement arcade in Regent Street would not offend anyone living nearby, and because of its immediate surroundings, would not adversely affect the appearance of the street.

A family on holiday in Sand Bay had a lucky escape after their caravan burst into flames.

The caravan at the Sun Valley caravan park in Crooks Lane was a mass of flames in a few seconds.

Other holidaymakers helped to rescue the family from the flaming caravan and tried to put out the blaze.

The family of four from Cwmbran, in Wales, was treated at Weston General Hospital for minor burns and shock.

A holidaymaker staying in an adjoining caravan said he looked out of his window and saw the caravan glowing red.

He said: “It was red hot inside and no one would have survived in it,

“It was blazing from end to end in a matter of seconds.”