PICTURE PAST: July 18, 1969 – Motorway bridge work starts

One of the town’s rugby clubs hunted for hundreds of pounds to avoid increasing subscriptions. The story appeared in the Weston Mercury and Somerset Herald 50 years ago.

The show could not go on in Weston after hot weather postponed a puppet show.

A heatwave brought the beach's Punch and Judy to a halt.

The popular children's show had a notice stating: "Weather permitting, too hot to perform."

The show saw the puppets joke and hit each other with clubs to get laughs from the young audience.

- Weston staged a 'summer spectacular' when, in brilliant sunshine, the revival of the summer carnival took place.

The first summer carnival for seven years attracted thousands of locals and holidaymakers to applaud the ingenious and colourful tableaux.

There were more than 60 entries from a wide area and the revival represented a very praiseworthy achievement for the organising committee and the St Peter's Scout Group who initiated the idea to raise money for the West Hospital's Improvement Fund.

- Work was set to start on the southern extension of the Birmingham-Bristol-Exeter motorway across the River Avon.

Minister of Transport, Richard Marsh, accepted the £4,204,024 tender of Fairfield-Mabey Ltd for the building of the bridge and the approach roads.

The scheme was set to extend for one mile from the M5 interchange with Portway (A4) at Avonmouth to the outskirts of Easton-in-Gordano.

The Avonmouth bridge was going to be 4,550ft long with a main river span of 570ft.

- Hornets Rugby Club needed at least £400 above its normal income before next Christmas to meet its commitments after suffering heavy increases in expenditure.

A subscription campaign was launched to increase basic income and it aimed to raise at least £600.

The club's treasurer said the campaign was the alternative to a large increase in membership would lead to a big rise in players' subscriptions and it was something everyone wanted to avoid.

- Visitors arriving at the Locking Road car park for a day in Weston lined the fence for a 'grandstand view' of a spectacular fire in the adjoining railway station yard.

They saw flames shooting high into the air from a railway hut, formerly used as a foreman's office.

The blaze, fanned by a stiff breeze, spread to one of a line of goods wagons on the side closest to the hut.

The hut was gutted while the goods wagon was badly charred.