Police investigate England flag on white horse

A police investigation has begun after a historic white horse carved into a Wiltshire hillside was temporarily turned into an England flag.

Red fabric was draped over the Westbury White Horse in the shape of the St George's cross on 9 September, and was attached to the 175ft (53m) tall landmark using pegs.

The installation was later removed after being reported to English Heritage, which said the site had been assessed and the pegs had caused "minimal damage".

Following English Heritage's assessment, Wiltshire Police said: "We have received a report regarding minor damage being done to the horse through the use of pegs". The force added it was "in the early stages of our inquiries". The force originally said it was not investigating the incident.

The red fabric on the landmark appeared after thousands of St George's flags appeared across England in recent months.

The Westbury White Horse is thought to have been originally carved in 878 AD to commemorate King Alfred's victory over the Danes at the Battle of Ethandune.

The landmark is a scheduled monument, which means it is protected by legislation. It is a criminal offence to damage it. Heavy fines, or even a prison sentence, can follow deliberate damage or removal of items from such sites.

15:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 18:26 will be terminated at Worcester Shrub Hill.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:16/09/2025 13:46

19:02 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 21:26 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:16/09/2025 13:46

22:51 London Paddington to Worcestershire Parkway Hl due 01:06 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:16/09/2025 13:46

From this Saturday, 20th September 2025, the Saturday through train from Chippenham to Oxford returns.  Connection at 10:09 from Melksham, 10:44 from Chippenham, arrive at Oxford at 11:27.  Return service direct to Chippenham from Oxford at 17:12, or return to Melkshan at 16:30, 18:02 or 20:05, changing at Didcot and Swindon.

Day return fare - £21.80 each, or £14.50 each with a railcard or in a group of 3. Same fare also applies if you want to go on from Oxford to Bicester Village, and it's the same fare from Melksham or Chippenham.

Tickets can be purchased prior to departure at the ticket machines at Melksham or at Chippenham Station, or from the ticket office in Chippenham or if you are paying in cash on the train from Melksham.

(I've put a link to said picture in img tags above, which is displayed in Preview, but not in the final post? Update: tried setting height/width, which results in an empty box?)

Residents are calling for CCTV to be installed at the Bath Road underpass following an assault on a man in his 60s last month

The incident took place on 9th August, when the man was attacked by four teenage boys, believed to be between 13 and 15 years old. He required hospital treatment as a result of the attack.

Following the incident, residents have taken to social media to call for improved safety in the area. Many are calling for CCTV to be installed, and for better lighting so people feel safe walking home late at night.

One resident said, “It’s always been a dodgy area of town. I don’t understand why, after all these years, there isn’t decent lighting or CCTV down there. Yes, the professional graffiti is an improvement, but that hasn’t improved safety.”

Another added, “Clearly there should be CCTV there. It’s a main pedestrian route from the railway station to the north of the town. Lighting should be checked before the winter nights set in too.”

Melksham Town Council, which manages the town’s CCTV network, was asked whether it has any plans to install cameras at the underpass. Melksham News also asked about the £13,000 mobile CCTV cameras purchased in 2023 and whether they have been deployed in Melksham, and if so, when and where. It is understood they have yet to be used.

No response had been received from the council prior to going to press.

Campaigner James Wright pushes case for reconnecting West Somerset to mainline trains

EXMOOR farmer and political campaigner James Wright has visited Shadow Railways Minister Jerome Mayhew in Westminster to push the case for reconnecting West Somerset to the national rail network.

Mr Wright said: “Restoring this rail link would be transformative.

“It would provide reliable school and commuter transport, boost tourism, and strengthen our local economy.

“The Conservative party is clear that projects like this can happen with the right political will.

05:11 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:09

05:11 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:09 was terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Dilton Marsh, Warminster, Salisbury, Romsey and Southampton Central.
This is due to a fault on this train.

I thought members might be correctly sway-ed in that direction.

Pictures of animals always help post visibility ... so here we go ...

For the benefit of our readers, I can confirm that this is grahame posting.

[snip]

As an side, having got to know them quite well, I can tell you that the dog on the left is the noisy one and the dog on the right is the naughty one.

Lydney? 5541, the number of the loco, is resident there

Ten years on - 4 cancellations out of 18  today, which is 22%.  Sadly, I can't say that this sort of rate shocks me these days or is unusual. Because I quote the figure for one day, the PR team will explain why today was especially bad and for sure it was worse than many days.   ...