THE West Somerset Railway plc will be losing two of directors at June annual general meeting.

"At its March Board meeting, the PLC received confirmation tht commercial director David Baker is standing down for personal reasons.

But he will remain as share registrar and continue to support the West Somerset Railway in a role which includes oversight of its long service awards and the organisation and management of the AGM.

He has served the railway over many years in a variety of voluntary roles.

Also stepping down is Geof Cox, HR director, who only joined the board in November.

He lives on the outskirts of Bristol and the travel requirements combined with business commitments mean he cannot give sufficient time to what is a growing and challenging HR agenda within the company.

The board will now be seeking to recruit replacements for the two.

Plc chairman John Irven said: “David has been an invaluable contributor to the plc board, most recently as vice-chairman and acting chairman during my illness last year, and I am very pleased that he will be able to continue as share registrar and his contribution to the WSR.

“Due to Geof’s commitments, he is unfortunately unable to continue on board, but has already made a significant contribution to developing and strengthening our HR function.

“We wish them both well for the future.”