JUST months after the bus service between Porlock and Minehead was saved, it is being extended to run on Saturdays as well as weekdays.

The new service starts tomorrow (July 29) and will run for the rest of the summer and into autumn – thanks to the generosity of community funders.

The number 10 bus service, which linked Porlock with Minehead, was axed last October along with the number 11 Minehead town bus, but they were restored earlier this year thanks to a pioneering agreement.

Contributions from Porlock Parish Council, Minehead Town Council and Selworthy and Luccombe Parish Councils enabled a £15,000 package to be put together with Somerset County Council and Buses for Somerset to getv the btwo services back on the road.

That financed a Monday to Friday service on the Porlock-Minehead route which is proving popular and commercially viable, and it was hoped that enough money could be raised from the public by next year to add a Saturday service.

But thanks to the community, the £1,200 needed to cover the costs has already come in, with donations made through collecting tins around Porlock as well as coming from individuals and local organisations, son the service starts tomorrow.

“The community has certainly come up trumps,” said Chris Fitzgerald, Porlock Parish Council clerk.

“It means locals can visit family and friends on a Saturday and keep in touch, so it’s more of a social bus - as well as being very important to people on holiday.”

She said the Saturday service was probably going to be seasonal, and it was intended to carry on until the end of October.

After that it would be assessed to see what the local need was once holidaymakers were gone.