Police investigate two Somerset fires as Locking road closure and M5 disruption add to travel pressure

Within four days, Avon & Somerset Police have launched investigations into two fires in Somerset and appealed for witnesses over an assault in Bristol, while separate road closures and motorway delays affected travel in the region [1][9][6][8][2][3][4][5].

A large fire broke out near Locking Farm Industrial Estate, close to Weston-super-Mare, in the early hours of 18 August, and the force has launched an investigation into the cause [1]. On 21 August, another fire at Pen Elm Hill in Norton Fitzwarren was being treated as suspicious, with police appealing for witnesses [9]. In Bristol, two people were assaulted during an incident in Stokes Croft between 3.50 and 4.05am on 14 August, prompting a CCTV appeal [6]. On the same day, three men were sentenced at Taunton Crown Court for car-key burglaries in Somerset, Avon & Somerset Police said [7].

Travel disruption added to the picture. The M5 was partially closed in Somerset on 19 August after reports of an incident, with heavy delays building, the North Somerset Times, Weston Mercury, Somerset County Gazette and Bridgwater Mercury reported [2][3][4][5]. First Bus also said Elm Tree Road in Locking will be closed from 09:30 to 15:30 on 28 August, affecting service 125 and requiring diversions via the A371, Old Banwell Road and Meadow Drive [8].