Appeal for help to lift rare carriage from garden

A railway heritage trust is appealing for help to extract a rare passenger carriage from the garden of a house.

The current owners, Sarah Cripps and George Pike, bought the property in Cannington from a rail enthusiast.

They have asked Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust to move the carriage, which experts believed was built in Highbridge in the 1880s.

It was used on the Somerset and Dorset line before being taken out of service in the 1920s. The Chair of the Trust, Stephen Lacey said: "Out of all the original Somerset and Dorset coaches I think about five survive, so this is a rare beast."

The Somerset and Dorset Railway Line closed in March 1966.

At its height, the line linked places like Bridgwater, Burnham-on-Sea, Wells, Bath and Glastonbury.

After the carriage was taken out of service its wheels and underframe were removed and the main body was converted into a pavilion for tennis courts in the nearby village of Mark.

The carriage body remained in use as a pavilion until the late 1980s when it was privately bought and moved to it current location in Cannington.

Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust said a large 50 tonne crane with an extended boom will need to be used to lift the carriage from the garden.

Chair Stephen Lacey said: "When the previous owner put it in the garden there was obviously a lot more room around. Now we are in a position that to extract it we're going to need a really large crane."

He added: "We're looking to see if anybody in the local area can help us lift this, move it to a flat bed lorry and take it to Midsomer Norton."

It is hoped the carriage can form part of the trust's museum.