CAMPAIGNERS from the Sedgemoor area took part in a protest in Taunton on Wednesday to campaign against proposed multi-million pound cuts at Somerset County Council.

Members of Bridgwater Trades Union Council were among those assembled outside Shire Hall before the start of the morning’s county council meeting.

One protester said cuts could ‘decimate’ public services, adding.

“We’ve all seen over the past few years quite a dramatic cut in services everywhere and what I find particularly offensive is the fact that it has been vulnerable and the poor who have basically taken it all.

“They’ve cut youth services, they’re cutting health services, they’re cutting community services and it’s pretty much decimated all of it.

“It’s relied on the voluntary sector to come and rescue the day, but that’s actually not going to help – people in deprived areas don’t necessarily have those volunteers available.

“It’s not simple enough to cut it and not look at the causes of it, what we should be doing is looking at what we can do to help people, how we can efficiently use money, because we can, and really try to find a different route forward.”

At the beginning of February, Somerset County Council leader John Osman said difficult decisions would have to be made as part of the financial challenge facing the council.