A POPULAR beach which was due to close to vehicles during the winter will now be open seven days a week.

Sedgemoor District Council (SDC) made the decision to close Berrow Beach over the winter last month due to safety concerns.

The council then decided to re-open the beach on certain days.

However, there was a petition started by local residents who wanted to make sure the beach was kept open to vehicles seven days a week during the winter months.

Rita Morgan set up the petition saying locals were being 'inconvenienced' by the move.

READ MORE: Uproar as council closes Berrow beach over the winter

But Rita - and many other residents - were not happy with the irregular opening times announced by SDC a few weeks ago.

Now, SDC has announced the beach will be open between 10am and 3pm seven days a week, with a beach safety warden on hand for any safety issues and advice.

There will be no charge to part on the beach during the winter months.

"Beach-goers are reminded that with the clocks changing and the winter approaching, that the 3pm closing time will make the most of the daylight hours," said a spokesperson for SDC.

"The gates are closed to prevent vehicles from accessing the beach when there are no safety staff on duty, but the beach itself is not closed.

"There is parking in the nearby Berrow Dunes Nature reserve car park, with pedestrian access.

"There are disabled access points at nearby Burnham-on-Sea beach for those who are unable to use the pedestrian access to Berrow Beach."

SDC is also building a car park just off Coast Road at Berrow.

The work on this is due to start on Monday, November 15, and will take two weeks.

"The vehicle and pedestrian access will be closed for those two weeks to allow heavy plant and machinery to work uninterrupted to create the 30 permanent parking spaces, which are not on the beach," added the spokesperson for SDC.

"Once installed, these car parking spaces will be free until Easter 2022.

"Therefore, the new seven day arrangements will start on Monday, November 29, once the work has been completed."

The reason for the winter closure to vehicles was due to residents becoming stuck in the mud each year, and emergency services are called on many occasions.