A COMMUNITY in the Blackdown Hills is starting to realise the potential of an electronic information service.

Created single-handedly by David Steel, www.hemyock.org is a new service which provides information about the village, the parish council, and Hemyock Education and Leisure Project (HELP).

Although the website has only been accessible for little more than a month, it has already received 'hits' or visits from people inside and outside Hemyock.

Mr Steel, an IT manager for manufacturing firm, Brecknell, Willis & Co in Chard, told the County Gazette: "The website has been designed for two reasons: to improve communications between the parish council and the community it serves; and for the HELP group.

"It is a really important resource because it is so easy to update, and I hope we can get more public participation in community projects and issues."

The website is a series of linked pages which covers a wide range of topics including the parish council and its meetings; the Parish Pump; sports, social and other clubs; and What's On listings.

The youth in the village are also being encouraged to take part in developing the website and already have a section called 'youth stuff'.

"It is as much about providing contacts and mechanism for getting in touch with the right people, as it is about making information more accessible," said Mr Steel.

"There are contacts for all sorts of organisations from Devon County and Mid Devon District Council, Bloors Homes which is heavily involved with building contracts in the village, as well as bus services and even doctors surgeries.

"It has taken me just a series of a half a dozen evenings using a system similar to desktop publishing to create the site - it's not rocket science anymore, anyone can make a website."

And this is why Mr Steel, one of the ten parish councillors in Hemyock, hopes other people will take an interest in the facility, and create links to their sites.

Looking to the future, he said: "I am hoping to get Clayhidon and Culmstock linked in some way, with information from all the villages.

"Maybe, one day, it can be used as a forum for discussion of the issues important to the area, but we are really still at the experimental stage."