TRIBUTES have been paid to a Watchet man, Alan Stanistreet, among the last of the recorders, known as 'loggers', to be employed at Taunton Crown Court.

The court is the first in the South West to replace human beings with computer chips.

At a special presentation ceremony last week, Judge Graham Hume Jones recalled that, when he first started at the Bar, court proceedings were recorded by shorthand writers who were later replaced by stenographers.

Then came the loggers, who operated recording machines, but the sad thing is that the human touch is gradually being removed from court proceedings, he said.

"We now have a system, called Dart, a totally faceless automatic recorder that will record every word in the courtroom, even 15 minutes before the court sits.

"Any judge in the country will be able to go online and listen to the proceedings in Taunton Crown Court," he added.

The last four loggers, Mr Stanistreet, with nine years' service, and Taunton residents Alec Kennedy, 18 years, Richard Bull, four years and Andrew Pike, three years, were presented with memento cards and gifts from court staff and the judge and senior barrister Patrick Mason thanked them for their service.