WEYMOUTH weatherman Bob Poots has expressed his disappointment after councillors decided to axe the town’s meteorological service.

Members of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s management committee met on Tuesday and agreed to stop its funding, saving the council £8,358 each year.

A weather station has existed in Weymouth since the 1880s. The council has recorded the retrospective daily weather information since 1926.

Mr Poots, who has been in charge of the service for 17 years, said: “There’s not a lot I can say. It’s a great shame. We are one of the oldest stations in the country.

“I thought it was extremely valuable for tourism. There were many locals who had an interest in the weather. It’s helped two or three people write books.

“In fact one person got a doctorate using Weymouth weather records.

“I’m disappointed that it’s going but I suppose you move with the times.”

Cllr Ian Bruce and Cllr Rachel Rogers expressed their gratitude at the meeting for Mr Poots’ contribution.

Speaking afterwards, Cllr Rogers said difficult decisions needed to be made, with little room for sentiment.

She said: “Terminating the meteorological service will reduce council costs by more than £8,000 per year, helping it to match the cuts imposed by central government.

“The decision to end the service was not taken lightly and followed a review which explored various options and included consultation with users and key stakeholders, including the current post holder, plus public scrutiny by councillors.

“Our review identified that the responsibility for maintaining a density of weather stations rests with the Met Office, which has no specific requirement for a station in Weymouth.

“Ours is a retrospective weather recording service, not a weather forecasting service. Weather data, analysis and comment is available from other sources, including online.

“The council does not have to provide this service under law and the review found that current users, including the Met Office, were unwilling to make any financial contribution to support the future running of the service.

“Of course the breach of a historic archive is something to be regretted but these are financially challenging times and there is little room for sentiment. I would like to thank all staff involved in carrying out this service over the years for their valuable contribution.”