Trimmed WordPress Excerpt

<?php
/* Custom Excerpt */
 
// Remove default hellip 
function carawebs_remove_hellip( $more ) {
	    return '';
	}
	
add_filter('excerpt_more', 'carawebs_remove_hellip');

// Build a new excerpt with a nice Read More link

function carawebs_custom_excerpt() {
	
	$str = get_the_excerpt();
	
	// Remove unwanted trailing characters
 	$trimmed = rtrim ( $str, ".,:;!?" );
 	
	// Echo to the page and add a Read More link
	echo $trimmed; ?>&hellip;<br><a href="<?php echo get_permalink();?>">Read More&hellip;</a><?php
 
}
 
// Add to a Thesis 2.x hook
add_action ('hook_after_custom_excerpt', 'carawebs_custom_excerpt');