Friday 14th August

Friday, 14 August 2026 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Police are investigating an incident in which obscene words were scratched onto the World War One memorial at Ham Hill. Yeovil MP Adam Dance has repeated his call for the upgrade of the town’s police station to include a custody suite. A Somerset carnival club is building a specially adapted float to allow a wheelchair user and her assistance dog to take part in this year’s carnival circuit...and more

Police are investigating an incident in which obscene words were scratched onto the World War One memorial at Ham Hill near Stoke-sub-Hamdon. The Grade-2 listed structure displays the names of those who died fighting on the Western Front between 1914 and 1918. Avon and Somerset Police believe the incident happened overnight last weekend. If you can help the police with their inquiries, you’re asked to please call the non-emergency number 101.

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has repeated his call for the upgrade of the town’s police station to include a custody suite. Mr Dance says it makes no sense for people arrested in the Yeovil area to be taken to the nearest custody suite in Bridgwater. He says officers working across South Somerset will spend significant time taking someone into custody in Bridgwater. Mr Dance has written to the Home Secretary asking for information on the impact of the nearest custody suite being in Bridgwater, including how much police time will be spent travelling there.

Somerset Council says it will continue operating five separate planning systems for at least another two years. The council inherited the systems when it was created in 2023 and says the earliest it can introduce a single planning system is April 2028.

A Somerset carnival club is building a specially adapted float to allow a wheelchair user and her assistance dog to take part in this year’s carnival circuit. Chloe Hammond, a full-time wheelchair user and member of Misfits Carnival Club, is being provided with the adapted cart to make it safe for her to join in. The club is appealing for people with DIY, carpentary and construction skills to help complete the accessible cart before the carnival season begins this autumn.

More from News

Thursday 10th September

Work has begun building a new multi-million-pound David Lloyd leisure centre in Yeovil. NHS Somerset says a new system to handle emergency stroke care will lead to "better outcomes" for patients. Tickets for next year’s Glastonbury Festival will go on sale in October...and more
Wednesday 9th September

Police have released an image of a man they want to speak to following an assault in Yeovil. Businesses in Taunton say they're worried that planned changes to parking rules could put people off visiting the town. The Red Arrows will take to the skies near the Somerset border in a one-off display later this week... and more
Tuesday 8th September

Police in Avon and Somerset say they’re dealing with a big increase in reports of cloned vehicle fraud. A new video system designed to speed up stroke care has been launched in Somerset. Pilgrims are walking through Somerset this week to mark eight hundred years since the death of Saint Francis of Assisi... and more
Monday 7th September

Avon and Somerset Police are warning about a new scam involving criminals posing as police officers. Flu vaccinations are now available on the NHS ahead of the winter. Liverpool comedian John Bishop has cancelled his show in Taunton later this week after breaking his ankle... and more
Friday 4th September

Police are investigating a suspected arson attack on a vehicle near Shepton Mallet. New taxi charges come into force in Somerset later this month. The fire service is treating as accidental a blaze at a flat in Yeovil town centre... and more
Thursday 3rd September

Fifteen thousand people have signed a petition calling on Somerset Council to cancel plans for a huge data centre in Bridgwater. A nest of Asian hornets has been found in Somerset. More patients in Somerset are set to benefit from a hospital project aimed at restoring independence... and more
Wednesday 2nd September

Yeovil-based charity, School in a Bag, has started sending supplies to Nepal to help in the aftermath of the devastating floods. 6,000 people have signed a petition opposing plans for a new relief road in Chard. The Royal British Legion in Somerset is appealing for more volunteers to help run this year’s Poppy Appeal... and more
Tuesday 1st September

One person had to be cut free from a vehicle following a two-vehicle collision on the A30 near Chard. A Yeovil man has been jailed for 7-and-a-half years for supplying cocaine and cannabis. Two Somerset teenagers have become the youngest to swim the Bristol Channel... and more