Friday 1st August

Friday, 1 August 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

A family in Marston Magna is trying to get a relative home from a holiday in Greece, where he's been taken seriously ill. The fire service is warning of the dangers of leaving mirrors in view of direct sunlight. Residents in Touchstone Lane in Chard have started a new community speed watch group...and more

A family in Marston Magna is trying to get a relative home from a holiday in Greece, where he's been taken seriously ill after insurers refused to pay his travel costs. His insurance company say that Alan Kirby had a pre-existing medical condition that was not disclosed when he applied for travel insurance. His stepdaughter, Lisa Whitemore, has launched an appeal for money to bring him home and is urging holidaymakers to read the terms and conditions of their insurance policies before travelling.

The fire service is warning of the dangers of leaving mirrors in view of direct sunlight following a fire at a property in Crofton Park in Yeovil caused by a mirror left by a window. The fire service says the mirror was left in direct sunlight, sparking a fire that spread to textile wall hangings in a bedroom.

Residents in Touchstone Lane and Helliers Road in Chard have started a community speed watch group. The group, which applied to register with Avon and Somerset Police, want a 20-mile-an-hour limit, together with other traffic-calming measures, introduced in Touchstone Lane and Helliers Road.

A further 60 homes could be built close to Castle Cary railway station if new plans are approved. The development will be accessed via Burfitt Road within the Lovel’s Farm site, and is in addition to the Station Green development at Ansford Hill, where 200 new homes are planned. Grass Roots Planning says a planning application will be submitted to Somerset Council before Christmas. Meanwhile, 49 new homes are to be built in Bruton. Somerset Council has approved plans for the development on the A359 at Cuckoo Hill, close to where a new doctors' surgery will be built.

And, due to the closure of A378 at Langport for bridge repairs, the Nat West mobile bank will be parked at a different location during August. It can be found in the car park at the Rose and Crown pub each Thursday, 12.30 to 1.15 pm. The A378 will be shut between Eastover and the junction with Moor Close to the end of August.

More from News

Monday 16th March

Drivers are being told that it could take several more weeks yet before Hendford Hill in Yeovil reopens to traffic. A new bus service between Glastonbury and Castle Cary railway station is to start on a trial basis. Children in Chard are being given free reading books as part of a scheme founded by Dolly Parton... and more
Friday 13th March

The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more
Thursday 12th March

A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more
Wednesday 11th March

Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more
Tuesday 10th March

Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more
Monday 9th March

Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more
Friday 6th March

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more
Thursday 5th March

Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more