Friday 23rd February

Friday, 23 February 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of committing fraud and money laundering in the South West, including in Somerset. Bus users in Yeovil have welcomed the decision to keep the 54 and 58 services running for a further 12 months. Young people in Chard will soon have the chance to learn about dance, drama and singing at a new School of Musical Theatre...and more.

Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of committing fraud and money laundering offences in the South West, including in Somerset. The group defrauded six people out of eight million pounds. Two of the victims are from Somerset, with over four million pounds taken from one of them. Using doctored telephone numbers, the fraudsters convinced their targets that their savings were at risk, and persuaded them to move their money to other cryptocurrency accounts.

Bus users in Yeovil have welcomed the decision to keep the 54 and 58 services out of the town running for a further 12 months. Both routes had been under threat due to low passenger numbers and Somerset Council cutting its subsidy. The 54 from Yeovil to Taunton through Somerton and Langport and the 58 that runs between Yeovil and Wincanton via Sherborne have been funded until March next year when a further review will take place.

Taunton Town Football Club has confirmed that it has now paid all the money it owed to tax authorities. The Club was subjected to a winding-up petition in January and stopped from buying and selling players. In a statement, the club says the news is a relief, but doesn't mean they are free from financial challenges. The transfer embargo against the club has also been lifted.

The National Trust is looking for volunteers to work at its properties in Somerset. It’s planning a series of local drop-in sessions in the hope of finding volunteers to help out at places like Montecute House and Lytes Cary Manor.

Young people in Chard will soon have the chance to learn about dance, drama and singing at a new School of Musical Theatre opening in the town. Chard-based musician and actress Bethany Goodman is behind the idea and will launch the Bethany Brown School of Musical Theatre at Holyrood Academy starting in April.

Wincanton Chamber of Commerce has announced the date of its annual Business Fair. It’s being held in the Memorial Hall in Wincanton on Wednesday, March 27th. To display your business at the event will cost £50.

More from News

Monday 16th June

The new owner of Yeovil Town says he’s in talks with Somerset Council about buying back Huish Park. Water levels at some of Somerset’s reservoirs are below what they should be for this time of year. A Chard woman has been recognised in the King's Birthday Honours... and more.
Friday 13th June

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Chard, which left one person with life-threatening injuries. Texas Rocks in Middle Street, Yeovil, has closed temporarily following a significant fire. A Yeovil dental hygienist has been named as a finalist in the Ms Great Britain competition...and more.
Thursday 12th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised the Chancellor’s Spending Review for not delivering real change for Yeovil and South Somerset. The CEO of Leonardo UK states that they’re working towards closing the gender pay gap within the company. Yeovil Town is relocating its first-team training camp to Bristol... and more.
Wednesday 11th June

People in Somerset are being asked for their views on the state of the county’s roads and footpaths. A trial is being conducted at Yeovil Hospital to investigate whether administering shorter courses of antibiotics to patients can effectively treat sepsis. Somerset Council says it has no plans to reopen a block of public toilets in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 10th June

A mother from Chard says schools need to do more to identify students with dyslexia. A fire in a van that caught alight at Stoke-sub-Hamdon is being treated as accidental. A former Yeovil-based police officer, who made it appear he was working when he wasn’t, has been barred from policing...and more
Monday 9th June

Somerset Council is giving £1.5m to Hill View Special School at Ash near Martock to prevent it from closing. Two men have been convicted of killing a Yeovil man they mistakenly believed to be a convicted paedophile. People across Somerset are being asked to make a note of any wildlife they see...and more
Friday 6th June

Community Speedwatch volunteers in Keinton Mandeville have stopped monitoring the local traffic because of online and verbal abuse. Redstart Primary School in Chard has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. A care home resident in Glastonbury has raised more than one thousand pounds for Children's Hospice Southwest by knitting soft toys...and more.
Thursday 5th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he’s been told the temporary closure of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital will not be made permanent. Firefighters have dealt with a fire on a coach carrying passengers at Vagg Hill in Yeovil. The authorities in Chile are holding a man who lives in Milborne Port after being found with class-A drugs in a suitcase...and more.