Friday 24th November

Friday, 24 November 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

A Police operation has resulted in 160 knives being taken off the streets in the Avon and Somerset force area. Ofsted says pupil suspension rates in Somerset are alarmingly high. It’s a big night for Christmas light switch-on events in South Somerset with Christmas lights being turned on in Wincanton, Ilminster and Crewkerne...and more.

A Police operation has resulted in 160 knives being taken off the streets in the Avon and Somerset force area. Officers carried out a range of engagement activities to encourage people not to carry knives or get involved in serious violence as part of Operation Sceptre.

Ofsted says pupil suspension rates in Somerset are alarmingly high. In their annual report, Ofsted says the national average for pupil suspensions is 7 per cent, while in Somerset it's above ten per cent. The rate of pupils missing school, or absenteeism, in Somerset is again above the national average by around two per cent.

The Manager of Yeovil’s Quedam Shopping Centre says longer-term guarantees are needed on business rates to help struggling retailers. Commenting on Wednesday’s Government Autumn Statement, James Tovey says an extension of 12 months in the 75 per cent discount on business rates was to be welcomed but didn’t give smaller businesses the ability to plan ahead.

Two lead members of Somerset Council have announced they will be stepping down from their executive roles at the end of the year. Tessa Munt and Mike Rigby will resign from their positions on the Executive but will continue as local councillors.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust – which includes Yeovil Hospital - has issued an apology following yesterday’s news that up to two hundred people have had their hospital records inappropriately accessed by a member of staff. The Trust says the individual concerned, who no longer works for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, accessed the records of people who were known to them over a period of six years. Avon and Somerset Police are currently conducting an investigation into the circumstances.

It’s a big night for Christmas light switch-ons in South Somerset. Christmas lights are being turned on in Wincanton, Ilminster and Crewkerne tonight. Tomorrow, it’s the turn of Chard to switch on their Christmas decorations.

More from News

Friday 31st July

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says July has been its busiest month ever for emergency calls. Police have recovered a 1970s Austin Mini pick-up stolen in Shepton Mallet. A specialist spinal injuries service at Yeovil Hospital has treated three hundred patients in its first year... and more
Thursday 30th July

The Environment Agency has declared a drought across Somerset as the hot weather takes its toll on the county's water supplies. Police are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic accident near Crewkerne. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow...and more
Wednesday 29th July

Police have arrested two suspects in connection with a series of moped thefts in Chard. A combine harvester has been destroyed in a farm fire at Forton, near Chard. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow... and more
Tuesday 28th July

The former Beales department store in Yeovil could be brought back into use as part of a wider masterplan for the future of the town. A yellow heat health alert is in place across Somerset from nine o’clock this morning until nine o’clock on Friday morning. A Somerset farmer says this year is the driest on his land since 1976... and more
Monday 27th July

Gooch and Housego, based in Ilminster and one of the town’s biggest employers, has been sold in a multi-million-pound deal to an American private equity firm. A father who shook his four-week-old baby to death at a house in Chard has been sentenced to life in prison. A doctor who works for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is one of five people to have jointly set a new world record for rowing around Great Britain... and more
Friday 24th July

Avon and Somerset Police are warning people to watch out for scammers posing as Amazon. The CEO of the company that provides Somerset's recycling is warning of a major incident if people continue to put used batteries in waste bins. A former Yeovil pub could be demolished to make way for a major hotel expansion.
Thursday 23rd July

The West Country is officially one step closer to being declared in drought. Somerset Council says it's remodelling its service after a children's home was closed following an inspection. A new McDonald's planned off the M5 at Bridgwater could create up to 120 local jobs... and more
Wednesday 22nd July

Two men have been jailed for stealing electrical items and cash from a property in Yeovil. Somerset Council has defended its use of Yeovil’s new performance area in The Triangle, in Lower Middle Street. Tintinhull Primary School, near Yeovil, has won a top national award for outdoor play... and more