Friday 28th February

Friday, 28 February 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

A local man has been charged after allegedly driving a tractor while under the influence of alcohol. One hundred bikes, collected with household waste in Somerset, have been donated to charity. The junction of the A37 Ilchester Road and Stiby Road in Yeovil will again shut this evening for resurfacing...and more.

A local man has been charged after allegedly driving a tractor while under the influence of alcohol. The man was stopped while driving the tractor at Stonehill near Street on Saturday night. The 34-year-old has been charged with driving a motor vehicle with an alcohol level above the legal limit. He's been released on bail and is due to appear at Yeovil Magistrates' Court next month.

Short stay and drop off prices at Bristol Airport are going up next week. From Monday, the cost of a 10-minute drop-off at the airport will rise to £7. Bristol Airport says it’s to meet the cost of higher National Insurance payments. Ian Adams, who runs a taxi business in Castle Cary, says he will be passing on the extra costs of using Bristol Airport to his passengers.

More than 100 bikes, collected with household waste in Somerset in the past six months, have been donated to charity for refurbishing or using for spare parts. Somerset Council launched the ‘On Your Bike’ initiative in partnership with its collection’s contractor, Suez, in September last year. If you have an unwanted bike to donate, put it out for collection with your normal waste items.

A Somerset woman has set up a charity, providing women with outfits for job interviews. Jane Ellis launched the service in 2021 following a career change and deciding she had a wardrobe full of clothes that she no longer needed.

A festival celebrating friendship and inclusion is set to return to Chard. The Chard Together Festival will be held on Saturday, March 22, at Chard Guildhall featuring singing, dancing, arts and crafts, food tasting, face painting, and henna art. The event follows the success of last year’s Chard Together Festival, and is open to everyone to attend.

The junction of the A37 Ilchester Road and Stiby Road in Yeovil will again shut this evening for the road to be resurfaced, A diversion will be in operation between the hours of 6.30 pm and 11.30 pm.

More from News

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
Wednesday 4th March

A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more