Friday 2nd August

Friday, 2 August 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Police are appealing for witnesses to a street fight involving around twenty teenagers in Somerton. Police have seized drugs and weapons including knives during a search of three properties in Castle Cary. The annual Roma Holocaust memorial service takes place today at Sherborne Abbey...and more

Police are appealing for witnesses to a street fight involving around twenty teenagers in Somerton. It happened in Langport Road at around 9 pm on Friday, July 12th. Police would like to hear from anyone in the area at the time who saw the disturbance or has dashcam footage.

Police have seized drugs and weapons including knives during a search of three properties in Castle Cary. Cash, mobile phones and suspected counterfeit designer bags and clothing were also recovered. Three men and two women, arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of class A and B drugs, were later released under investigation, pending further enquiries.

The cost of rural crimes has risen by almost 70 percent in the last twelve months. New figures from NFU Mutual show rural crime cost the county around 1.3 million pounds between June 2023 and June of this year, with gangs stealing from several farms in one night.

Road safety concerns are blocking progress on building 125 new homes and a medical centre in Bruton. Land on either side of Brewham Road has been earmarked for the scheme with the Acorn Property Group building sixty homes to the south, and Woolsington One Ltd 65 new homes to the north, as well as allocating land for a new doctors’ surgery. Somerset Council’s planning committee south discussed both applications at a meeting on July 23rd, with officers recommending they be given the go-ahead. However, the committee voted to defer a decision until further assurances regarding highway safety and access to both sites had been provided.
A business case has been finalised to connect the West Somerset Railway line to the main rail line through Taunton. Currently, the heritage line goes between Bishops Lydeard and Minehead, via Watchet, Blue Anchor, Dunster and Williton. £6 million of public funding would be needed to create the link.

At the Olympics, Becky Wilde from Somerset won a bronze with her partner Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne in the Double Sculls rowing final. The pair finished behind Romania who came 2nd and New Zealand who won gold in the Women's Coxless Four Final Helen Glover who went to school and trained in Somerset won silver along with her teammates Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten.

The annual Roma Holocaust memorial service takes place today at Sherborne Abbey. The service which starts at midday and will be attended by the Lord Lieutenant of Dorset is held every year in remembrance of Gypsy and Roma people who perished at the hands of the Nazi regime in the second world war.

A former Yeovil College media student will have his latest film premiered at Cineworld in Yeovil tonight. Connor Raithby wrote, directed and stars in Stapler, a comedy about a talking stapler.

More from News

Thursday 1st May

There’s been a call for the Somerset Levels to be designated a National Landscape. A Yeovil man has raised £2,000 for a new school minibus at Fairmead School in Yeovil by running the London Marathon. Exmoor Ales, which provides cask ales across the region and beyond, is closing its Somerset brewery and moving the business to Surrey...and more.
Wednesday 30th April

The long-awaited refurbishment of Yeovil police station is finally to get underway this summer. Plans have been approved to build 185 new homes off Bunford Lane in Yeovil. Police have arrested three men in Yeovil for being involved in the supply of Class A drugs. A Somerset jockey has been named Champion Conditional Jockey of 2025...and more.
Tuesday 29th April

New figures have shown that registering as a new patient with an NHS dentist in Somerset is still just as difficult as it was six months ago. The go-ahead has been given to build 160 new houses on Station Road in Castle Cary. A sailor from South Petherton has been chosen to lead a team in the round-the-world Clipper Race...and more.
Monday 28th April

Somerset Council is being criticised for taking too long to re-open Yeovil's Octagon Theatre. The Liberal Democrats have won a seat on Chard Town Council by one vote. Dates have been announced for this year’s illuminated carnival processions in South Somerset...and more.
Friday 25th April

Police are investigating the theft of a motorbike in Ilminster. Tributes have been paid to the former Yeovil Town player-manager, Cecil Irwin, who has died aged 83. Town criers from across the South West will be in Yeovil tomorrow competing for the loudest voice in the Yeovil Town Crier Competition 2025...and more
Thursday 24th April

Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in which a child was struck by a car in Yeovil. This week, a planning inquiry is being held into plans to turn a Somerset shopping centre into a retirement complex. A Somerset woman is planning to walk the 70-miles of Hadrian's Wall to mark her 90th birthday...and more.
Wednesday 23rd April

Tourism bosses in Somerset say they feel confident the County will have a good summer for visitors this year. A group representing care providers in Somerset is warning that some residential homes are at risk of going out of business due to rising costs. A Somerset animal charity has taken into care, three orphaned badger cubs...and more.
Tuesday 22nd April

The Care Quality Commission has given two GP practices in Yeovil a 'good' overall rating. According to insurers, AXA, thefts at commercial premises in Somerset are on the rise. Bus users in Somerset could see changes to the frequency of services when the new West of England mayor takes office. Martock is to host its first Pride event in June...and more.