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

Friday 14th March

Four Somerset businesses, including one in Yeovil, have been handed a total of £170,000 in civil penalties for employing illegal workers. National garage chain ATS Euromaster has closed its branch in Wincanton. A farmer in Wincanton is being hailed as a hero after rescuing his pigs from a burning barn... and more
Thursday 13th March

A new campaign has been launched to persuade people in Somerset to stop smoking. Four people have been arrested in Chard in connection with the supply of Class A drugs. A dog from Yeovil has won the title of ‘best in breed’ at Cruffs....and more.
Wednesday 12th March

A charity in Somerset is appealing for support after one of its sites was vandalised. The Leader of Somerset Council has been to Westminster to put the case for central government to provide councils with more money. A new primary school is to built in Chard.... and more
Tuesday 11th March

The union representing workers at Somerset Council is warning of further job cuts at the council next year. Secondary school pupils in Somerset are being offered help to withstand peer pressure to vape or smoke. The bells of St George's Church in Hinton St George have been fully restored after becoming difficult to ring ... and more
Monday 10th March

A property in Raglan Terrace in Yeovil has been closed down by a court order after it was linked to anti-social behaviour. NHS Somerset says investing in nurse apprenticeships has helped to boost recruitment. A new community garden has opened in Chard.... and more
Friday 7th March

The Leader of Somerset Council has repeated his call for a reform of the way that councils are funded. Crimestoppers is stepping up efforts to help tackle violent crime in Somerset. A new radar satellite is playing a crucial role in collecting data about flooding in Somerset...and more
Thursday 6th March

Somerset Council has approved a seven-and-a-half percent increase in council tax. People are being asked to return boxes of paracetamol bought from Boots Chemists in Somerset. It’s been revealed that five members of staff at Somerset Council are being allowed to work from home outside the UK...and more
Wednesday 5th March

Somerset Council has been told that hundreds of millions of pounds in loans taken out by former district councils, including South Somerset, have to be paid back. A Somerset charity says it needs more volunteers to help with research into new treatments for dementia. A local shop owner has welcomed Somerset Council’s decision to scrap plans to charge for parking after 6 pm...and more.