Friday 31st October

Friday, 31 October 2025 05:00

By Steve Haigh

There's anger in Chard about a road diversion in place alongside two sets of roadworks through the town. A motorcyclist has been injured in an accident in Bruton. £100,000 has been donated towards re-opening Shepton Mallet’s Amulet theatre...and more

There's anger in Chard about a road diversion in place alongside two sets of roadworks through the town. Work is underway to repair a gas main on the A358, together with a flood alleviation scheme in Glynswood. Drivers are being diverted through a housing estate, which they say is absolutely ridiculous. The councillor in charge of transport at Somerset Council, Richard Wilkins, says months of planning went into organising the roadworks in Chard that have angered local drivers.

A motorcyclist has been injured in an accident involving a motorbike and a car in Bruton. The incident occurred on Shute Lane at approximately 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday. The motorcyclist was taken to hospital by ambulance. Anyone who witnessed the crash and can help police with their inquiries is asked to please call the non-emergency number 101.

More than £100,000 has been donated towards reopening Shepton Mallet’s Amulet theatre. The public was asked to help out after a one-million-pound grant promised to the Amulet by the previous Conservative administration was withdrawn by Labour when they came into government.

Roads around Bridgwater will close early tomorrow for the Bridgwater Carnival. Knowle Road and Trevor Road will shut at midday, with Monmouth Street shutting at 1 pm. St Mary Street, Cornhill, High Street, Mount Street, Northgate, The Clink, and East Quay will shut at 4 pm. Up to 100,000 people are expected to watch Bridgwater Carnival.

A schoolboy in Somerset is trying to collect a large bag of litter every day for 100 days. Theo, who is nine, is doing it to raise money for the environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage. He's just over halfway through the challenge.

Somerset-based Bradfords Building Suppliers is marking its 225th anniversary this week. Bradfords, which has branches across the South West, including one on Hendford Hill in Yeovil, was founded in Pilton on the Somerset Levels in 1770.

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