Friday 6th June

Friday, 6 June 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Community Speedwatch volunteers in Keinton Mandeville have stopped monitoring the local traffic because of online and verbal abuse. Redstart Primary School in Chard has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. A care home resident in Glastonbury has raised more than one thousand pounds for Children's Hospice Southwest by knitting soft toys...and more.

Community Speedwatch volunteers in Keinton Mandeville are temporarily pausing their activities due to online and verbal abuse. Somerset Council has talked about introducing a 20 mph speed limit in the village. The volunteers say they will only return to monitoring the local traffic once it comes into force. John Walker, a Speedwatch volunteer in Keinton Mandeville, says he and his colleagues have been subjected to the worst kind of abuse, and they’ve had enough of it.

Redstart Primary School in Chard has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. Inspectors spent two days assessing the school and praised its 'high expectations' and 'ambitious curriculum', ‘positive student behaviour’ and ‘personal development opportunities’.

Revised plans have been submitted to build 43 new homes at Queen Camel. If changes to the original application granted in 2019 are approved by Somerset Council, the homes will be built on West Camel Road. As part of the planning consent, developers, Ashford Homes Ltd, will provide nearly £300,000 towards new places at Countess Gytha Primary School and £60,000 towards new play equipment in Queen Camel.

A contractor has been appointed to rebuild the carnival sheds on Bristol Road in Bridgwater. The work, costing £5 million, involves replacing the existing sheds with 14 new ones, each equipped with heating, lighting, and running water.

A care home resident in Glastonbury has raised over £ 1,000 for Children's Hospice Southwest by knitting soft toys. Peggy Moore, who’s 93, lives at the Brunel Care Home in Glastonbury. She’s sold more than 100 of her knitted items for the charity.

Silver Street in Ilminster will be closed to traffic tomorrow and on Sunday. It’s to allow for a food and craft market to be held between the Market Square and Court Barton. Residents of Silver Street are kindly requested to remove their vehicles by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow.

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