Friday 6th October

    A new scheme, aimed at making women feel safer when out and about, is being piloted in Somerset. Somerset-based Olympic swimmer, Brodie Williams, says more needs to be done to stop the closure of public swimming pools. Michael Ball and Deborah Meaden are two of the big names appearing at this year’s Yeovil Literary Festival...and more.

    A new scheme, aimed at making women feel safer when out and about is being piloted in Somerset. It’s part of efforts by Avon and Somerset Police to tackle violence against women and girls. Called ‘Walk and Talk’, women can arrange to meet with a female officer to show them areas where they feel most at risk. 

    The Department of Culture, Media and Sport says it is keen to hear what Somerset Council intends to do next with up-grading Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre after plans to spend £29 million on the project were paused due to rising costs. A new business plan is now being prepared with the aim of finding new ways to fund the upgrade to make it more affordable.

    Somerset-based Olympic swimmer and Commonwealth Gold Medalist Brodie Williams says more should be done to protect access for children to learn how to swim. Swim England and Ofsted have both warned that public swimming is under threat due to pool closures and high energy costs. 

    Michael Ball, Deborah Meaden, and poet Roger McGough are some of the big names appearing at this year’s Yeovil Literary Festival. It runs from Thursday, October 26th until Monday, October 30th with forty-three leading authors taking part. 

    A coffee morning held in Chard has raised £2,000 for the cancer charity Macmillan. It was organised by the family of Guy Warren who hold the event every year in his memory.

    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

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Light rain

      High: 12°C | Low: 5°C

    • Chard

      Sunny intervals

      High: 11°C | Low: 4°C

    • Crewkerne

      Sunny intervals

      High: 11°C | Low: 4°C

    • Somerton

      Light rain shower

      High: 11°C | Low: 5°C

    • Wincanton

      Light rain

      High: 12°C | Low: 4°C

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