Local News Friday 12th March

Friday, 12 March 2021 07:30

A Sherborne man has appeared in court to deny an offence under the Hunting Act. Somerset Wildlife Centre is the latest to sign a petition for hedgehogs to have better protection. Police are appealing for information about a horse trailer stolen in Yeabridge, near South Petherton. Motorists are being warned of a road closure between Ilchester and Yeovil, beginning next Monday....and more

A Sherborne man has appeared in court to deny an offence under the Hunting Act. Mark Hankinson, aged 60, is accused of encouraging or assisting others in an online webinar to commit an offence under the Hunting Act 2004. A director of the Masters of Foxhounds Association, Mr Hankinson attended the hearing virtually at Westminster magistrates court and pleaded not guilty. The case was adjourned for a trial to be held in September.

Somerset Wildlife Centre is the latest to sign a petition for hedgehogs to have better protection. The petition calls for the animals to be moved into schedule 5 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. Putting them in this category would make sure hedgehogs' nesting sites were protected from harm.

Police are appealing for information about a horse trailer stolen in Yeabridge, near South Petherton. The trailer was taken on Monday and is described as a triple axle, Ifor Williams livestock trailer. It has the registration plate CK06 RDU and has a sticker on the side FK2469. Police are also searching for a sit-on motor mower stolen from near Ashill. The mower, made by Winton, was taken from a property on Barrington Hill Road, Windmill Hill between 10 pm on Sunday and 6 am on Monday earlier this week. Call the non-emergency number 101 if you can help with information on either of these crimes.

Motorists are being warned of a road closure between Ilchester and Yeovil. Beginning next Monday, the A37 Ilchester Straight, together with part of the B3151 Yeovil Road will be subjected to re-surfacing work. Work will take place between from Monday 15 March and Thursday 1 April from 7am to 7pm weekdays. These sections of road will be closed to all traffic during these dates, except to provide access for residents and business owners.

Children at Tintinhull Primary School near have been on a virtual trip to France. Pupils at St Margaret's have spent a week on-line leaning about the French Revolution, about French food and French literature, immersing themselves in the culture of the country from the safety of their classroom.

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