Local News Friday 17th December

Friday, 17 December 2021 06:00

Hospitality businesses in Somerset are having bookings cancelled as concern grows over the impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant. A Somerton man has been jailed for 18-years for sexually assaulting two girls. Carers in Somerset are set to get a pay boost following an investment of five million pounds in the sector by Somerset County Council and the NHS. Public health officials say they're confident of meeting the government’s target of giving booster jabs to 1.7 million people in the South West in the next two weeks. A project run by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is helping local peopl

Hospitality businesses in Somerset are having bookings cancelled as concern grows over the impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant. Business owners say they’re facing a "cliff-edge" after Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, urged people to "think carefully" about attending social events before Christmas.

A Somerton man has been jailed for 18-years for sexually assaulting two girls. Alan Burnell of Brunel Flats in Somerton was appearing for sentencing at Taunton Crown Court after being found guilty of 11 indecency offences at a trial earlier in the year.

Carers in Somerset are set to get a pay boost following an investment of five million pounds in the sector by Somerset County Council and the NHS. The proposed changes to carer's pay include a retention bonus of £250 to those who’ve been working in registered care for the last six months and a 9% uplift to domiciliary care providers who agree to pay all their staff a minimum of £10.50 per hour.

Public health officials say they're confident of meeting the government’s target of giving booster jabs to 1.7 million people in the South West in the next two weeks. 2.3 million people have already had a COVID booster in the region.

A project run by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is helping local people with severe mental health conditions get back into employment. A team of five specialist coaches has been assigned to work with people not in jobs or who are struggling to hold down a job.

Sherborne Post Office has been unexpectedly closed due to what’s been described as ‘health-related' issues. The branch shut on Wednesday and isn’t expected to re-open until Monday at the earliest. The nearest post office to Sherborne is Yeovil.

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The new owner of Yeovil Town says he’s in talks with Somerset Council about buying back Huish Park. Water levels at some of Somerset’s reservoirs are below what they should be for this time of year. A Chard woman has been recognised in the King's Birthday Honours... and more.
Friday 13th June

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Chard, which left one person with life-threatening injuries. Texas Rocks in Middle Street, Yeovil, has closed temporarily following a significant fire. A Yeovil dental hygienist has been named as a finalist in the Ms Great Britain competition...and more.
Thursday 12th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised the Chancellor’s Spending Review for not delivering real change for Yeovil and South Somerset. The CEO of Leonardo UK states that they’re working towards closing the gender pay gap within the company. Yeovil Town is relocating its first-team training camp to Bristol... and more.
Wednesday 11th June

People in Somerset are being asked for their views on the state of the county’s roads and footpaths. A trial is being conducted at Yeovil Hospital to investigate whether administering shorter courses of antibiotics to patients can effectively treat sepsis. Somerset Council says it has no plans to reopen a block of public toilets in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 10th June

A mother from Chard says schools need to do more to identify students with dyslexia. A fire in a van that caught alight at Stoke-sub-Hamdon is being treated as accidental. A former Yeovil-based police officer, who made it appear he was working when he wasn’t, has been barred from policing...and more
Monday 9th June

Somerset Council is giving £1.5m to Hill View Special School at Ash near Martock to prevent it from closing. Two men have been convicted of killing a Yeovil man they mistakenly believed to be a convicted paedophile. People across Somerset are being asked to make a note of any wildlife they see...and more
Friday 6th June

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.
Thursday 5th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he’s been told the temporary closure of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital will not be made permanent. Firefighters have dealt with a fire on a coach carrying passengers at Vagg Hill in Yeovil. The authorities in Chile are holding a man who lives in Milborne Port after being found with class-A drugs in a suitcase...and more.