There’s been a warning that more cuts in bus services could be on the way in Somerset. An inquest into a military diving accident that caused the death of a soldier from Yeovil has found there were significant points of failure. Research suggests there could be ten times as many ancient trees in England, including in Somerset than are currently known about and a nurse from Somerset has been talking about the moment she fainted with hypothermia during Paul McCartney's gig at Glastonbury Festival.
There’s been a warning that more cuts in bus services could be on the way in Somerset. Government funding support for public bus travel is due to end in October with no signs yet of the subsidies being renewed. Bus operators say if they are not renewed at their current level and ideally at a higher level then services would have to be cut.
An inquest into a military diving accident that caused the death of a soldier from Yeovil has found there were significant points of failure. 27-year-old Lance Corporal George Partridge was taking part in a training course at the National Diving Centre in 2018. But when he was brought to the surface, his facemask was hanging off and his two air tanks were found to be empty. The inquest was told his "sudden death" was due to a lack of air. The National Diving Centre, which opened in 2003, closed unexpectedly earlier this year.
Research suggests there could be ten times as many ancient trees in England, including in Somerset than are currently known about. Scientists at Nottingham University say that could mean there are two million such trees unrecorded. Campaigners are calling for them to be better protected.
A nurse from Somerset has been talking about the moment she fainted with hypothermia during Paul McCartney's gig at Glastonbury Festival. Lisa Morris passed out after waiting seven hours to see her idol perform on the Pyramid stage last Saturday. She was spotted by Paul McCartney, who then halted his show so she could receive medical attention. She says she couldn't believe such a moment of drama could have happened to her.
A new website has been launched to support people in Somerset with mental health issues. One of Yeovil’s oldest pubs has been sold. Artwork on the theme of aviation produced by students at Yeovil College has gone on display at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.A pupil at Tatworth Primary School near Chard has won a prize in a national competition for writing a book review...and more
Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.
Somerset Council seeking to save £40 million by cutting one thousand jobs says 201 employees have so far applied to leave the authority based on voluntary redundancy. East Somerset Railway near Shepton Mallet has been used for filming the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals. An old-style red phone box in Castle Cary is being turned into Somerset's smallest museum...and more
Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.
Health inspectors have criticised Somerset's maternity services, including those at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset Council says re-opening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre in its original form could cost up to £200,000 if a multi-million-pound upgrade of the building falls through. A film made by a Yeovil man on a budget of just five thousand pounds was screened at the prestigious British Independent Film Festival...and more.
The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard says it needs an immediate injection of £100,000 to keep going. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has returned to Yeovil Rugby Club where she began her rugby career 20 years ago. Twenty-five Town criers from across the South will be in Ilminster tomorrow competing in the annual Ilminster Town Criers' Competition...and more.
Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.
A woman driver has been told she faces a prison term for causing the deaths of two people in a crash on the A303. The AA says there are more potholes than ever on Somerset’s motorway network, leading to an increase in damage to vehicles. The new cancer treatment unit at Yeovil Hospital should be open before the end of the year...and more.