Local News Friday 30th September

Friday, 30 September 2022 06:00

People in Somerset are being encouraged to take up their Covid booster and flu jabs as soon as they're offered them. Only a handful of trains will be running through Yeovil Junction and Sherborne stations on the Exeter to Waterloo line tomorrow and Sunday due to further strike action. A Chard man has been fined £120 for stealing alcohol from the Tesco store in the town. The National Trust is raising concerns about the climate's impact on autumn colour across the landscape in Somerset and a girl who lives in Ilminster has raised over £1500 for Young Lives versus Cancer in Somerset.

People in Somerset are being encouraged to take up their Covid booster and flu jabs as soon as they're offered them. Public health officials are warning of an earlier and bigger wave of seasonal flu, combined with rising numbers of Covid cases. NHS Somerset says the Covid autumn booster programme for people aged 65 and over and for healthcare workers has been very busy already.

Only a handful of trains will be running through Yeovil Junction and Sherborne stations on the Exeter to Waterloo line tomorrow and Sunday due to further strike action by members of the RMT and TSSA unions. South West Railway is advising people to use other forms of public transport this weekend and to only use the train if the journey is essential.

A Chard man has been fined £120 for stealing alcohol from the Tesco store in the town. Chino Brun of Phelps Close in Chard pleaded guilty to stealing a bottle of gin and two bottles of whisky from Tesco and also admitted being in breach of a conditional discharge imposed for a previous offence of theft when he appeared before magistrates in Yeovil. (This story is courtesy of Chard and Ilminster News).

The National Trust is raising concerns about the climate's impact on autumn colour across the landscape in Somerset. They say the next few weeks will be vital in determining how much the summer heat wave and the ongoing lack of rain have influenced the colours within the local landscape.

A girl who lives in Ilminster has raised over £1500 for Young Lives versus Cancer in Somerset. 6-year-old Lydia raised the money with a fate that she organised with the help of her parents. Last year, Young Lives versus Cancer in Somerset give grants worth £17,500 to local families to help with the costs of fighting cancer.

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Wednesday 10th December

Avon and Somerset Police say 62 drivers were arrested in the first week of the Christmas drink and drug driving campaign. A reindeer farm near Yeovil thinks it may have to close after being told it needs a Zoo licence. Father Christmas has made a special delivery of presents to Charlton Farm Children's Hospice in Somerset...and more
Tuesday 9th December

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset has criticised the government for axing the role. Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Ilminster in which a woman was seriously injured. Residents of Freedom Avenue in Yeovil are raising funds for charity with a big display of Christmas lights...and more.
Monday 8th December

Plans to build 150 new homes in Ilminster have been scrapped. A Somerset councillor has been jailed for 26 months. Marks & Spencer wants to build a new Food Store in Ilminster. Poundland has announced that it’s shutting its store in Middle Street in Yeovil...and more
Friday 5th December

Police are appealing for witnesses after an assault on a man in Chard. Lloyds Banking Group has announced a date for closing the Halifax in Yeovil. Train journeys on the Castle Cary to Taunton line will be disrupted next week due to engineering work. The mental health charity MIND in Somerset has produced a Christmas advent calendar... and more.
Thursday 4th December

The Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police says her force is doing all it can to reduce anti-social behaviour. Somerset Council has deferred a decision on introducing Sunday car parking charges. People living in deprived areas in Somerset are being fast-tracked for hospital treatment...and more
Wednesday 3rd December

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