Local News Friday 6th August

Friday, 6 August 2021 06:00

A South Petherton man has been found guilty of murder following a jury trial at Exeter Crown Court. Up to 300 adult education courses in Somerset are under threat. Plans to build five new houses in Templecombe have been given the go-ahead. A former nurse at Yeovil Hospital has been struck off for allowing a child to leave the children’s ward without informing social services...and more.

A South Petherton man has been found guilty of murder following a jury trial at Exeter Crown Court. Matthew Sheridan, had denied fatally stabbing Louis Bednall at a property in Hendford Hill in Yeovil last December. However, after deliberating on the case for less than ninety minutes, he was found guilty by the jury. The court had been told that Sheridan carried out a relentless and savage knife attack on Bednall after the two men argued over a bottle of vodka. Sheridan will return to court today for sentencing.

Up to 300 adult education courses in Somerset are under threat. It comes after the local provider. Somerset Skills and Learning lost out on funding for a key contract. The decision has also put 18 staff at risk of redundancy. The Department for Education says the process to award the contract was fair and open and that adult learners in Somerset can still access education and training through other providers.

Plans to build five new houses in Templecombe have been given the go-ahead. The three detached and two semi-detached houses will be built at the end of West Street. South Somerset District Council approved the application despite local concerns about pedestrian safety.

A former nurse at Yeovil Hospital has been struck off for allowing a child to leave the children’s ward without informing social services. Fiona Diba was a nurse at Yeovil Hospital in 2016 when she allowed a child to leave the children's ward with its parents, in breach of a protection plan. Following an investigation, the Nursing and Midwifery Council has ruled that she should no longer practice as a nurse. In a statement, Yeovil Hospital said it welcomed the decision.

A call has been made for disabled people to be provided with better toilet facilities at the Cartgate services on the A303 in South Somerset. Jo Elgarf says she had to use the toilet floor at Cartgate to change her daughter, Nora. She’s asking Highways England to provide a disabled toilet that has a hoist and space for a carer.

A dairy farmer Lewis White from Castle Cary has proposed to his girlfriend using two of his cows. He wrote ‘will you marry me' on the sides of the cows and his girlfriend Emily Francis accepted without hesitation. Lewis says being a farmer, how could he not have involved his cows in the biggest decision of his life.

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Friday 31st July

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says July has been its busiest month ever for emergency calls. Police have recovered a 1970s Austin Mini pick-up stolen in Shepton Mallet. A specialist spinal injuries service at Yeovil Hospital has treated three hundred patients in its first year... and more
Thursday 30th July

The Environment Agency has declared a drought across Somerset as the hot weather takes its toll on the county's water supplies. Police are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic accident near Crewkerne. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow...and more
Wednesday 29th July

Police have arrested two suspects in connection with a series of moped thefts in Chard. A combine harvester has been destroyed in a farm fire at Forton, near Chard. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow... and more
Tuesday 28th July

The former Beales department store in Yeovil could be brought back into use as part of a wider masterplan for the future of the town. A yellow heat health alert is in place across Somerset from nine o’clock this morning until nine o’clock on Friday morning. A Somerset farmer says this year is the driest on his land since 1976... and more
Monday 27th July

Gooch and Housego, based in Ilminster and one of the town’s biggest employers, has been sold in a multi-million-pound deal to an American private equity firm. A father who shook his four-week-old baby to death at a house in Chard has been sentenced to life in prison. A doctor who works for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is one of five people to have jointly set a new world record for rowing around Great Britain... and more
Friday 24th July

Avon and Somerset Police are warning people to watch out for scammers posing as Amazon. The CEO of the company that provides Somerset's recycling is warning of a major incident if people continue to put used batteries in waste bins. A former Yeovil pub could be demolished to make way for a major hotel expansion.
Thursday 23rd July

The West Country is officially one step closer to being declared in drought. Somerset Council says it's remodelling its service after a children's home was closed following an inspection. A new McDonald's planned off the M5 at Bridgwater could create up to 120 local jobs... and more
Wednesday 22nd July

Two men have been jailed for stealing electrical items and cash from a property in Yeovil. Somerset Council has defended its use of Yeovil’s new performance area in The Triangle, in Lower Middle Street. Tintinhull Primary School, near Yeovil, has won a top national award for outdoor play... and more