Local News Monday 10th May

Monday, 10 May 2021 07:30

Mark Shelford for the Conservatives has been elected the new Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset. A South Petherton man, charged with the murder of a man in Yeovil, has appeared in court to deny the charge. A Yeovil man has launched a challenge to raise money to get oxygen to hospitals in India. A Langport man has appeared in court charged with theft. People in South Somerset are being encouraged to do two-minute litter picks to help keep the local countryside clean.

Mark Shelford for the Conservatives has been elected the new Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset. Mr Shelford, a former officer in the British Army and Deputy Leader of Bath and North East Somerset Council, polled just over 161,000 votes in last Thursday’s local elections. Kerry Barker for Labour was in second place. Cleo Lake for the Green’s came third, and Heather Shearer for the Lib Dems fourth. Independent candidate, John Smith, was in fifth place.
In other results from last Thursday’s local elections: Claire Brown for the Liberal Democrats was elected to Chard Town Council.
Teresa Bond for the Conservatives and Alice Samuel for Liberal Democrats were elected to the Crewkerne Town Council.
Neil Anderton, Samantha Atherton, Claudia Cole, Howard Ellard, Emma Hix, Dawn Old were elected to Wincanton Town Council.
Kara Storey was elected to South Petherton Parish Council and Simon Jones was elected to Kingsbury Episcopi Parish Council.

A South Petherton man, charged with the murder of a man in Yeovil, has appeared in court to deny the charge. Matthew Sheridan who was appearing via a video link at Exeter Crown Court. Sheridan is accused of the fatal stabbing of Louis Bednall in Hendford Hill in Yeovil on December 12th last year. Sheridan will now face a jury trial, beginning on July 26th.

A Yeovil man has launched a challenge to raise money to get oxygen to hospitals in India, where the death toll from Covid 19 has risen above 200,000. Josh Tuck is aiming to walk 100 kilometres during May for the emergency appeal started by the British Asian Trust.

A Langport man has appeared in court charged with theft. Richard Wash of Cheapside in the town pleaded guilty at Yeovil Magistrates to stealing a bank card and making an unauthorized withdrawal. A community order was made against Wash who was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £95 and £85 costs.

People in South Somerset are being encouraged to do two-minute litter picks to help keep the local countryside clean. New litter pick stations have been installed at Yeovil Country Park and Chard Reservoir, equipped with litter pickers and reusable bags for people to use.

More from News

Friday 17th May

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
Thursday 16th May

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.
Wednesday 15th May

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
Tuesday 14th May

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.
Monday 13th May

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.
Friday 10th May

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.
Thursday 9th May

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.
Wednesday 8th May

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.