Local News Monday 12th June

    A record number of motorists were convicted of speeding offences in the Avon and Somerset Police area last year. An Ilchester man has been jailed for ten years after being found guilty of eleven counts of indecent assault. Police are seeking dashcam footage and witnesses to a single-vehicle collision on the A30 at Snowdon Hill near Chard last Thursday...and more.

    A record number of motorists were convicted of speeding offences in the Avon and Somerset Police area last year. Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that 10,566 motorists caught by Avon and Somerset Police were convicted for speeding offences in 2022 – up 61% from 6,578 convictions the year before and the highest since comparable records began in 2014.

    An Ilchester man has been jailed for ten years after being found guilty of eleven counts of indecent assault. Karl Pitcher, aged fifty-four of Great Orchard in Ilchester, was also given a sexual harm prevention order and placed on the sex offenders register for life when he appeared at Taunton Crown Court. The court was told that Pitcher had carried out his offending in the nineteen nineties on children aged between two and fourteen years.

    Police are seeking dashcam footage and witnesses to a single-vehicle collision on the A30 at Snowdon Hill near Chard last Thursday at around 10.20 am. The driver of a black Ford Fiesta involved in the incident remains in a critical condition in hospital. If you can help, please call the non-emergency number 101.

    Plans have been submitted to convert a disused church in Langport into a house. The proposal would see the former United Reformed Church building on Bow Street connected to the next-door property to create one large house. The building was constructed in 1828 as a congregational chapel and re-fronted in 1874. It ceased being a church in May 202

    A traditional farmhouse cider-maker is encouraging more people to produce heritage Somerset cider. Matt Gillett runs 'Tricky Cider' in Low Ham, near Langport says there's room in the market for more locally produced cider.

    More from News

    • Friday 13th March

      The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more

    • Thursday 12th March

      A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more

    • Wednesday 11th March

      Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more

    • Tuesday 10th March

      Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more

    • Monday 9th March 

      Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more

    • Friday 6th March

      Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more

    • Thursday 5th March

      Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more

    • Wednesday 4th March

      A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Light rain

      High: 12°C | Low: 5°C

    • Chard

      Sunny intervals

      High: 11°C | Low: 4°C

    • Crewkerne

      Sunny intervals

      High: 11°C | Low: 4°C

    • Somerton

      Light rain shower

      High: 11°C | Low: 5°C

    • Wincanton

      Light rain

      High: 12°C | Low: 4°C

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