Local News Monday 14th February

    A Yeovil travel agent says bookings for holidays abroad have gone back up to pre-pandemic levels. Schools across Somerset are having to limit face-to-face teaching due to Covid-related staff shortages. Hundreds of metres of high-value copper cabling have been stolen near Merriott. Farmers in Somerset say they want to make their farms safe for ramblers but that access can be difficult. Police have found a stolen trailer while offering security advice to a farm owner in Somerton...and more.

    A Yeovil travel agent says bookings for holidays abroad have gone back up to pre-pandemic levels. Covid travel restrictions have been eased, meaning that anyone who's fully vaccinated can return to the UK without having to do any tests. Miles Morgan of Miles Morgan Travel in Middle Street, Yeovil, says there’s huge pent up demand amongst the public to holiday abroad.

    Schools across Somerset are having to limit face-to-face teaching due to Covid-related staff shortages. Somerset County Council say staff sickness has become a major problem with ten per cent of schools now limiting face-to-face teaching, due to sickness. The Council says Covid cases remain high amongst school children with people in the general population locally being re-infected with Covid.

    Hundreds of metres of high-value copper cabling have been stolen near Merriott. The cabling, belonging to a telecommunications company, was taken in the area of Eggwood Hill. It happened at around 1 am in the early hours of Tuesday, February 8th. Anyone with dashcam footage in the area of Merriot on that date and around that time is asked to call the police non-emergency number 101.

    Farmers in Somerset say they want to make their farms safe for ramblers but that access can be difficult. It follows an updating of the Countryside Code that requires farmers to make rights of way more accessible, including removing stiles in favour of gates and putting up better signage. 

    Police have found a stolen trailer while offering security advice to a farm owner in Somerton. They say the trailer had been security marked which made it easy to identify as stolen. Enquiries are ongoing into how it came to be at the farm in Somerton in the first place.

    People in Chard without a job are being offered free support to find work. It follows the opening of a new employment and skills hub in Chard library, in Holyrood Street, run by local housing provider, Abri.
     

    More from News

    • Friday 30th October

      Wells Cathedral says it's having to get creative to bring in more money as financial pressures continue to grow. A convenience store in Martock has been allowed to keep its alcohol licence despite an employee working there illegally. Police have seized an illegally ridden e-scooter in Yeovil in response to concerns from local residents... and more

    • Thursday 29th October

      A Yeovil man has been detained under the Mental Health Act for attacking his mother with a knife. People in Chard are being reminded that it’s unlawful to attach flags to lamp posts and street furniture. Wincanton Racecourse has called off its 'Badger Chase Day' because the ground is too firm... and more

    • Wednesday 28th October

      Leweston School near Sherborne has announced that it is closing with immediate effect. NHS Somerset could merge with neighbours in Bath and North-East Somerset and Dorset to cut costs. Somerset’s Lord-Lieutenant has launched a campaign to get more people nominated for national honours... and more

    • Tuesday 27th October

      Work has started building a new six-million-pound flood defence scheme in Taunton. Plans have been submitted to build a new church hall in Martock. People are being asked to donate gifts to this year’s Chard Christmas Present Appeal... and more

    • Monday 26th October

      Eligible groups in Somerset are being encouraged to get their flu jabs. There’s a rare opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look inside Avon & Somerset Police’s control room. Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, Daisy Cooper MP, has visited Yeovil... and more.

    • Friday 23rd October

      Somerset is the 11th most challenging place in England to be a child according to a report. Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire could have its own elected ‘Wessex Mayor’ by 2028. Cricketer, Ian Botham returns to the county this weekend... and more.

    • Thursday 22nd October

      The NFU says that testing for the virus Bluetongue needs to be sped up. Construction of new flats on Yeovil’s Grimsby Corner site will officially begin next year. The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for wind tomorrow... and more.

    • Wednesday 21st October

      The owner of campsite in Somerset says a two-thousand-seven-hundred percent increase in business rates will be 'catastrophic' for his business. Plans to build nearly 300 new homes on the outskirts of Chard have been given the go ahead. Yeovil Town are through to the first round proper of the FA Cup after beating Leatherhead 5-2 at Huish Park last night... and more

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Sunny intervals

      High: 13°C | Low: 5°C

    • Chard

      Sunny intervals

      High: 13°C | Low: 5°C

    • Crewkerne

      Sunny intervals

      High: 13°C | Low: 5°C

    • Somerton

      Sunny intervals

      High: 13°C | Low: 5°C

    • Wincanton

      Sunny intervals

      High: 13°C | Low: 4°C

    Recently Played