Local News Monday 19th June

Monday, 19 June 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

The Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police has described her force as being "institutionally racist". Plans have been submitted to open two new restaurants in Yeovil town centre. Waste collections across South Somerset are starting one hour earlier at 6 am all this week to help crews cope better with the hot temperatures...and more.

The Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police has described her force as being "institutionally racist". Sarah Crew says she’s reached her judgement after closely examining data about how her force operates. The Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, has refuted her comments, describing them as "virtue signalling but Ms Crew says she’s sticking by her assessment.

Plans have been submitted to open two new restaurants in Yeovil. If approved by Somerset Council, the burger chain, Fat Twins, and the Greek and Turkish cuisine specialists, Doner and Gyros, will open outlets below the Premier Inn on South Western Terrace.

Waste collections across South Somerset are starting one hour earlier at 6 am all this week with households asked to put out their bins the night before they’re due to be picked up. Somerset Waste Partnership says the earlier start is to help crews cope better in the hot weather and minimise the chances of crews getting stuck in traffic going to Glastonbury Festival.

Organisers of the Gert Gathering in Yeovil have been explaining why they’ll be charging an admission fee at this year's event. Previously, the Gert Gathering, held in Johnson Park, has been a free event but this year a five-pound entry fee will be charged.

Local broadband provider, Wessex Internet, are celebrating after winning two top industry awards. The business was voted ‘UK Fibre Provider of the Year’ and ‘Best Rural Provider’ at the UK Fibre Awards held in London.

‘Star’ the missing therapy pony, who disappeared from her home on the Blackdown Hills in South Somerset last week has been found safe and well. The Shetland's owner, Anne Allen, from the Riding for the Disabled Association, says they’re relieved to have her back.

More from News

Monday 16th June

The new owner of Yeovil Town says he’s in talks with Somerset Council about buying back Huish Park. Water levels at some of Somerset’s reservoirs are below what they should be for this time of year. A Chard woman has been recognised in the King's Birthday Honours... and more.
Friday 13th June

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Chard, which left one person with life-threatening injuries. Texas Rocks in Middle Street, Yeovil, has closed temporarily following a significant fire. A Yeovil dental hygienist has been named as a finalist in the Ms Great Britain competition...and more.
Thursday 12th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised the Chancellor’s Spending Review for not delivering real change for Yeovil and South Somerset. The CEO of Leonardo UK states that they’re working towards closing the gender pay gap within the company. Yeovil Town is relocating its first-team training camp to Bristol... and more.
Wednesday 11th June

People in Somerset are being asked for their views on the state of the county’s roads and footpaths. A trial is being conducted at Yeovil Hospital to investigate whether administering shorter courses of antibiotics to patients can effectively treat sepsis. Somerset Council says it has no plans to reopen a block of public toilets in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 10th June

A mother from Chard says schools need to do more to identify students with dyslexia. A fire in a van that caught alight at Stoke-sub-Hamdon is being treated as accidental. A former Yeovil-based police officer, who made it appear he was working when he wasn’t, has been barred from policing...and more
Monday 9th June

Somerset Council is giving £1.5m to Hill View Special School at Ash near Martock to prevent it from closing. Two men have been convicted of killing a Yeovil man they mistakenly believed to be a convicted paedophile. People across Somerset are being asked to make a note of any wildlife they see...and more
Friday 6th June

Community Speedwatch volunteers in Keinton Mandeville have stopped monitoring the local traffic because of online and verbal abuse. Redstart Primary School in Chard has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. A care home resident in Glastonbury has raised more than one thousand pounds for Children's Hospice Southwest by knitting soft toys...and more.
Thursday 5th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he’s been told the temporary closure of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital will not be made permanent. Firefighters have dealt with a fire on a coach carrying passengers at Vagg Hill in Yeovil. The authorities in Chile are holding a man who lives in Milborne Port after being found with class-A drugs in a suitcase...and more.