Local News Monday 4th April

Monday, 4 April 2022 06:00

Emily outside 10, Downing Street with her mum, Louise, and sister Grace.

A girl from Yeovil has helped deliver a petition to Downing Street calling on the government to recognise the problem of long Covid among children. Dorset Council says it could be eighteen months before the A30 at Kitt Hill in Sherborne is re-opened to traffic. A woman from Yeovil has died in a road traffic accident in the Scottish borders. The 40th anniversary of the start of the Falklands War is being marked this week...and more.

A girl from Yeovil has helped deliver a petition to Downing Street calling on the government to recognise the problem of long Covid among children. Emily, who’s nine, contracted the virus last September and must rely on a walking aid, to get around. Through the charity, Long Covid Kids, she’s asking the government to do more to help suffers. In response, the government has pledged fifty million pounds for research into the impact of long Covid.

Dorset Council says it could be eighteen months before the A30 at Kitt Hill in Sherborne is re-opened to traffic. The road was closed following a landslip in early September. The diversions put in place have caused long delays for drivers. On their website, Dorset Council says work to repair the damage at Kitt Hill might not be completed until September 2023.

A woman from Yeovil has died in a road traffic accident in the Scottish borders. Patricia Kim Common, aged 61, was killed when her vehicle collided with another vehicle on the A968 Kelso to Hawick road, on Saturday.

The 40th anniversary of the start of the Falklands War is being marked this week. Personnel from RNAS Yeovilton, flying helicopters built in Yeovil, played a big part in defeating the Argentinians in 1982. Commander of RNAS Yeovilton, Tim Gedge, says in the same way the conflict in the Falklands conflict resulted in tragic consequences, the same is now happening in Ukraine.

The holy month of Ramadan has started for Muslims in Somerset with Muslims fasting for the next four weeks. Meraz Aziz is from the Muslim Community in Somerset. He says Muslims are looking forward to marking Ramadan, without Covid restrictions.

Somerset's recycling centres will stay open for longer from this week. Summer opening hours are now in operation, 9 am to 6 pm weekdays and 9 am to 4 pm at weekends. Somerset Waste Partnership says Chard recycling centre has been equipped with online queue cameras, to help people to avoid busy times.

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Friday 22nd August

Six hundred parking spaces could be lost in Yeovil town centre if plans to build new homes on public car parks go ahead. The Environment Agency is to stop maintaining some rivers and streams in Somerset to save money. People in Somerset are being warned about a scam involving fake communications from the tax authorities...and more
Thursday 21st August

Yeovil MP, Adam Dance, says families and hospital staff should be given more information about re-opening maternity services at Yeovil Hospital. Yeovil’s renal unit on the Lynx West Trading Estate has been told it must improve on safety. Organisers of a Live Aid concert held in Yeovil 40 years ago are trying to contact the bands that played at the event for a reunion...and more.
Wednesday 20th August

The NHS says twenty-six thousand people in the South West signed up to stop smoking in the past twelve months. A teenager from Yeovil has raised more than four thousand pounds for a new dialysis machine at Bristol Children's Hospital. Yeovil Town take on Brackley Town in a National League fixture this evening, kick off at Huish Park is 7.45...and more
Tuesday 19th August

Families struggling to pay for their children to have breakfast over the summer holidays are being offered free breakfast bags at a church in Chard. Police are appealing for information after a sentimental gold pocket watch was stolen in North Petherton. A Bridgwater man sets off today on a 200-mile cycle ride to Barnstaple and Exeter, raising money for Kidney Research UK...and more.
Monday 18th August

Police are investigating a suspected arson attack in Yeovil. Women in Street and Glastonbury are being encouraged to take part in a scheme to highlight unsafe areas to walk alone. A Nottinghamshire man, on a pub-crawl around Britain to help boost the pub trade, is currently visiting pubs in Somerset...and more.
Friday 15th August

Services and acts of remembrance are taking place across Yeovil & South Somerset for VJ Day. An Ilminster café has unveiled a new defibrillator in the town. A room, named in honour of a member of Somerset Council’s Public Health team, has been opened at Yeovil Library...and more.
Thursday 14th August

Yeovil residents are being asked whether they would pay for part of the Octagon Theatre refurbishment. Spending on buses in Somerset is the lowest per head in the region, according to the county's bus partnership. A Yeovil fraudster has been jailed for almost three years...and more.
Wednesday 13th August

A coroner has raised concerns after the death of a newborn baby at Yeovil District Hospital. Revised plans for the construction of up to 360 homes in Ilminster will be put forward in the autumn. Somerset’s Local Community Networks are marking the start of their third year in the county...and more.