Local News Thursday 3rd August

Thursday, 3 August 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Current and former smokers in Somerset are being offered free NHS lung checks. The death has been announced of a former long-serving Somerset councillor, Derek Yeomans. £800 has been donated to St Margaret’s Hospice by Chard United Football Club in memory of a former player. Yeovil Freewheelers blood bikes are holding a charity bike ride this weekend ...and more

Current and former smokers in Somerset are being given lung checks as part of the NHS's Targeted Lung Health Check Programme. More than three thousand-seven-hundred people used the service in the last twelve months, from which seventeen lung cancers were detected, mainly at an early stage. The programme is on offer to current and former smokers aged fifty-five to seventy-four.

The death has been announced of former long-serving Somerset councillor, Derek Yeomans. Mr Yeomans served as a member of the former South Somerset District Council and Somerset County Council representing Langport and Curry Rival for more than twenty years and was also a long-serving member of Curry Rivel Parish Council, where he lived.

A Yeovil farmer has come to the aid of a Berkshire family who had appealed for standing corn to display at their mother's funeral. She was evacuated to Long Load during the Second World War and fell in love with Somerset after living in the County for five years. Local farmer, Chris Baker, heard the appeal and says he’ll be sending standing corn grown in Yeovil to the family to include in the floral tributes at their mother’s funeral.

Yeovil Freewheelers blood bikes are holding a charity bike ride this weekend. The Freewheelers, who are based at Yeovil Hospital, transport medical items between hospitals in the South West for the NHS as a free service and need to raise around ninety thousand pounds every year to fund their activities. On Saturday they’ll be joined by around one hundred other bikers on a journey starting at Cartgate in Yeovil, travelling through Axminster, Lyme Regis, Weymouth and Dorchester before finishing in West Camel, collecting donations on the way.

£800 has been donated to St Margaret’s Hospice by Chard United Football Club. The money was raised in memory of former Chard player Alex Ives who died last year aged thirty-two and was provided with end-of-life care by St Margaret’s.

More from News

Wednesday 29th April

Somerset Council says Hendford Hill in Yeovil should be fully reopened to traffic by the end of May. Plans have been approved to build 40 new homes in Crewkerne. A huge pile of illegally dumped rubbish in Glastonbury has been cleared... and more
Tuesday 28th April

Police are appealing for witnesses to a fatal collision at Rimpton. A 19-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage in South Petherton. Former Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson has been retained as first-team manager of Taunton Town for next season... and more
Monday 27th April

A former school in Sherborne has been badly damaged by fire. A care home in Yeovil has been rated outstanding. ublic spaces in West Coker owned by Somerset Council are being handed over to the parish council. Mendip Golf Club has presented a cheque for £12,000 to Mind in Somerset... and more
Friday 24th April

Plans have been submitted to turn a property on Preston Road in Yeovil into a House in Multiple Occupation. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has been recalled to the England Red Roses starting line-up for tomorrow’s Women’s Six Nations game against Wales. Three sisters from Yeovil will be running the London Marathon this weekend in support of Guide Dogs UK... and more
Thursday 23rd April

Helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton have completed six weeks of sorties, protecting Cyprus from attacks by Iran. People in Somerset who use domestic heating oil are calling on the government to regulate the oil supply industry. Patients are being invited to register at a new NHS dentist in Crewkerne... and more
Wednesday 22nd April

Expectant mothers are using Yeovil Hospital once again to give birth following the reopening of the maternity unit. A Yeovil man has been jailed for four years for committing sexual offences against two young girls. Plans have been approved to convert a pub in Milborne Port into housing... and more
Tuesday 21st April

NHS Somerset has delayed closing the hyper-acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. A former Avon and Somerset Police officer has been jailed for making indecent images of children. A Somerset man has been fined after pleading guilty to hunting a wild animal with dogs... and more
Monday 20th April

Nearly one hundred roads in Somerset will be surface dressed this summer to prevent further damage. Almost all children starting primary school in Somerset in September have been offered a place at one of their top three school choices. People in Somerset are being asked to record wild mammals in gardens and other green spaces over the summer... and more