Local News Tuesday 12th July

Tuesday, 12 July 2022 06:00

Somerset is under a level two heat-health warning from today with temperatures expected to stay well above average all week. The number of people in the South West using medical cannabis is growing. Voters in Yeovil will have five candidates to choose from when they go to the polls in a council by-election on Thursday this week. An Ilminster man, caught at the wheel of his car three times over the drink drive limit, has been banned from driving for two years and a ten-day programme of major drainage work starts today on Ilford Bridge at Ilton.

Somerset is under a level two heat-health warning from today with temperatures expected to stay well above average all week. People are being advised to stay indoors in the middle of the day, drink plenty of fluids and take extra care of children. People using trains are being warned to expect delays as high temperatures mean speed restrictions are in place, slowing trains and lengthening journey times. Meanwhile, the Met Office has issued an Amber Weather Warning for extreme heat in Somerset beginning from next weekend.

The number of people in the South West using medical cannabis is growing. Sapphire Medical Clinics – an organisation that campaigns to expand access to medical cannabis - claims the number of people seeking the use of medical cannabis has risen substantially over the last two years. They want more funding invested into research so medical cannabis can be made readily available to those who need it.

Voters in Yeovil will have five candidates to choose from when they go to the polls in a council by-election on Thursday this week. It’s to fill a vacancy for the Brympton ward on South Somerset District Council and follows the death of Councillor Alan Smith in April. Polling stations within the Brympton ward will be open on Thursday between 7am and 10pm with the results expected the following day.

An Ilminster man, caught at the wheel of his car three times over the drink drive limit, has been banned from driving for two years. Magistrates in Yeovil were told that Alexsandrs Krivuscenko, of Carnival Close, Ilminster, had been drinking when he went out to meet a friend and was spotted by police driving without insurance.

A ten-day programme of major drainage work starts today on Ilford Bridge at Ilton. And, road patching starts on Sherborne Road in Milborne Port on Thursday for two days this week.

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Friday 31st July

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says July has been its busiest month ever for emergency calls. Police have recovered a 1970s Austin Mini pick-up stolen in Shepton Mallet. A specialist spinal injuries service at Yeovil Hospital has treated three hundred patients in its first year... and more
Thursday 30th July

The Environment Agency has declared a drought across Somerset as the hot weather takes its toll on the county's water supplies. Police are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic accident near Crewkerne. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow...and more
Wednesday 29th July

Police have arrested two suspects in connection with a series of moped thefts in Chard. A combine harvester has been destroyed in a farm fire at Forton, near Chard. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow... and more
Tuesday 28th July

The former Beales department store in Yeovil could be brought back into use as part of a wider masterplan for the future of the town. A yellow heat health alert is in place across Somerset from nine o’clock this morning until nine o’clock on Friday morning. A Somerset farmer says this year is the driest on his land since 1976... and more
Monday 27th July

Gooch and Housego, based in Ilminster and one of the town’s biggest employers, has been sold in a multi-million-pound deal to an American private equity firm. A father who shook his four-week-old baby to death at a house in Chard has been sentenced to life in prison. A doctor who works for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is one of five people to have jointly set a new world record for rowing around Great Britain... and more
Friday 24th July

Avon and Somerset Police are warning people to watch out for scammers posing as Amazon. The CEO of the company that provides Somerset's recycling is warning of a major incident if people continue to put used batteries in waste bins. A former Yeovil pub could be demolished to make way for a major hotel expansion.
Thursday 23rd July

The West Country is officially one step closer to being declared in drought. Somerset Council says it's remodelling its service after a children's home was closed following an inspection. A new McDonald's planned off the M5 at Bridgwater could create up to 120 local jobs... and more
Wednesday 22nd July

Two men have been jailed for stealing electrical items and cash from a property in Yeovil. Somerset Council has defended its use of Yeovil’s new performance area in The Triangle, in Lower Middle Street. Tintinhull Primary School, near Yeovil, has won a top national award for outdoor play... and more