Local News Tuesday 13th June

Tuesday, 13 June 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Chinnock Hollow which links East Chinnock and Odcombe is to stay shut permanently. An Ilminster man has been fined four hundred and sixty pounds for mistreating his pet dog. The Chairman of the National Farmers Union in Somerset says the warm weather is having a big impact. A 20 mph speed limit has been introduced outside Manor Court Community Primary School in Chard...and more.

Chinnock Hollow which links East Chinnock and Odcombe is to stay shut permanently. It was closed on a temporary basis two years ago following a landslide. An engineer's report has estimated it would cost two-point-seven-million pounds to re-open the road. Somerset Council says it cannot justify spending that amount of money when there are other pressing maintenance priorities on the road network in Somerset.

An Ilminster man has been fined four hundred and sixty pounds for mistreating his pet dog. Taunton Crown Court was told that Samuel Rigby of Riverside in Horton failed to provide adequate food to his Mastiff cross-breed dog and also failed to provide veterinary treatment for the dog’s weight loss. Rigby, who pleaded guilty to the charges, was also banned from owning a dog for two years.

The Chairman of the National Farmers Union in Somerset says the warm weather is having a big impact. Lindsay Isgar says farmers are having to use their winter feed because the grass has been affected by the heat and are worried about the damage the heat is doing to their crops.

People with Type-2 diabetes in Somerset are being invited to join a free NHS programme to lose weight. The ‘Path to Remission’ programme offers one year of support from trained coaches as well as three months of meal replacements like soups and shakes.

A 20-mph speed limit has been introduced outside Manor Court Community Primary School in Chard. It follows safety concerns over children crossing the busy Crowshute Link.

A man from Drayton, near Langport, is preparing to row seven hundred miles across the Atlantic Ocean. Giles Johnson will be heading for Northern Ireland when he sets off from Newfoundland later this month. He and his rowing partner Matthew Ponsonby have already raised ten thousand pounds for three charities.

More from News

Friday 13th March

The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more
Thursday 12th March

A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more
Wednesday 11th March

Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more
Tuesday 10th March

Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more
Monday 9th March

Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more
Friday 6th March

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more
Thursday 5th March

Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more
Wednesday 4th March

A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more