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.

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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