Tuesday 19th September

Tuesday, 19 September 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Police are investigating an attack on an elderly man in Ilton. Sixty-five local jobs have been created with the opening of a new McDonalds near Ilminster. A recruitment campaign has been launched for gritter drivers, to keep Somerset’s roads safe this winter...and more.

Police are investigating an attack on an elderly man in Ilton. It happened in Ilton Play Park off Copse Lane on Wednesday, August 23rd but has only now been made public. The man, in his seventies, was treated in hospital after falling onto play equipment when he was pushed to the ground by a youth said to be aged seventeen, white, six foot tall, of slim build with short dark hair, and wearing a black T-shirt. Anyone who witnessed the attack or who can help the police with information is asked to call the non-emergency number 101.

A man from Somerset - whose mother took her own life when he was just fifteen - says more conversations about mental health need to be had to prevent young people from considering suicide. Guy Locke is preparing to run the southwest coastal path next month in memory of his mother and to raise money for the suicide prevention charity Papyrus.

Sixty-five local jobs have been created with the opening this week of a new McDonalds near Ilminster. The restaurant and drive-through on the Southfields Enterprise Park off the A303 starts serving customers on Thursday at 11 a.m.

People in Somerset are being urged to check their electoral registration details or risk losing their chance to vote. Letters are being sent to all households as part of the annual canvass by Somerset Council to keep the register up-to-date and identify those at risk of losing their voice at elections.

A recruitment campaign’s been launched for gritter drivers to keep Somerset’s roads safe this winter. Drivers will be offered temporary contracts to cover the winter maintenance season, starting in November. Applicants should have a valid winter maintenance qualification or experience.

Yeovil disabled athlete, Jules Allen, has won both bronze and silver in wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby at the Invictus Games. Jules says this will be his last Invictus and is looking for a new role to stay involved with the event.

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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