Local News Tuesday 29th June

Tuesday, 29 June 2021 06:00

More than a dozen further cases of the Indian or Delta variant of Covid have been recorded in South Somerset. Learners drivers in South Somerset are having to wait even longer to take a driving test. Four people needed hospital treatment following a two-vehicle crash in the village of Penselwood, near Wincanton. Fire has damaged a house in Combe Close in Yeovil. A delay has been announced to the start of work on smartening up Yeovil town centre...and more.

More than a dozen further cases of the Indian or Delta variant of Covid have been recorded in South Somerset. The latest figures show there were 34 new cases of the Delta variant recorded in the greater Yeovil Area in the seven days up to June 23rd. This is twenty more cases than the week before.

Learners drivers in South Somerset are having to wait even longer to take a driving test. According to data from the insurance provider ‘Veygo’, test centres in Yeovil, Taunton and Weston-super-Mare are each showing “no dates found” when learners try to book. Nationally, test centres say the earliest that a test can be booked is November.

Four people needed hospital treatment following a two-vehicle crash in the village of Penselwood, near Wincanton. It happened at around 8 pm on Sunday evening with one person left trapped for 2-hours before being released by fire crews.

Fire has damaged a house in Combe Close in Yeovil. Reports of a loud bang being heard preceding the blaze have been attributed to a gas boiler in a loft space exploding. Crews from Yeovil, Sherborne, Martock and Crewkerne attended the incident. No one was hurt.

A delay has been announced to the start of work on smartening up Yeovil town centre. Construction had been due to begin this month on Yeovil Refresh but South Somerset District Council said it will now be mid-July before work starts. The Council says the delay is to allow time to secure additional funding for the Yeovil Refresh project, above the £10 million already given by the government

A woman from Chard wants more GPs to take up free training about menopause. Nikki Long is promoting training from The Menopause Charity. She says she struggled to get her GP to recognise her pre-menopausal symptoms. Somerset NHS Clinical Commissioning Group says it's exploring options around how to improve support for women experiencing menopause.

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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