Local News Tuesday 31st May

Tuesday, 31 May 2022 06:00

More than 300 weapons were taken-off local streets during a knife amnesty held earlier this month by Avon and Somerset Police. Two midwives at Yeovil District Hospital have launched new training course aimed at raising awareness of inequalities seen through pregnancy and birth. Twenty thousand trees have been planted in Somerset by more than 200 individuals and organisations as part of the Queens Green Canopy initiative...and more.

More than 300 weapons were taken-off local streets during a knife amnesty held earlier this month by Avon and Somerset Police. Weapons were surrendered into knife bins and at police stations. Checks were also made on outlets selling knives to under-18s with 29 retailers found failing in their legal obligations.

Two midwives at Yeovil District Hospital have launched new training course aimed at raising awareness of inequalities seen through pregnancy and birth. Becky Cockings and her colleague Bea Chubb noticed their midwifery training predominantly focused on white mothers and babies.

Twenty thousand trees have been planted in Somerset by more than 200 individuals and organisations as part of the Queens Green Canopy initiative. The Green Canopy project, which spans two tree planting seasons, will start again in October through to the end of the Jubilee year.

Plans have been submitted to locate eight new digital advertising boards in Yeovil town centre. If agreed, the boards would be sited in Westminster Street, High Street, The Borough, Upper Middle Street and The Triangle. The new advertising boards are part of the Yeovil Refresh project that’s aimed at revitalising the public spaces in the town centre.

A flower festival dedicated to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in Chard has raised funds for two good causes. £650 will now be shared between St Mary's Church and Barnardos following the event at the St Mary's Church held last weekend.

Motorcyclists will have the opportunity to learn new riding techniques at an event in Yeovil next month. ‘Raise Your Ride’, an initiative run by Somerset Road Safety aims to reduce rider casualties and will take place at Bransons Motorcycles on Oxford Road on the Pen Mill trading estate on Sunday, 19th June.

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