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.

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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