Local News Wednesday 13th October

Wednesday, 13 October 2021 06:00

A ban on street drinking in Yeovil town centre is to be expanded. Police are investigating the theft of silver items from a church in Chard. A consortium of Yeovil Town supporters groups has called on the club’s owner to either invest more money in the club or to sell up. A new memorial is to be built in the village of Ilton to commemorate local members of the military who died defending Britain. A woman who came to Yeovil as a Ugandan refugee in 1972 is putting together an exhibition about her experiences.

A ban on street drinking in Yeovil town centre is to be expanded. The town centre has been covered by a public space protection order since October 2019 giving police and the local council powers to stop people drinking in public. The order will now be extended to cover the western side of Wyndham Hill, including parts of Yeovil Country Park, Newton Road, Ivel Court and Sherborne Road.

Police are investigating the theft of silver items from a church in Chard. Two solid silver plates and a silver pot with a lid were taken from St Mary's Church sometime between Sunday, October 3rd and Wednesday, October 6th. Police are keen to speak with a man and a woman seen acting suspiciously in the church at around 3 pm on Monday, October 4th. If you can help the police with their inquiries please call the non-emergency number 101.

A consortium of Yeovil Town supporters groups has called on the club’s owner to either invest more money in the club or to sell up. There's been increasing speculation that Scott Priestnall could be about to sell Yeovil Town to one of two groups interested in taking over but there's been no comment on the rumours from Mr. Priestnall. Members of Yeovil Town Supporters Alliance say they’re concerned about loans taken out by Mr. Priestnall and are asking for clarity on the club’s finances.

A new memorial is to be built in the village of Ilton to commemorate local members of the military who died defending Britain. Men from Ilton were lost in both world wars but the village has never remembered their names. Ilton Parish Council says the oak cross memorial will be in place on the village green in time for next month’s Remembrance Day commemorations.

A woman who came to Yeovil as a Ugandan refugee in 1972 is putting together an exhibition about her experiences. Pragna Hay and her family were accommodated at Houndstone Camp after fleeing Uganda under threat of persecution. Her exhibition will form part of events to mark the 50th anniversary next year of coming to Yeovil. Pragna says she will always be grateful to the people of Yeovil even though settling to a new life in the town was never easy.

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Friday 13th June

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Thursday 12th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised the Chancellor’s Spending Review for not delivering real change for Yeovil and South Somerset. The CEO of Leonardo UK states that they’re working towards closing the gender pay gap within the company. Yeovil Town is relocating its first-team training camp to Bristol... and more.
Wednesday 11th June

People in Somerset are being asked for their views on the state of the county’s roads and footpaths. A trial is being conducted at Yeovil Hospital to investigate whether administering shorter courses of antibiotics to patients can effectively treat sepsis. Somerset Council says it has no plans to reopen a block of public toilets in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 10th June

A mother from Chard says schools need to do more to identify students with dyslexia. A fire in a van that caught alight at Stoke-sub-Hamdon is being treated as accidental. A former Yeovil-based police officer, who made it appear he was working when he wasn’t, has been barred from policing...and more
Monday 9th June

Somerset Council is giving £1.5m to Hill View Special School at Ash near Martock to prevent it from closing. Two men have been convicted of killing a Yeovil man they mistakenly believed to be a convicted paedophile. People across Somerset are being asked to make a note of any wildlife they see...and more
Friday 6th June

Community Speedwatch volunteers in Keinton Mandeville have stopped monitoring the local traffic because of online and verbal abuse. Redstart Primary School in Chard has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. A care home resident in Glastonbury has raised more than one thousand pounds for Children's Hospice Southwest by knitting soft toys...and more.
Thursday 5th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he’s been told the temporary closure of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital will not be made permanent. Firefighters have dealt with a fire on a coach carrying passengers at Vagg Hill in Yeovil. The authorities in Chile are holding a man who lives in Milborne Port after being found with class-A drugs in a suitcase...and more.