Local News Wednesday 17th March

Wednesday, 17 March 2021 07:30

Leonardo in Yeovil has delivered a tenth search and rescue helicopter to the Norwegian Air Force. A fire has damaged property in Kingsbury Episcopi. Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is using a new thermal blanket to help save lives. Graduates are being offered hands-on training to become the next generation of social workers....and more.

Leonardo in Yeovil has delivered a tenth search and rescue helicopter to the Norwegian Air Force. It’s the latest aircraft to be handed over as part of an order for 16 all-weather search and rescue helicopters for Norway that are being assembled at the Lysander Road factory.

A fire has damaged a property in Kingsbury Episcopi. It happened in the early hours of yesterday (Tuesday) in Folly Road. The damage was caused to the kitchen and smoke damage to the rest of the property. No one was hurt.

People who are not registered to vote are being reminded by South Somerset District Council to do so if they want to vote in the May elections. Voting is taking place on Thursday, May 6th for parish council seats in Chard, Crewkerne, Haselbury Plucknett, Kingsbury Episcopi, Somerton, South Petherton and Wincanton, together with voting for a new Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner. Residents in Queen Camel and Martock also have a chance to vote on neighborhood plans affecting their areas.

Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is using a new thermal blanket to help save lives. The 'Blizzard' blanket helps prevent patients from getting hyperthermia on the way to hospital. It's the first air ambulance service in the country to use this.

Graduates are being offered hands-on training to become the next generation of social workers. Somerset County Council is looking to recruit 58 workers to join the 14-month Step Up to Social Work Programme.

Thirty-five years on … and Leonardo in Yeovil has announced plans to officially mark setting a new World Helicopter Speed Record. Subject to planning permission, a replica of G-Lynx, the aircraft flown over the Somerset levels at 249 mph in 1986, a record never beaten, will be put on permanent display at the western end of the Yeovil airfield to act as a gate guard to the Leonardo site.

Radio Ninesprings Local News is compiled and edited by our Station Manager Steve Haigh

Contact Steve HERE

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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