Wednesday 20th September

Wednesday, 20 September 2023 07:00

By Steve Haigh

We're being asked to think carefully before using NHS services in Somerset this week, due to strikes by doctors. Wilko will shut its Yeovil store at the end of September. Crosscountry Rail, who run trains through Somerset, has been given a new contract with the government...and more.

We're being asked to think carefully before using NHS services in Somerset this week, due to strikes by doctors. Consultants walked out yesterday for forty-eight hours, with junior doctors starting three days of action from today. Junior doctors have been offered a nine percent pay rise, which they have refused.

Crosscountry Rail, which runs trains through Somerset, has been given a new contract with the government. The eight-year contract, starting from next month, comes despite figures showing that Crosscountry had one of the highest numbers of cancellations of all train operators between April and June this year.

It’s been announced that Wilko will shut its Yeovil store at the end of September. The final day of trading at the shop in Lower Middle Street will be Friday, September 29th. All four hundred Wilko outlets across the UK will shut by early October, according to the administrators, Price Waterhouse Cooper. In a separate development, The Range has bought the Wilko brand and website.

A local spider expert is asking people not to kill spiders when they enter our homes but to allow them to breed. Dee Patel, an entomologist based in Somerset, says spiders are good for the environment and that their numbers need to grow.

Ilminster hairdresser, Ben Russell, has made it through to the finals of the Australian Hair and Fashion Awards. Ben’s success at last year’s British Hairdressing Awards gave him automatic entry into the Australian awards where he will compete for the title of Global Hairdresser of the Year.

More from News

Thursday 30th October

Bird flu has been found at a nature reserve in Somerset, closing part of it down. St Margaret’s Hospice in Somerset is calling for the hospice sector to be given more central funding. The Barrington Boar in Barrington has been placed 12th in The Good Food Guide’s list of 100 best pubs in Britain... and more
Wednesday 29th October

Police are investigating a suspected arson attack on a mobile home near Yeovil. Somerset Council is suggesting people turn their pumpkins into soup this Halloween. People in Yeovil have until Sunday to comment on controversial plans to sell off four car parks in the town centre... and more.
Tuesday 28th October

Plans have been submitted to build 12 new homes in Chard. A nursery in Yeovil has been rated ‘overall good' by Ofsted. A Somerset mortgage broker has achieved national recognition. A stretch of the M5 at Wellington will be shut every night this week...and more
Monday 27th October

The Unite union has announced four days of strikes by its members at Leonardo in Yeovil. One of Yeovil’s busiest roads is closed to traffic today. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard raised £3,000 taking part in a Sleeping Ruff challenge at the weekend...and more
Friday 24th October

New figures show that 500 young people were either injured or killed on roads in Somerset and Devon last year. The Old School Community Centre in Queen Camel has reopened, thanks to a donation of £10,000 from Somerset Freemasons. Two Fleet Air Arm engineers based at RNAS Yeovilton have recreated a family moment from 26 years ago...and more
Thursday 23rd October

Yeovil-born actress Sarah Parish is supporting efforts to reopen the Octagon theatre. Mobility scooter campaigners in Somerset have welcomed a government review of the legislation governing the use of mobility scooters on public highways. Changes are being made to the dates when garden waste is collected in Somerset...and more
Wednesday 22nd October

A major house builder in the South West says government targets for new house building in Somerset are 'unrealistic'. Pizza Hut is closing its restaurant in Yeovil. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard will be taking part in a ‘Sleeping Ruff’ challenge tomorrow...and more .
Tuesday 21st October

Reckleford in Yeovil is to shut for 15 days for essential drainage works. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has paid out compensation of £23 million for claims related to birth injuries. A Grade II listed building in Glastonbury has been converted into a health and wellbeing centre...and more