Local News Wednesday 22nd June

    Traffic queuing for Glastonbury in previous years

    With the gates opening today at Glastonbury Festival, motorists planning to travel near to Pilton are being advised to leave plenty of time to complete their journeys. Rising fuel prices are putting charities like the Yeovil-based Freewheelers Emergency Voluntary Service under pressure. A farm safety event has been held in Yeovil to encourage local farmers to take matters of Healthy and Safety more seriously. A new report is soon to be published on building a new relief road on the eastern side of Chard and a former Yeovil Town footballer has had his dream fulfilled of playing for England.

    With the gates opening today at Glastonbury Festival, motorists planning to travel near to Pilton are being advised to leave plenty of time to complete their journeys. Up to 200,000 revellers are due to arrive at Worthy Farm between today and Friday. Many festival-goers are unable to travel by train due to around half of trains being cancelled to Castle Cary by the rail strike and local roads around Pilton are expected to be even more congested than usual.

    Meanwhile, the westbound carriageway on the A303 between Ilchester and the Cartgate roundabout will be closed from 8 pm this evening to 6 am tomorrow morning for resurfacing work to be carried out. The road will shut again tomorrow evening. During the closure, a diversion will operate via the A37, A30, and A3088.

    Rising fuel prices are putting charities like the Yeovil-based Freewheelers Emergency Voluntary Service under pressure. Yeovil Freewheelersdelivers blood by motorbike across Somerset and the South West, and estimates that its fuel costs have gone up by a quarter in the past two months.

    A farm safety event has been held in Yeovil to encourage local farmers to take matters of Healthy and Safety more seriously. The event was arranged by insurers, NFU Mutual, and the Farm Safety Foundation, and follows a rise in fatalities on farms in the South West. 

    A new report is soon to be published on building a new relief road on the eastern side of Chard. The Chard Eastern Relief Road is seen as crucial to complementing new homes to the south and east of the town. If it goes ahead, the road would begin at a new roundabout on the A358 and cross the B3162 Forton Road to the east of the existing houses. It would then move north around the back of the Lordleaze Hotel, skirting the edge of the current employment units at Millfield, and joining up with the A30 to the east of a new Numatic facility.

    A former Yeovil Town footballer has had his dream fulfilled of playing for England at the age of 80. Rex Buttle twisted his vertebrae playing for the Glovers in 1959 and was told by doctors that he would never play football again. Rex has just won his first England cap in a 1-1 draw against Wales as a member of England's Over 75’s Walking Football team.

    More from News

    • Thursday 1st May

      There’s been a call for the Somerset Levels to be designated a National Landscape. A Yeovil man has raised £2,000 for a new school minibus at Fairmead School in Yeovil by running the London Marathon. Exmoor Ales, which provides cask ales across the region and beyond, is closing its Somerset brewery and moving the business to Surrey...and more.

    • Wednesday 30th April

      The long-awaited refurbishment of Yeovil police station is finally to get underway this summer. Plans have been approved to build 185 new homes off Bunford Lane in Yeovil. Police have arrested three men in Yeovil for being involved in the supply of Class A drugs. A Somerset jockey has been named Champion Conditional Jockey of 2025...and more.

    • Tuesday 29th April

      New figures have shown that registering as a new patient with an NHS dentist in Somerset is still just as difficult as it was six months ago. The go-ahead has been given to build 160 new houses on Station Road in Castle Cary. A sailor from South Petherton has been chosen to lead a team in the round-the-world Clipper Race...and more.

    • Monday 28th April

      Somerset Council is being criticised for taking too long to re-open Yeovil's Octagon Theatre. The Liberal Democrats have won a seat on Chard Town Council by one vote. Dates have been announced for this year’s illuminated carnival processions in South Somerset...and more.

    • Friday 25th April

      Police are investigating the theft of a motorbike in Ilminster. Tributes have been paid to the former Yeovil Town player-manager, Cecil Irwin, who has died aged 83. Town criers from across the South West will be in Yeovil tomorrow competing for the loudest voice in the Yeovil Town Crier Competition 2025...and more

    •  Thursday 24th April

      Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in which a child was struck by a car in Yeovil. This week, a planning inquiry is being held into plans to turn a Somerset shopping centre into a retirement complex. A Somerset woman is planning to walk the 70-miles of Hadrian's Wall to mark her 90th birthday...and more.

    • Wednesday 23rd April

      Tourism bosses in Somerset say they feel confident the County will have a good summer for visitors this year. A group representing care providers in Somerset is warning that some residential homes are at risk of going out of business due to rising costs. A Somerset animal charity has taken into care, three orphaned badger cubs...and more.

    • Tuesday 22nd April

      The Care Quality Commission has given two GP practices in Yeovil a 'good' overall rating. According to insurers, AXA, thefts at commercial premises in Somerset are on the rise. Bus users in Somerset could see changes to the frequency of services when the new West of England mayor takes office. Martock is to host its first Pride event in June...and more.

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Sunny intervals

      High: 27°C | Low: 11°C

    • Chard

      Sunny intervals

      High: 25°C | Low: 10°C

    • Crewkerne

      Sunny intervals

      High: 25°C | Low: 10°C

    • Somerton

      Sunny intervals

      High: 27°C | Low: 11°C

    • Wincanton

      Sunny intervals

      High: 27°C | Low: 11°C

    Recently Played