Local News Wednesday 2nd February

Wednesday, 2 February 2022 06:00

Yeovil Hospital has repeated its request for people not to visit the accident and emergency department unless it’s absolutely necessary. The owner of a vineyard at Langport is hoping changes to alcohol duty will benefit producers of British wine. An Ilminster man has raised £10,000 for Prostate Cancer UK by completing six marathon walks. People living in Combe St Nicholas have raised more than £125,000 in a bid to reopen the only pub in the village...and more.

Yeovil Hospital has repeated its request for people not to visit the accident and emergency department unless it’s absolutely necessary. The hospital says it needs the public to co-operate with the appeal, due to the huge pressures of Covid and the busy winter that it is under.

The owner of a vineyard at Langport is hoping changes to alcohol duty will benefit producers of British wine. The changes in which the highest taxes will be charged on drinks with the highest alcohol content, come into the force from April. Guy Smith who runs the Smith and Evans Vineyard at Langport believes that due their low alcohol content, British-made wines, could escape the tax increases.

An Ilminster man has raised £10,000 for Prostate Cancer UK by completing six marathon walks. Lee Crossland walked the marathons, each of 26.2 miles, during January, completing five to six miles every night after work. Lee has thanked people in Ilminster for their generosity in supporting the Prostate Cancer UK charity.

People living in Combe St Nicholas have raised more than £125,000 in a bid to reopen the only pub in the village. Locals started a campaign called ‘Save the Dragon’ 2-years ago after the closure of The Green Dragon pub. The group says it still needs a further £55,000 to buy the Green Dragon.

Chard Carnival Committee has handed-out grants totaling £3,250.00 to local organisations from money raised at last year’s Chard carnival. Awards were given to Manor Court School, Avishayes School, Tatworth Amateur Pantomime Society and Chard 1st Scouts & Beavers. Chard Carnival Committee holds its annual general meeting on Sunday, February 13, at 7 pm, at the Guildhall in Chard.

More from News

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