Extra precautions to fight off Covid have been put in place at 43 schools in the County. A Somerset woman is calling for greater awareness of a condition in children who were exposed to alcohol in the womb. A tapestry dating from the 15th century has been returned for public display at Montacute House. The title of "world's best cider" for 2021 has been won by a brand outside Somerset...and more.
Extra precautions to fight off Covid have been put in place at 43 schools in the County, including in Yeovil and across South Somerset. Somerset County Council is asking families with children from nursery to college age to take a Covid test twice each week.
A Somerset woman is calling for greater awareness of a condition in children who were exposed to alcohol in the womb. New research shows there could be up to half a million young people in the UK affected by Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. It can lead to lifelong physical, mental and behavioral problems, but often goes undiagnosed. Amanda Boorman adopted two young boys with the condition and says she has struggled to get their condition treated.
A tapestry dating from the 15th century has been returned for public display at Montacute House, near Yeovil, following four years of the restoration project. It shows a medieval knight in armour parading across a background of a thousand flowers. The National Trust spent 1,300 hours cleaning and strengthening the tapestry.
The title of "world's best cider" for 2021 has been won by a brand outside Somerset. Despite the county's famous orchards, local producers were pipped to the post in the World Cider Awards by ‘Farmhouse Still’ a cider made by St Ives Cider of Cornwall.
A formal planning application has been made to carry out significant improvements to Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre, costing £15 million. The Halifax Bank in King George Street in Yeovil could be converted into 17 flats. A new young people’s centre opens in Chard early in the New Year...and more.
NHS Somerset reports a strong uptake of flu jabs, but some eligible people for free vaccinations haven’t come forward. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident on the A303 in which a pedestrian was killed. A Crewkerne woman has gone viral on TikTok after being trapped inside a Lidl store in the town... and more.
Somerset Bus Partnership has welcomed a £24.7m boost for the county's bus services. Outline planning permission has been granted to build up to 100 new homes in Ilminster. An Ilminster man has been banned from keeping animals for seven years. Residents in Chiselborough have set up a group to try and re-open the village pub...and more.
Crewkerne Community Hospital is to lose half its inpatient beds. A review will be conducted of a project to make Bridgwater more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly. Chard Methodist Church is offering residents a free lunch on Christmas Day. Yeovil-based Screwfix is opening a new outlet in Minehead...and more.
Yeovil MP Adam Dance has warned that delays in ordering 30 new medium lift helicopters for the RAF is putting the future of Somerset’s defence industries at risk. Somerset's farmers are being urged to convert more cow manure into biogas to heat homes. A new visitor centre has opened at Ham Hill country park...and more
Parcel business, Evri, has been criticised by Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke over what she claims have been ‘widespread delivery failures’. Demand for mental health support provided by South Western Ambulance Service is running at record levels. A nine-year-old Somerset boy has completed 100 days of litter picking for charity...and more
New data shows that crime in the Avon and Somerset police area is at an all-time high. Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard has issued a warning to prospective pet owners ahead of Christmas. The owner of four pubs in Somerset has warned that many could be forced to shut unless the government reconsiders business rates...and more.
Toolstream in Yeovil has been put into administration, threatening the jobs of dozens of employees. NHS Somerset has issued a last chance call for people to get a flu jab after hospital admissions increased by 76% in a week. Police are investigating the theft of a bike valued at £7,000 in Sherborne... and more
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