Monday 10th February

Monday, 10 February 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Photo shows RSPCA Inspector Kim Walters who found Daisy

A dog, stolen in Norfolk seven years ago, has been found 200 miles away safe and well in Somerset. A man who lives in Seavington St Michael near Ilminster has been jailed after driving a car at police officers. One hundred new affordable homes could be built near Langport...and more

A dog stolen in Norfolk seven years ago has been found 200 miles away, safe and well, in Somerset. Daisy, the Labrador, was identified by an RSPCA inspector through her microchip. Her owner, Rita Potter, aged 80, says she'd kept a photograph of Daisy on her wall and never gave up hope of finding her.

A man who lives in Seavington St Michael near Ilminster has been jailed after driving a car at police officers and ramming the car into police vehicles. It happened when police attended Matthew Reyland's property to carry out unrelated enquiries into a missing person. No one was injured in the incident when the 38-year-old tried to flee the scene in his car. Appearing at Taunton Crown Court, Reyland was given a 16-month prison sentence and a three-year driving ban, after pleading guilty to multiple offences.

The Lib Dem MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, Sarah Dyke, is calling on the government to act decisively to minimise the flood risk in her constituency. Speaking in the House of Commons, Ms Dyke, said she was worried about farms being flooded and the impact on food security. She said the government needed to do more to ensure a flood management plan was in place to protect farms.

One hundred new affordable homes could be built near Langport if a revised planning application is approved. Social housing provider, Abri, wants to build the properties on Somerton Road in Huish Episcopi with 56 of the homes offered for rent to local people and 44 sold on the basis of shared ownership.

Somerset Council has been given half a million pounds by the government to plant 700 trees in open spaces across the County including in Castle Cary and Yeovil. The fruit and non-native varieties already stand three meters tall.

A Somerset charity is inviting people to get involved in its Earn a Bike scheme. ‘On Your Bike’ runs a course where participants strip down and rebuild a donated second-hand bicycle, and then get to keep the bike at the end of the course.

More from News

Friday 12th June

It's claimed the increasing availability of drugs such as ketamine and cocaine has normalised drug use among young people in Somerset. The trial of a man accused of killing his one-month-old son in Chard begins today at Bristol Crown Court. A stone pillar outside the Langport Arms Hotel in Langport has been replaced after it was destroyed in a car crash... and more
Thursday 11th June

Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to the three aircrew from RNAS Yeovilton who died in last week's helicopter crash in Devon. Two men have been arrested and stolen vehicles seized following a major multi-agency operation in South Somerset. An event highlighting opportunities for women in the aerospace industry has been held in Yeovil... and more
Wednesday 10th June

The public will be consulted on how best to spend fifty million pounds of government funding to tackle flooding in Somerset. Avon and Somerset Police are backing a new road safety campaign aimed at reducing motorcycle fatalities. New welcome signs have been installed at entrances to the Mendip Hills National Landscape... and more
Tuesday 9th June

The government has announced a £50 million investment to strengthen Somerset’s flood defences. A woman from Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been banned from driving for 14 months after admitting drink-driving. Somerset Council has been told it must improve its adult social care services... and more
Monday 8th June

Plans for a new railway station in Langport remain stalled in Whitehall, according to Somerset Council. Plans to build 50 new homes in Broadway, near Ilminster, have been refused. The new water fountains in Yeovil’s Triangle, in Lower Middle Street, are being switched off during very hot weather because of safety concerns... and more.
Friday 5th June

A new NHS dental practice in Crewkerne says it won’t start operating at full capacity until July due to staff shortages. Somerset Council says it has no plans to show England matches in the World Cup on the Big Screen in Yeovil town centre due to safety concerns. A Somerset family has been thanked after completing a 73-mile walk raising money for a third world charity... and more
Thursday 4th June

An investigation continues today into the crash of a Royal Navy helicopter, based at RNAS Yeovilton, in which all three aircrew were killed. Somerset Council has confirmed that a new operator will take over several leisure centres across the county. The new live-action Masters of the Universe movie, filmed in Somerset, is released this week...and more
Wednesday 3rd June

A Yeovil man has appeared in court charged with assaulting three police officers. Somerset Council has begun legal action to recover more than £320,000 owed by housing developers. The line-up has been announced for this year’s Ilminster Midsummer Experience...and more