Monday 11th August

Monday, 11 August 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Bus drivers with First Bus in Somerset are being balloted about possible strike action. Six thousand pounds has been raised towards repairing a boat, used for sightseeing trips on the River Parrett in Langport, after vandals damaged it. A hedgehog rescue charity in Somerset is facing closure due to a lack of funds...and more

Bus passengers are being warned about potential disruption to services in Somerset. It follows the rejection of a pay offer by drivers belonging to the Unite union, who are being balloted on possible strike action. First Bus says it remains open to having constructive discussions with drivers to settle the dispute.

A community boat, damaged by vandals in Langport, has been fully repaired after local people raised six thousand pounds. The Duchess of Cocklemoor is used for taking visitors to Langport on sightseeing trips along the River Parrett.

A hedgehog rescue charity in Somerset is facing closure. Prickles Hedgehog Rescue Centre, which has been running for eleven years, says it’s having difficulty raising the income needed to stay open.

Langport-based charity Bibic has launched a new fundraising campaign. Bibic, which supports children and young people with neurological difficulties and disabilities, says it’s facing a funding gap and needs to raise £25,000 during August.

A man who knocked a pillion passenger off a motorbike in Yeovil has been given a twelve-month driving ban. Charles Hudson collided with the motorbike on the Horsey Lane roundabout at the junction of Lysander Road and Queensway in Yeovil, injuring the pillion passenger, who later died in hospital. Appearing in court in Yeovil, Hudson, aged 58, from New South Wales in Australia, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and was also fined £1,150 with a £460 victim surcharge.

Work starts today on gas main repairs in the Old Town area of Chard. Temporary traffic lights will be operating in Mill Lane with access to Bradfield Way blocked for the next eight weeks.

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