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 31st July

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says July has been its busiest month ever for emergency calls. Police have recovered a 1970s Austin Mini pick-up stolen in Shepton Mallet. A specialist spinal injuries service at Yeovil Hospital has treated three hundred patients in its first year... and more
Thursday 30th July

The Environment Agency has declared a drought across Somerset as the hot weather takes its toll on the county's water supplies. Police are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic accident near Crewkerne. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow...and more
Wednesday 29th July

Police have arrested two suspects in connection with a series of moped thefts in Chard. A combine harvester has been destroyed in a farm fire at Forton, near Chard. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow... and more
Tuesday 28th July

The former Beales department store in Yeovil could be brought back into use as part of a wider masterplan for the future of the town. A yellow heat health alert is in place across Somerset from nine o’clock this morning until nine o’clock on Friday morning. A Somerset farmer says this year is the driest on his land since 1976... and more
Monday 27th July

Gooch and Housego, based in Ilminster and one of the town’s biggest employers, has been sold in a multi-million-pound deal to an American private equity firm. A father who shook his four-week-old baby to death at a house in Chard has been sentenced to life in prison. A doctor who works for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is one of five people to have jointly set a new world record for rowing around Great Britain... and more
Friday 24th July

Avon and Somerset Police are warning people to watch out for scammers posing as Amazon. The CEO of the company that provides Somerset's recycling is warning of a major incident if people continue to put used batteries in waste bins. A former Yeovil pub could be demolished to make way for a major hotel expansion.
Thursday 23rd July

The West Country is officially one step closer to being declared in drought. Somerset Council says it's remodelling its service after a children's home was closed following an inspection. A new McDonald's planned off the M5 at Bridgwater could create up to 120 local jobs... and more
Wednesday 22nd July

Two men have been jailed for stealing electrical items and cash from a property in Yeovil. Somerset Council has defended its use of Yeovil’s new performance area in The Triangle, in Lower Middle Street. Tintinhull Primary School, near Yeovil, has won a top national award for outdoor play... and more