Monday 2nd March

Monday, 2 March 2026 05:00

By Steve Haigh

The Leonardo factory in Yeovil has won a multi-million pound contract to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. A doctor, who previously worked at Yeovil Hospital, has appeared in court charged with illegally accessing NHS computers. A new Construction Innovation Centre has opened at Yeovil College... and more

The Leonardo factory in Yeovil is to build the new medium lift helicopter securing the jobs of thousands of workers and cancelling the threat issued by its Italian owners to shut the Yeovil site if the contract wasn’t awarded by the deadline of March Ist. Right at the last moment, the order for up to 25 helicopters for the RAF was confirmed yesterday by the UK government following the personal intervention of the PM and Chancellor. The Leader of Yeovil Town Council Councillor Andy Soughton says it’s been a long time in coming and is a huge boost for the town.

A doctor, who previously worked at Yeovil Hospital, has appeared in court charged with illegally accessing NHS computers to look at his wife’s medical records. Mohamad Alsaadany pleaded guilty to three charges of accessing medical computer programmes on a total of 33 occasions when he appeared before magistrates in Yeovil. The Court was told Alsaadany would now go before the General Medical Council and be struck off the Medical Register.

A new Construction Innovation Centre has opened at Yeovil College. It will train learners in trades including carpentry, bricklaying, electrical installation, and plumbing. It’s the second major building finished under Yeovil College’s ‘once-in-a-generation’ Big Build programme, funded by the Department for Education.

Yeovil Hospital is holding an event to raise awareness of sleep apnoea. The disorder that causes brief interruptions in breathing during sleep, can lead to morning headaches, and a higher risk of developing heart problems. The sleep apnoea awareness day takes place at Yeovil Hospital this coming Saturday.

And a new music shop has opened in Yeovil. The Somerset Music Academy at 9, Silver Street in the town centre, sells guitars, ukuleles, drum kits, and digital pianos, and offers an instrument repair service.

More from News

Thursday 16th April

Wessex Water has been told to pay £300,000 after a sewer spilled into the River Yeo killing dozens of fish. The Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton has been given a grant of half a million pounds. Today marks the official opening of the new visitor centre at Ham Hill... and more
Wednesday 15th April

Yeovil College has been upgraded to a Defence Technical Excellence College. Somerset Council is taking legal action against a housing developer that owes £35,000 in contributions towards local services in Broadway. An Ilminster couple have covered the first 400 miles of their epic walk around the coastline of mainland Britain... and more
Tuesday 14th April

Avon and Somerset Police has launched a new five-year plan to tackle anti-social behaviour. Additional GP appointments will soon be available at three local surgeries, following a £1 million investment to upgrade NHS facilities in Somerset. A Stoke-sub-Hamdon couple whose daughter died of cancer have raised £128,000 in her memory... and more
Monday 13th April

Yeovil MP Adam Dance is calling for better support for survivors of domestic abuse living in rural communities. The RSPB in Somerset is urging people to stop feeding birds to prevent the spread of disease. Yeovil Town Football Club says an issue that had threatened it with removal from the register at Companies House has been resolved... and more
Friday 10th April

Maternity services at Yeovil Hospital will reopen on Tuesday April 21st. A Somerset woman, who relies on a wheelchair for mobility, has criticised changes to the Motor Motability scheme. Somerset Freemasons have presented a cheque for forty-three thousand pounds to Young Somerset, a charity that supports young people in the county... and more
Thursday 9th April

Yeovil Town Football Club has received a warning that it could be struck off the register at Companies House. Somerset Council has been given £22 million to provide assistance to people facing cost of living pressures. Members of 1st Ilminster Scout Group have spent a night sleeping outdoors to experience the challenges faced by homeless military veterans... and more
Wednesday 8th April

A Yeovil school teacher has been banned from teaching for sharing inappropriate details about her private life with pupils. A Stoke-sub-Hamdon woman has been given a 17-month driving ban. A Yeovil woman who survived bone cancer is raising is running the London Marathon... and more
Tuesday 7th April

Somerset Council has set aside three hundred and seventy thousand pounds to keep open five leisure centres in the Mendip area. Watercombe Lane in Yeovil is set to close for thirty-one days for gas mains replacement works. It’s been announced that Martock will stage a Pride event in June...and more