There was a ten per cent increase in drivers arrested for drinking or taking drugs in the Avon and Somerset Police area over the Christmas period. Plans have been approved to build a further fifty-nine new homes in Somerton. Police are asking for help identifying a man filmed on CCTV smashing the windows of a barber shop in Crewkerne... and more.
There was a ten per cent increase in drivers arrested for drinking or taking drugs in the Avon and Somerset Police area over the Christmas period. Three hundred and twenty-four drivers were arrested as part of Operation Tonic in December, with drink driving accounting for sixty-eight per cent of offences. Around two thousand drivers in total were stopped.
Plans have been approved to build a further fifty-nine new homes to be built in Somerton. The houses will be built between Bancombe Road and Bradley Hill Lane, as part of the Somerton Mead development. Somerset Council says it’ll be the end of the year now before a decision is made on the final phase of the Somerton Mead site, which includes a pedestrian link to the King Ina Church of England Academy.
An overnight road closure is planned on the A303 later this month. National Highways says it will shut the eastbound carriageway between Podimore and the Steart Hill Junction to begin work building a new westbound dual carriageway. The closure will take place from 9 pm Friday, January 19th to 6 am Saturday, January 20th. Access will remain for local residents, with diversions in place for all other road users.
Police are asking people to report bike thefts more quickly. They say they need to be told immediately if a theft happens to stand any chance of recovering the stolen bike. The plea follows figures showing that 200 bikes are stolen nationally every day with only one in ten returned to its lawful owner.
A new group, giving women who have been widowed a chance to meet up, has had its first meeting in Somerton. Called ‘The Merry Widows’, the group focus on building a new life after the loss of a loved one. The sessions are held at the White Hart in Somerton, and everyone is welcome to attend.
Police are asking for help identifying a man seen smashing the windows of a barber shop in Crewkerne. The man was filmed on CCTV breaking the windows of Hawa Barbers in Market Street in the early hours of Friday 29 September. An image of him can be viewed on the Avon and Somerset Police website.
A new website has been launched to support people in Somerset with mental health issues. One of Yeovil’s oldest pubs has been sold. Artwork on the theme of aviation produced by students at Yeovil College has gone on display at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.A pupil at Tatworth Primary School near Chard has won a prize in a national competition for writing a book review...and more
Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.
Somerset Council seeking to save £40 million by cutting one thousand jobs says 201 employees have so far applied to leave the authority based on voluntary redundancy. East Somerset Railway near Shepton Mallet has been used for filming the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals. An old-style red phone box in Castle Cary is being turned into Somerset's smallest museum...and more
Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.
Health inspectors have criticised Somerset's maternity services, including those at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset Council says re-opening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre in its original form could cost up to £200,000 if a multi-million-pound upgrade of the building falls through. A film made by a Yeovil man on a budget of just five thousand pounds was screened at the prestigious British Independent Film Festival...and more.
The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard says it needs an immediate injection of £100,000 to keep going. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has returned to Yeovil Rugby Club where she began her rugby career 20 years ago. Twenty-five Town criers from across the South will be in Ilminster tomorrow competing in the annual Ilminster Town Criers' Competition...and more.
Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.
A woman driver has been told she faces a prison term for causing the deaths of two people in a crash on the A303. The AA says there are more potholes than ever on Somerset’s motorway network, leading to an increase in damage to vehicles. The new cancer treatment unit at Yeovil Hospital should be open before the end of the year...and more.
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