Thursday 13th March

Thursday, 13 March 2025 05:00

By Steve Haigh

A new campaign has been launched to persuade people in Somerset to stop smoking. Four people have been arrested in Chard in connection with the supply of Class A drugs. A dog from Yeovil has won the title of ‘best in breed’ at Crufts...and more.

NHS Somerset has launched a new campaign to persuade people in Somerset to stop smoking. Data shows that around 60,000 people smoke in Somerset. The Smokefree initiative targets those in high-risk groups, where smoking rates are higher or where cigarettes pose a health concern.

Four people have been arrested in Chard in connection with the supply of Class A drugs. South Somerset Neighbourhood Policing Team seized items relating to drug supply during a raid on a property in the town. Avon and Somerset Police say their enquiries remain ongoing.

Police are seeking witnesses to a two-vehicle collision in Chard. The crash, involving a grey BMW 520D and a grey VW Golf, happened in Church Street at around 5.30 pm on Monday, March 10th. A woman in the Golf was treated for her injuries at the scene. Police say their enquiries are ongoing and ask that anyone who witnessed the crash or has dashcam footage to please call the non-emergency number 101.

A Yeovil woman has appeared in court charged with using threatening and abusive language towards a family member. Pleading guilty to the charge at Yeovil magistrates court, Dorothy Isaacs, aged 76 of Orchard Close in Yeovil Marsh was fined £120 with £40 costs.

Blackdown Acapella made up of over 30 women singers who live in the Blackdowns, are to compete in the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers Convention. The event, being held in Harrogate in October, will allow the group to win national recognition for its work.

A dog from Yeovil has won the title of ‘best in breed’ at Crufts. Manu, a Finnish Lapphund, was singled out by the judging panel for having a ‘delightful head and expression’. His owner, Edward Forsey, has described Manu as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime dog’.

More from News

Monday 24th March

Numatic International Ltd in Chard has been given planning permission to build a giant solar farm off the A30 Crewkerne Road. The RSPCA says incidents of dropped litter impacting the lives of animals in Somerset is a growing problem. Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is marking 25 years of saving lives across the two counties...and more
Friday 21st March

Leonardo in Yeovil is developing a new type of self-flying helicopter. A report into the creation of Somerset Council has found the case for it to be 'weak' and marked by 'poor decision making'. The village of Montecute has been told that it may have one of the country's oldest working clocks...and more.
Thursday 20th March

There has been a further delay to reopening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in Wincanton in which a motorcyclist was killed. A debt advice charity in Somerset is recruiting more volunteers to help with an expected increase in people going into debt...and more.
Wednesday 19th March

A new report says survival rates from ovarian cancer in Somerset are among the best in England. Farmers say it’s only a matter of time before someone is killed due to criminal gangs using farmland for illegal hare coursing. A Victorian chemist shop, originally situated on the High Street in South Petherton, is being moved to a theme park in County Durham...and more
Tuesday 18th March

Police are appealing for witnesses to a ‘hit and run’ in Henstridge in which an 8-year-old boy was knocked off his scooter. People in Somerset wanting to hold street parties to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day won't have to pay for a road closure. Plans have been submitted to open a new farm shop in Sherborne...and more
Monday 17th March

A Yeovil woman, whose disappearance three weeks ago sparked a big police search, has been found safe and well. A new 3.2 million pound programme of flood risk reduction works has been approved by the Somerset Rivers Authority. Sexey’s School in Bruton has been voted Somerset’s happiest secondary school...and more
Friday 14th March

Four Somerset businesses, including one in Yeovil, have been handed a total of £170,000 in civil penalties for employing illegal workers. National garage chain ATS Euromaster has closed its branch in Wincanton. A farmer in Wincanton is being hailed as a hero after rescuing his pigs from a burning barn...and more
Wednesday 12th March

A charity in Somerset is appealing for support after one of its sites was vandalised. The Leader of Somerset Council has been to Westminster to put the case for central government to provide councils with more money. A new primary school is to built-in Chard...and more