Thursday 17th July

Thursday, 17 July 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he has serious concerns about plans that could see the closure of inpatient beds at Crewkerne Community Hospital. Ilminster residents are being asked to vote in a referendum on adopting a new neighbourhood plan for the town. An event in which people take part in a race against horses is returning to Somerset later this year...and more

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he has serious concerns about plans that could see the closure of inpatient beds at Crewkerne Community Hospital. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed that converting Crewkerne Hospital into a neighbourhood health centre, with the closure of all 20 inpatient beds, is under consideration. Mr Dance says if the changes go ahead, it will impact Yeovil Hospital and Somerset's other hospitals.

A Dorset man has been sentenced after admitting to being the cause of a fatal crash at Yeovilton. Cyrus Bailey, aged 20, failed to give way at a junction, colliding with a car driven by Christine Ibbotson in May last year. She died in hospital three days later. Appearing before magistrates in Yeovil, Bailey was given an 18-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months for causing death by careless driving.

People in Ilminster are being asked to vote in a referendum on adopting a new neighbourhood plan for the town. The vote, in which residents will be asked to support or reject Somerset Council using the neighbourhood plan to make decisions on planning applications, takes place on Thursday, August 21st.

The trial of a couple accused of murder and causing or allowing the death of their premature baby has heard that he would have been dead for at least 30 minutes before they raised the alarm. Two-week-old Brendon Staddon was found with injuries to his head and neck in the special baby care unit at Yeovil Hospital in March of last year. Daniel Gunter and Sophie Staddon, of no fixed address, deny charges of murder and causing or allowing the child's death. The trial at Bristol Crown Court continues.

An event in which people take part in a race against horses is returning to Somerset this year. Man v Horse has been running in Wales but this year a Somerset version will be held on the Quantock Hills in October.

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