Thursday 18th September

Thursday, 18 September 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road accident in Chard in which a 13-year-old boy fell from an e-scooter. People in Somerset are being asked for their views on building a second reservoir in Cheddar. A new exhibition celebrating 200 years of shoemaking in Somerset opens in Street today...and more.

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road accident in Chard in which a 13-year-old boy fell from an e-scooter. It happened near B&Q on the A358 Furnham Road at its junction with Victoria Road at 5.15 pm on Tuesday this week. The boy was airlifted to hospital where he remains under treatment. Anyone who saw what happened or has dashcam footage is asked to please call the non-emergency number 101.

People in Somerset are being asked for their views on building a second reservoir in Cheddar. The River Yeo feeds the current 'Cheddar One' reservoir and provides drinking water to around 500,000 homes. The Yeo and River Axe will also feed the 'Cheddar Two' reservoir. A new pipeline will be built to transport water to a service reservoir in North Petherton. Details on how to comment can be found on the Wessex Water website.

A new exhibition celebrating 200 years of shoemaking in Somerset opens in Street today. The Shoemakers Museum, on the site of Clarks Shopping Village, tells the story of the Clarks family and how footwear made by Clarks sold all around the world.

Somerset Council has delayed opening a planned new primary school in Chard due to financial constraints. The new school, to be built next to Holyrood Academy, was due to open in September 2027, but won’t now open until much later. Somerset Council has also delayed starting work on extending Herne View Primary School in Ilminster, due to a lack of funds.

The NHS in Somerset has started rolling out its winter vaccination programme. Pregnant women and children can now register, with over-65s and people in vulnerable groups able to apply from October.

A new railway station for Wellington could be open in two-and-a-half to three years. Network Rail says final plans for the station are being drawn up and should be completed by next Spring. The project was put on hold last year when the Labour government came into office, before being given the go-ahead in June this year in the chancellor's spending review.

More from News

Friday 13th March

The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more
Thursday 12th March

A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more
Wednesday 11th March

Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more
Tuesday 10th March

Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more
Monday 9th March

Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more
Friday 6th March

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more
Thursday 5th March

Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more
Wednesday 4th March

A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more