Thursday 24th April

Thursday, 24 April 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in which a child was struck by a car in Yeovil. This week, a planning inquiry is being held into plans to turn a Somerset shopping centre into a retirement complex. A Somerset woman is planning to walk the 70-miles of Hadrian's Wall to mark her 90th birthday...and more.

Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in which a child was struck by a car in Yeovil. It happened on Larkhill Road, close to the turn-off to the Sports Centre, at around 3 pm on Tuesday, earlier this week. The driver of the car remained at the scene following the collision, while the child was given medical treatment before being taken to hospital. If you witnessed the accident or have dashcam footage, you’re asked to please call the non-emergency number 101.

A woman has appeared in court charged with concealing the birth of a baby girl, whose body was found at a waste disposal site in Yeovil. Appearing at Yeovil Magistrates Court, Devon Helyar, aged 30, of no fixed address, did not enter a plea to the offence, and was sent for trial at Taunton Crown Court.

This week, a planning inquiry is being held into plans to turn a shopping centre, described as an eyesore, into a retirement complex. The appeal hearing follows Somerset Council’s rejection of a planning application to convert the Crispin Shopping Centre in Street. Churchill Retirement Living want to demolish the shopping centre and build a retirement complex on the site, consisting of 45 apartments and 11 retirement cottages.

Police have renewed their appeal for witnesses and other information to an incident in which a woman alleges she was sexually assaulted by a man in Yeovil. It happened at about 9.30 pm on Sunday, April 13th, at Milford Dip, off Milford Road. The woman claims that she was dragged off a path by the man, who then assaulted her. Police arrested a man in the area a short time later and then released him on conditional bail. They want to trace the driver of a small green car seen on Melrose Road, who may have witnessed what happened. If you were in the Goldcroft, Milford Road and Melrose Road areas of Yeovil between 9 pm and 10 pm on Sunday, April 13th, and saw a small green car or a man acting suspiciously, you’re asked to please call the non-emergency number 101.

Work has been completed refurbishing the sluice gate at Dunball on the Somerset Levels. The improvements, which cost ten million pounds, aim to reduce the flood risk and provide greater protection for freshwater animals.

A Somerset woman is planning to walk the 70-miles of Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland to mark her 90th birthday. Mary Nicholson is taking on the challenge in aid of The Beacon Cancer Centre, where her brother receives treatment.

More from News

Thursday 31st July

A bird flu surveillance zone has been imposed in Somerset. The go-ahead has been given to build sixteen new homes in Shepton Beauchamp. The catering team at Yeovil Hospital has won a top award for the food it serves. Year Four pupils at Herne View Primary School in Ilminster have been presented with dictionaries by the local Rotary Club...and more
Wednesday 30th July

The fire service says they still don’t know what caused Monday’s major shop fire in Yeovil. A safeguarding review is being carried out into the case of Daniel Gunter, who was found guilty at Bristol Crown Court last week of murdering his two-week-old baby son at Yeovil Hospital. National convenience store chain, Costcutter, has taken over the empty YMCA charity shop in Middle Street in Yeovil for a new store...and more
Tuesday 29th July

Parents in Somerset are being advised not to leave their children unsupervised with pets. Somerset Council says it's dealing with a backlog of sixteen hundred planning applications. Ninety thousand pounds has been raised so far for Somerset Community Foundation’s appeal supporting people affected by last week’s coach crash in West Somerset...and more
Monday 28th July

A boat used for sightseeing trips on the River Parrett at Langport has sunk after being vandalised. A union representing firefighters in Somerset says former retained staff are missing out on pension payments. Thirty-nine new affordable homes are to be built in Merriot...and more
Friday 25th July

A father has been found guilty of murdering his two-week-old son at Yeovil Hospital. From Monday, no trains will be stopping at Crewkerne until further notice. Experts say the dry weather has created ideal conditions for wasps to multiply in significant numbers across Somerset. A rare railway carriage from the 1880s, believed to have been built in Somerset, is being given a new lease of life...and more.
Thursday 24th July

Tourism leaders in Somerset are hoping to reverse last year’s downturn in visitor numbers now that the six-week-long school summer holiday is underway. A Chard woman who was driving a van without insurance that crashed has been given a 16-month driving ban. A Somerset hedgehog rescue centre says a lack of rain and hard ground conditions are making it difficult for hedgehogs to survive this summer...and more.
Wednesday 23rd July

Somerset Council is planning to open twelve new Special Educational Needs units in mainstream schools. Yeovil Hospital is participating in a trial that could revolutionise the treatment of sepsis within the NHS. A 55-acre site in Chard, with plans approved to build 295 homes and a new football ground, has been put up for sale...and more
Tuesday 22nd July

Somerset Community Foundation has launched a "Together for West Somerset Appeal" to help families affected by last Thursday's school coach crash on Exmoor. People in Somerset are being encouraged to improve their recycling of food waste. Free family cooking sessions are being held in Chard. A new children’s soft play area is soon to open in Yeovil...and more