Thursday 24th July

Thursday, 24 July 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

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.

Tourism leaders in Somerset are hoping to reverse last year’s downturn in visitor numbers now that the 6-week-long school summer holiday is underway. Visit Somerset says increases in employer National Insurance rates are putting hospitality businesses and visitor attractions under even greater financial pressure.

Changes are being made to the route of the 51 bus in Yeovil. The 51 will now stop at Asda and Larkhill. A new 61 service is being introduced that will stop in Cavalier Way. First Bus says both the 51 and 61 will also make stops at Tesco and Hendford Lodge Medical Centre. The journey time on the 54 Yeovil to Taunton bus is being extended by 10 minutes to improve timekeeping.

A Chard woman who crashed into a parked car while driving a van without insurance that belonged to her employer has been banned from driving for 16 months. Appearing before local magistrates, Claire Hottinger of Pear Tree Drive in Chard, pleaded guilty to using a Ford Transit van without insurance and was made the subject of a 12-month community order.

A trophy cabinet has been broken into and cups stolen in a raid at a Somerset golf club. It happened at Mendip Golf Club near Shepton Mallet last Friday when thieves smashed a window in a fire door and stole several prestigious trophies. Anyone with information is asked to please call the non-emergency number 101.

Network Rail says trains on the Waterloo Exeter line will not stop at Crewkerne station from Monday until further notice. A replacement bus will run between Axminster and Yeovil Junction stations. Network Rail says they’ve had to cancel trains stopping at Crewkerne station due to hot weather impacting the clay-based embankments between Salisbury and Axminster.

A Somerset hedgehog rescue centre says it’s seen a significant increase in the number of hedgehogs brought in this year. They say due to a lack of rain and hard ground conditions, hedgehogs are finding it difficult to source enough food..

More from News

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
Tuesday 3rd March

A woman from Ilminster has been jointly charged with another woman after a man’s body was found inside a car in Cornwall. Somerset businesses, involved in the supply chain for Leonardo, have welcomed the news that the Leonardo factory in Yeovil is to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Plans have been submitted to build thirty-two homes in Milborne Port... and more
Monday 2nd March

The Leonardo factory in Yeovil has won a multi-million pound contract to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. A doctor, who previously worked at Yeovil Hospital, has appeared in court charged with illegally accessing NHS computers. A new Construction Innovation Centre has opened at Yeovil College... and more
Friday 27th February

The CEO of Leonardo has suggested the UK government could make an announcement immindently about ordering new medium lift helicopters to be built in Yeovil. A family run hardware business in Yeovil has gone into administration. The Lord Lieutenant of Somerset has been named the new patron of Somerset Chamber of Commerce... and more