Thursday 26th March

Thursday, 26 March 2026 05:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset Council is offering food vouchers during the school easter holidays to families whose children receive free school meals. A local man has been charged in connection with an incident involving a firearm in Yeovil. The Environment Agency says it could take up to 10 years to protect homes at Holway House Park and Home Farm Park in Ilminster from flooding...and more.

Somerset Council and Citizens Advice are offering support to families worried about the cost of food during the Easter holidays. Families whose children receive free school meals can now apply for supermarket vouchers through the Somerset Citizens Advice website. It comes after Somerset Council ended a scheme giving all free school meal families vouchers every school holiday.

A local man has been charged in connection with an incident involving a firearm in Yeovil. William Martin, aged 38, is facing one count of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and a second count of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He was arrested after officers were called to Rosebery Avenue at around 2 pm on Monday following reports that a member of the public was carrying a suspected handgun. Officers said that while attempting to engage with a man in Monmouth Road, a short while later, a firearm was discharged by an officer. There were no injuries reported.

Protecting homes from further flooding at Holway House Park and Home Farm Park in Ilminster could take up to 10 years, according to the Environment Agency. Park homes on the sites off Station Road were flooded in October 2021. Repairs were carried out to a bund on Home Farm Way, which has proved successful in keeping floodwater away. But the Environment Agency says any further improvements may take up to 10 years due to the extensive modelling required to carry out the work and the need to secure government funding.

Somerset Council says one hundred new homes being built in Huish Episcopi will be affordable. The council has approved the plans, submitted by the housing association Abri, to build the properties off Somerton Road.

Blacklands Lane in Tatworth will be closed to traffic for one day next month. It’s to allow Openreach to carry out cabling works. The closure will be in effect from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm on Wednesday, 1st April.

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It's claimed the increasing availability of drugs such as ketamine and cocaine has normalised drug use among young people in Somerset. The trial of a man accused of killing his one-month-old son in Chard begins today at Bristol Crown Court. A stone pillar outside the Langport Arms Hotel in Langport has been replaced after it was destroyed in a car crash... and more
Thursday 11th June

Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to the three aircrew from RNAS Yeovilton who died in last week's helicopter crash in Devon. Two men have been arrested and stolen vehicles seized following a major multi-agency operation in South Somerset. An event highlighting opportunities for women in the aerospace industry has been held in Yeovil... and more
Wednesday 10th June

The public will be consulted on how best to spend fifty million pounds of government funding to tackle flooding in Somerset. Avon and Somerset Police are backing a new road safety campaign aimed at reducing motorcycle fatalities. New welcome signs have been installed at entrances to the Mendip Hills National Landscape... and more
Tuesday 9th June

The government has announced a £50 million investment to strengthen Somerset’s flood defences. A woman from Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been banned from driving for 14 months after admitting drink-driving. Somerset Council has been told it must improve its adult social care services... and more
Monday 8th June

Plans for a new railway station in Langport remain stalled in Whitehall, according to Somerset Council. Plans to build 50 new homes in Broadway, near Ilminster, have been refused. The new water fountains in Yeovil’s Triangle, in Lower Middle Street, are being switched off during very hot weather because of safety concerns... and more.
Friday 5th June

A new NHS dental practice in Crewkerne says it won’t start operating at full capacity until July due to staff shortages. Somerset Council says it has no plans to show England matches in the World Cup on the Big Screen in Yeovil town centre due to safety concerns. A Somerset family has been thanked after completing a 73-mile walk raising money for a third world charity... and more
Thursday 4th June

An investigation continues today into the crash of a Royal Navy helicopter, based at RNAS Yeovilton, in which all three aircrew were killed. Somerset Council has confirmed that a new operator will take over several leisure centres across the county. The new live-action Masters of the Universe movie, filmed in Somerset, is released this week...and more
Wednesday 3rd June

A Yeovil man has appeared in court charged with assaulting three police officers. Somerset Council has begun legal action to recover more than £320,000 owed by housing developers. The line-up has been announced for this year’s Ilminster Midsummer Experience...and more