Thursday 9th May

Thursday, 9 May 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.

Great Western Railway says it’s unable to run services in Somerset again today due to continued strike action by members of the train driver’s union ALSEF. Meanwhile, South Western Railway says only two morning and two evening services will run through Pen Mill station in Yeovil, as they too have been heavily impacted by ASLEF’s overtime ban.

A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people from overdosing on opioids. Using a new App, users are directed to places where naloxone, a drug used to reverse opioid misuse, is given out free. It’s estimated that around 2,000 people misuse opioids in Somerset and are at risk of overdosing. The campaign features posters displayed at railway and bus stations and in supermarkets across Somerset.

Plans have been submitted to build four new industrial units on Blacknell Lane at the eastern edge of Crewkerne. The application on behalf of Pilsdon Pen Ltd shows the location of the units close to the Wool Gardens housing development, using the road to the town’s household waste recycling centre for entry.

The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard has issued an urgent appeal for donations to help keep it open. The Centre looks after 300 animals and employs 170 staff and volunteers. Over the past two years, their operating costs have risen on average by 40 percent. The charity is now considering selling off a 20-acre plot of farmland along with a three-bedroom cottage to raise some much-needed cash.

A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name. ‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton, has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names.

The A358 between Chard and Axminster at the junction with Two Ash Lane has reopened following a burst water main that led to it being closed for most of yesterday. As well as stopping the water leak, the road was resurfaced where the burst had happened.

More from News

Thursday 1st May

There’s been a call for the Somerset Levels to be designated a National Landscape. A Yeovil man has raised £2,000 for a new school minibus at Fairmead School in Yeovil by running the London Marathon. Exmoor Ales, which provides cask ales across the region and beyond, is closing its Somerset brewery and moving the business to Surrey...and more.
Wednesday 30th April

The long-awaited refurbishment of Yeovil police station is finally to get underway this summer. Plans have been approved to build 185 new homes off Bunford Lane in Yeovil. Police have arrested three men in Yeovil for being involved in the supply of Class A drugs. A Somerset jockey has been named Champion Conditional Jockey of 2025...and more.
Tuesday 29th April

New figures have shown that registering as a new patient with an NHS dentist in Somerset is still just as difficult as it was six months ago. The go-ahead has been given to build 160 new houses on Station Road in Castle Cary. A sailor from South Petherton has been chosen to lead a team in the round-the-world Clipper Race...and more.
Monday 28th April

Somerset Council is being criticised for taking too long to re-open Yeovil's Octagon Theatre. The Liberal Democrats have won a seat on Chard Town Council by one vote. Dates have been announced for this year’s illuminated carnival processions in South Somerset...and more.
Friday 25th April

Police are investigating the theft of a motorbike in Ilminster. Tributes have been paid to the former Yeovil Town player-manager, Cecil Irwin, who has died aged 83. Town criers from across the South West will be in Yeovil tomorrow competing for the loudest voice in the Yeovil Town Crier Competition 2025...and more
Thursday 24th April

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.
Wednesday 23rd April

Tourism bosses in Somerset say they feel confident the County will have a good summer for visitors this year. A group representing care providers in Somerset is warning that some residential homes are at risk of going out of business due to rising costs. A Somerset animal charity has taken into care, three orphaned badger cubs...and more.
Tuesday 22nd April

The Care Quality Commission has given two GP practices in Yeovil a 'good' overall rating. According to insurers, AXA, thefts at commercial premises in Somerset are on the rise. Bus users in Somerset could see changes to the frequency of services when the new West of England mayor takes office. Martock is to host its first Pride event in June...and more.