Tuesday 12th August

Tuesday, 12 August 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

A new 'family style' children's home for vulnerable children has opened in Somerset. Railway services between Yeovil and Exeter will run less frequently and at a slower speed from this week. A Crewkerne man has been given a one-year driving ban for drug driving. Chard Town Council says the public toilets near Sainsbury’s have been deep cleaned in preparation for re-opening them...and more.

A new 'family style' children's home for vulnerable children has opened in Somerset; the eighth of its kind in the county. The ‘Family style’ homes provide wraparound care for up to three vulnerable children. It’s a concept, pioneered by Somerset Council, that’s now being rolled out in other local authority areas.

Railway services between Yeovil and Exeter will run less frequently and at a slower speed from this week. The track on the Waterloo to Exeter line has been impacted by the hot weather, meaning that trains have to travel more slowly. Trains will, however, now stop at Crewkerne station.

Chard Town Council says the public toilets near Sainsbury’s have been deep cleaned in preparation for reopening them. The Town Council has taken over running the toilets in the Bath Street car park and has appointed a contractor to clean them daily, but hasn’t given a date when they will re-open.

A Crewkerne man has been given a one-year driving ban for drug driving. Pleading guilty to the charge before a Judge in Yeovil, Christopher Baker, aged 30, of Ivel Way in Crewkerne, also admitted driving without insurance or a licence in Crewkerne in January, earlier this year. Apart from the driving ban, Baker was fined £120 along with a £120 surcharge and £40 costs.

Somerset Council is holding a series of information days to recruit more foster families for children in care. One of the events is being held in Somerton next month, offering local people the chance to learn what fostering really involves. Full details and booking information can be found at somerset.gov.uk/fostering.

Toy chain, The Entertainer, which has a store on Middle Street in Yeovil, is handing over control of the business to its employees. In future, the company will be run by an employee trust, with staff getting a share of the profits and a say in how the business operates.

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