Two teenage boys have admitted animal cruelty after filming themselves throwing a lamb down a stone staircase at Montacute. Somerset Council could lose around £5 million by selling the Marks and Spencer building in Yeovil. Chard, Wincanton, Castle Cary and Ansford are on a list of fifteen places in Somerset where new 20 mph speed limits could soon be introduced...and more.
Two teenage boys have admitted animal cruelty after filming themselves throwing a lamb down a stone staircase at Montacute, near Yeovil. In a video posted on social media, the lamb is seen tumbling down the steps of a spiral staircase inside St Michael's Hill Tower. In another video, they are seen throwing a lamb over a stone wall. The boys, who can’t be named for legal reasons, were each given a nine-month referral order after admitting animal cruelty, in a case brought by the RSPCA.
Somerset Council looks set to lose around £5 million on the sale of the Marks and Spencer building in Yeovil. The property at the top of Middle Street was transferred into the ownership of Somerset Council under local reorganisation in 2023 after the former South Somerset District Council bought it for £7.7 million as an investment. The building is currently advertised for sale at £2.8 million. Somerset Council says it has to sell most of the investment properties bought by former district councils to pay towards the running costs of providing statutory services like adult social care.
Chard, Wincanton, Castle Cary and Ansford are on a list of fifteen places in Somerset where new 20 mph speed limits could soon be introduced. It follows safety concerns expressed by local residents and Somerset Council offering to implement the lower limits if they are in line with Department for Transport criteria.
A Crewkerne man has been presented with an Honoured Citizens Award for long service with the Scouts. Crewkerne Town Council made the award to Dave Lumbard for the forty years he’s spent as Leader of First Crewkerne Scouts. Local resident, Annette Roffey, was also presented with an Honoured Citizen Award for her community work in Crewkerne.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says July has been its busiest month ever for emergency calls. Police have recovered a 1970s Austin Mini pick-up stolen in Shepton Mallet. A specialist spinal injuries service at Yeovil Hospital has treated three hundred patients in its first year... and more
The Environment Agency has declared a drought across Somerset as the hot weather takes its toll on the county's water supplies. Police are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic accident near Crewkerne. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow...and more
Police have arrested two suspects in connection with a series of moped thefts in Chard. A combine harvester has been destroyed in a farm fire at Forton, near Chard. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow... and more
The former Beales department store in Yeovil could be brought back into use as part of a wider masterplan for the future of the town. A yellow heat health alert is in place across Somerset from nine o’clock this morning until nine o’clock on Friday morning. A Somerset farmer says this year is the driest on his land since 1976... and more
Gooch and Housego, based in Ilminster and one of the town’s biggest employers, has been sold in a multi-million-pound deal to an American private equity firm. A father who shook his four-week-old baby to death at a house in Chard has been sentenced to life in prison. A doctor who works for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is one of five people to have jointly set a new world record for rowing around Great Britain... and more
Avon and Somerset Police are warning people to watch out for scammers posing as Amazon. The CEO of the company that provides Somerset's recycling is warning of a major incident if people continue to put used batteries in waste bins. A former Yeovil pub could be demolished to make way for a major hotel expansion.
The West Country is officially one step closer to being declared in drought. Somerset Council says it's remodelling its service after a children's home was closed following an inspection. A new McDonald's planned off the M5 at Bridgwater could create up to 120 local jobs... and more
Two men have been jailed for stealing electrical items and cash from a property in Yeovil. Somerset Council has defended its use of Yeovil’s new performance area in The Triangle, in Lower Middle Street. Tintinhull Primary School, near Yeovil, has won a top national award for outdoor play... and more