Tuesday 23rd September

Tuesday, 23 September 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Two cars have been destroyed by fire in Martock. A Somerset cider maker says it's expecting a record-breaking apple crop this year. The Woodland Trust has awarded Manor Court Primary School in Chard a Gold Standard...and more.

Two cars have been destroyed by fire in Martock, with two other vehicles affected by heat damage. It happened in the early hours of Sunday. The cause of the blaze is unknown. No one was injured.

A Somerset cider maker says they're expecting a record-breaking apple crop this year, thanks to the long, hot summer. Cider producers, Showerings, say it's expecting a “monster crop” of up to 2,500 tonnes of apples. Last year, 1,000 tonnes of apples were harvested by Showerings.

A date has been set to merge the two parishes in South Somerset. If all goes to plan, Castle Cary Town Council and Ansford Parish Council will become one entity by the next local elections in May 2027. Formal consultations are now underway, with the merger to be adopted by the end of 2026, ahead of the local elections the following May.

Shepton Mallet business owner and disabled campaigner Josh Wintersgill has criticised changes to a government scheme that supports people like him. Josh, who’s reliant on a wheelchair, is supported with his business through the Access to Work scheme. But Josh says changes to the scheme have left him worse off.

A post office in Yeovil will shut for six weeks next month for an upgrade. Westfield Post Office on Stiby Road will close on Thursday, October 16th and re-open on Friday, November 28th. During the closure, customers should use the Orchard Street Post Office at Huish and the Sandhurst Road Post Office in West Coker.

The Woodland Trust has awarded Manor Court Primary School in Chard a Gold Standard. It’s in recognition of work by an after-school nature club that’s planted hedges and trees, cleared a pond to encourage wildlife, and run a successful anti-litter poster campaign.

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