Tuesday 27th February

Tuesday, 27 February 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset Council says CCTV across the County is to stay operating for at least another year. A Castle Cary man has collected 1600 names on a petition opposing plans to close the Dimmer waste recycling centre. A rugby player who struck an opposing player in the face during a match played in Sherborne has appeared in court charged with grievous bodily harm...and more

Somerset Council says the county’s network of CCTV cameras will stay operating for at least another year after town and parish councils offered to help fund the service. CCTV has been under threat after Somerset Council said it could no longer afford to subsidise the network. Some town and parish councils, however, are yet to decide if they will pay to keep CCTV going.

A Castle Cary man has collected 1600 names on a petition opposing plans to close the Dimmer waste recycling centre. Drew Thompson claims closing Dimmer will increase fly tipping around Castle Cary, which contradicts Somerset Council’s stated aim of wanting a ‘greener and more sustainable’ Somerset. Crewkerne waste recycling centre is also on a list of five centres in Somerset at risk of closure as part of efforts at Somerset Council to cut spending by £100 million.

Patients in Somerset are being warned to check if their hospital appointment is affected by the ongoing strike action by junior doctors. Junior doctors have walked out again today on the fourth of a five-day stoppage in support of a 35 per cent pay demand. Yeovil Hospital and Taunton's Musgrove Park are the two hospitals in Somerset affected by the strike.

A rugby player who struck an opposing player in a match played in Sherborne has appeared in court charged with grievous bodily harm. Jack Richards was playing for Wellington RFC against Sherborne RFC at the Terraces when he hit opposing player Jamie Davidson causing damage to one of his eyes. Appearing before magistrates in Weymouth, Richards pleaded guilty to the offence and was sent to Bournemouth Crown Court for sentencing.

Somerset has been named as the worst area in the South West for domestic abuse. Research by Personal Injury Claims UK claims that around 60 abuse crimes occurred every day between November 2022 and October 2023 in the Avon and Somerset area. Sixty-eight per cent of victims were female, with twenty-six per cent male. Six per cent of victims had other gender definitions or their gender was unknown.

A hearing dog has been credited with helping a Somerset Paralympic hopeful, as she prepares for this summer's games in Paris. Swimmer, Suzanna Hext, was paralysed from the waist down in 2012. She's since also completely lost her hearing but says her confidence has improved dramatically, thanks to her hearing dog, Kimmy, who accompanies her everywhere, including training sessions.

The campaign group, Green Ilminster, has announced the date of its next annual meeting. It’ll be held at the Dolphin in Ilminster on Tuesday, March 5th starting at 6.30 pm and is open to all to attend.

More from News

Friday 17th May

A new website has been launched to support people in Somerset with mental health issues. One of Yeovil’s oldest pubs has been sold. Artwork on the theme of aviation produced by students at Yeovil College has gone on display at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.A pupil at Tatworth Primary School near Chard has won a prize in a national competition for writing a book review...and more
Thursday 16th May

Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.
Wednesday 15th May

Somerset Council seeking to save £40 million by cutting one thousand jobs says 201 employees have so far applied to leave the authority based on voluntary redundancy. East Somerset Railway near Shepton Mallet has been used for filming the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals. An old-style red phone box in Castle Cary is being turned into Somerset's smallest museum...and more
Tuesday 14th May

Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.
Monday 13th May

Health inspectors have criticised Somerset's maternity services, including those at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset Council says re-opening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre in its original form could cost up to £200,000 if a multi-million-pound upgrade of the building falls through. A film made by a Yeovil man on a budget of just five thousand pounds was screened at the prestigious British Independent Film Festival...and more.
Friday 10th May

The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard says it needs an immediate injection of £100,000 to keep going. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has returned to Yeovil Rugby Club where she began her rugby career 20 years ago. Twenty-five Town criers from across the South will be in Ilminster tomorrow competing in the annual Ilminster Town Criers' Competition...and more.
Thursday 9th May

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.
Wednesday 8th May

A woman driver has been told she faces a prison term for causing the deaths of two people in a crash on the A303. The AA says there are more potholes than ever on Somerset’s motorway network, leading to an increase in damage to vehicles. The new cancer treatment unit at Yeovil Hospital should be open before the end of the year...and more.