Tuesday 27th May

    The Government is to look at the circumstances behind the decision to close the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital. The Royal Bath and West Show opens this week with concerns being raised about the spread of Blue Tongue disease in farm animals. An 86-year-old Somerset man is preparing for his fourth skydive to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society...and more.

    The Government is to look at the circumstances behind the decision to close the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital. The baby ward closed suddenly last week due to safety concerns raised in an inspection report by the Care Quality Commission. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Yeovil Hospital, says the unit will remain closed for six months while a review is conducted. Expectant mothers due to give birth in Yeovil have been asked instead to attend the Royal Hospital in Bath, County Hospital in Dorchester or Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton. The government’s promise to intervene follows a public protest against the closure and a question asked of the Prime Minster by Yeovil MP Adam Dance in the House of Commons.

    The Royal Bath and West Show gets underway this week, with concerns being raised about the spread of Blue Tongue disease, which affects farm animals. The show states that it has procedures and rules in place to protect against the spread of the disease, including a ban on cattle from affected areas.

    Trains that run through Yeovil, Sherborne and Crewkerne stations have become the first in the country to be brought back into public ownership. South Western Railway, who operate services on the Exeter to Waterloo line, was transferred at the weekend to Great British Railways, a company wholly owned by the government.

    A woman who fatally stabbed her husband at their home in Baltonsborough near Street last year has been jailed for a minimum of 15 years. Christine Kekkonen claimed she hadn't intended to injure 41-year-old Henri Kekkonen but was convicted of his murder following a trial at Bristol Crown Court. 

    A Somerset florist is celebrating after winning gold at last week’s Chelsea Flower Show. Georgie Newbery of Common Farm Flowers in Charlton Musgrove was awarded the top prize as a member of the Farewell Flowers Collective for their interpretation of a funeral scene, which featured flower displays and a wirework sculpture of a man and his dog visiting a graveyard.

    An 86-year-old Somerset man is getting ready to do his fourth skydive to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society. Brian Standring will be jumping from 15,000 feet for the charity, which he started supporting after his close friend Alan was diagnosed with dementia in 2012. He says despite the potential risks of skydiving at his age, supporting the Alzheimer’s Society is what is important.

    More from News

    • Thursday 30th October

      Bird flu has been found at a nature reserve in Somerset, closing part of it down. St Margaret’s Hospice in Somerset is calling for the hospice sector to be given more central funding. The Barrington Boar in Barrington has been placed 12th in The Good Food Guide’s list of 100 best pubs in Britain... and more

    • Wednesday 29th October

      Police are investigating a suspected arson attack on a mobile home near Yeovil. Somerset Council is suggesting people turn their pumpkins into soup this Halloween. People in Yeovil have until Sunday to comment on controversial plans to sell off four car parks in the town centre... and more.

    • Tuesday 28th October

      Plans have been submitted to build 12 new homes in Chard. A nursery in Yeovil has been rated ‘overall good' by Ofsted. A Somerset mortgage broker has achieved national recognition. A stretch of the M5 at Wellington will be shut every night this week...and more

    • Monday 27th October

      The Unite union has announced four days of strikes by its members at Leonardo in Yeovil. One of Yeovil’s busiest roads is closed to traffic today. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard raised £3,000 taking part in a Sleeping Ruff challenge at the weekend...and more

    • Friday 24th October

      New figures show that 500 young people were either injured or killed on roads in Somerset and Devon last year. The Old School Community Centre in Queen Camel has reopened, thanks to a donation of £10,000 from Somerset Freemasons. Two Fleet Air Arm engineers based at RNAS Yeovilton have recreated a family moment from 26 years ago...and more

    • Thursday 23rd October

      Yeovil-born actress Sarah Parish is supporting efforts to reopen the Octagon theatre. Mobility scooter campaigners in Somerset have welcomed a government review of the legislation governing the use of mobility scooters on public highways. Changes are being made to the dates when garden waste is collected in Somerset...and more

    • Wednesday 22nd October

      A major house builder in the South West says government targets for new house building in Somerset are 'unrealistic'. Pizza Hut is closing its restaurant in Yeovil. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard will be taking part in a ‘Sleeping Ruff’ challenge tomorrow...and more .

    • Tuesday 21st October

      Reckleford in Yeovil is to shut for 15 days for essential drainage works. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has paid out compensation of £23 million for claims related to birth injuries. A Grade II listed building in Glastonbury has been converted into a health and wellbeing centre...and more

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Low-level cloud

      High: 13°C | Low: 11°C

    • Chard

      Heavy Rain

      High: 13°C | Low: 11°C

    • Crewkerne

      Heavy Rain

      High: 13°C | Low: 11°C

    • Somerton

      Light rain

      High: 14°C | Low: 11°C

    • Wincanton

      Low-level cloud

      High: 13°C | Low: 11°C

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