Tuesday 29th July

    Parents in Somerset are being advised not to leave their children unsupervised with pets. Somerset Council says it's dealing with a backlog of sixteen hundred planning applications. Ninety thousand pounds has been raised so far for Somerset Community Foundation’s appeal supporting people affected by last week’s coach crash in West Somerset...and more

    Parents in Somerset are being advised not to leave their children unsupervised with pets. The warning from the Pet Education Partnership follows new research showing that one in five children in the South West have been bitten by an animal, with four out of ten incidents requiring medical attention. 

    Somerset Council says it's taking "critical action" to reduce a backlog of sixteen hundred planning applications, partly caused by problems in recruiting and retaining staff. The measures, which include instructing customers not to contact the planning department for updates, are aimed at freeing up officers' time so that they can focus on processing applications.  

    £90,000 has been raised so far for Somerset Community Foundation’s appeal supporting people affected by last week’s coach crash in West Somerset. Oliver Price, aged 10, was killed and 22 passengers were injured when the vehicle overturned as it returned to Minehead Middle School from a school trip on 17th July.

    A Wincanton man has appeared in court charged with assault. Elliott Houghton, aged 25, of Saunters Close, was accused of punching two other men in a fight in January earlier this year. Appearing in court in Yeovil, Houghton was given a 12-month community order with 120 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £200 compensation to both complainants. 

    An event celebrating culture in Chard starts today. The Chard Heritage, Arts, and Music Festival offers a range of events and activities for families at various venues across the town, running for five days. Tonight’s offering is a talk by David Knapman on the subject of brush making. Events are being held every day up to Sunday, when the festival will end with an exploration of the Lace Riots in Chard.

    More from News

    • Wednesday 30th July 

      The fire service says they still don’t know what caused Monday’s major shop fire in Yeovil. A safeguarding review is being carried out into the case of Daniel Gunter, who was found guilty at Bristol Crown Court last week of murdering his two-week-old baby son at Yeovil Hospital. National convenience store chain, Costcutter, has taken over the empty YMCA charity shop in Middle Street in Yeovil for a new store...and more

    • Monday 28th July

      A boat used for sightseeing trips on the River Parrett at Langport has sunk after being vandalised. A union representing firefighters in Somerset says former retained staff are missing out on pension payments. Thirty-nine new affordable homes are to be built in Merriot...and more

    • Friday 25th July

      A father has been found guilty of murdering his two-week-old son at Yeovil Hospital. From Monday, no trains will be stopping at Crewkerne until further notice. Experts say the dry weather has created ideal conditions for wasps to multiply in significant numbers across Somerset. A rare railway carriage from the 1880s, believed to have been built in Somerset, is being given a new lease of life...and more.

    • Thursday 24th July

      Tourism leaders in Somerset are hoping to reverse last year’s downturn in visitor numbers now that the six-week-long school summer holiday is underway. A Chard woman who was driving a van without insurance that crashed has been given a 16-month driving ban. A Somerset hedgehog rescue centre says a lack of rain and hard ground conditions are making it difficult for hedgehogs to survive this summer...and more. 

    • Wednesday 23rd July

      Somerset Council is planning to open twelve new Special Educational Needs units in mainstream schools. Yeovil Hospital is participating in a trial that could revolutionise the treatment of sepsis within the NHS. A 55-acre site in Chard, with plans approved to build 295 homes and a new football ground, has been put up for sale...and more

    • Tuesday 22nd July

      Somerset Community Foundation has launched a "Together for West Somerset Appeal" to help families affected by last Thursday's school coach crash on Exmoor. People in Somerset are being encouraged to improve their recycling of food waste. Free family cooking sessions are being held in Chard. A new children’s soft play area is soon to open in Yeovil...and more

    • Monday 21st July

      A GoFundMe page set up to support families of last week’s Exmoor bus crash, in which a 10-year-old boy died, has raised over forty thousand pounds. A local councillor is calling for the introduction of speed cameras on the A30, from Yeovil to Sherborne. A group from a school in Ilchester have hiked 26 miles across the Jurassic Coast to fundraise in memory of a school colleague...and more

    • Friday 18th July

      EDF has completed another milestone in constructing the new 'Hinkley C' nuclear power plant near Bridgwater. The Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire opens today with helicopters built in Yeovil on display. A road leading to Chard reservoir, shut two months ago for strengthening work to a dam wall, has re-opened...and more

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 22°C | Low: 11°C

    • Chard

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 22°C | Low: 12°C

    • Crewkerne

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 22°C | Low: 12°C

    • Somerton

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 23°C | Low: 12°C

    • Wincanton

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 22°C | Low: 11°C