Tuesday 4th November

Tuesday, 4 November 2025 05:00

By Steve Haigh

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says from today it will no longer respond to automatic fire alarms. School in a Bag, based in Chilthorne Domer, is sending 400 school bags to Jamaica, following Hurricane Melissa. Yeovil Town has paid tribute to former manager Colin Addison, who has passed away...and more.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says it will no longer respond to automatic fire alarms going off. It follows figures showing that only a handful of alarm alerts in Somerset in the past five years turned out to be genuine emergencies. The fire service says that from today, it will not attend to industrial, commercial, retail, and public assembly automatic fire alarms unless there are confirmed signs of fire.

School in a Bag, based in Chilthorne Domer, is sending 400 school bags to Jamaica, following the devastation left by Hurricane Melissa. Simon Luke from the charity says he’s proud to be helping with the humanitarian efforts in Jamaica.

Yeovil Town has paid tribute to its former manager, Colin Addison, who has passed away aged 85. Born in Taunton, he played for York City, Nottingham Forest, Arsenal, Sheffield United and Hereford. Colin managed Yeovil in the early 2000s, famously guiding the Glovers to victory in an FA Cup second-round tie against Blackpool in December 2000.

Somerset Community Foundation has launched its annual Surviving Winter appeal. The appeal has raised more than £1.6 million, with 100,000 people receiving cash grants to help with their energy bills since its launch in 2010.

A multiagency exercise is taking place at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil today. It’s being held to test responses to a major aircraft incident. The exercise is timed to start at 6:00 p.m. and conclude at 11:00 p.m.

Yeovil Town are looking for ball boys and ball girls for tonight’s game at Huish Park against Wealdstone. If you’d like to volunteer for the role, please book your place by calling the club on 01935 423662.

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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