Wednesday 11th February

Wednesday, 11 February 2026 05:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset Council has been told it can’t raise council tax by more than 5 percent. Businesses in Somerset are being warned to watch out for fake £20 notes. A Martock man has successfully completed a parachute-ski jump off the top of Mount Snowdon.

Somerset Council has been told it can’t raise council tax by more than 5 percent. The government had been asked to give Somerset Council permission to go above the 5 percent cap, but it has refused. Somerset Council had wanted to increase Council Tax by 11 percent and will now have to address how to continue funding core services, including libraries and roads. The Leader of the Conservative opposition group on Somerset Council, Councillor Diogo Rodrigues, has welcomed the government's decision. He says it has prevented a potential annual increase of more than £200 in council tax for the average household in Somerset.

Businesses in Somerset are being warned to watch out for fake £20 notes. Police say counterfeit £20 notes were used to pay for transactions at a filling station on Priory Bridge Road in Taunton on January 29th and a shop on East Reach in the town on March 5th.

CCTV footage has been issued after a woman stole £2,000 worth of goods from the Boots store at Babylon Hill near Yeovil. It happened at around 3:30pm on Sunday, February 1st, with beauty products and baby clothes being taken. Images of the woman can be viewed on the Dorset Police website. If you can help identify the woman you’re asked to please call the non-emergency number 101.

The M5 will be closed in both directions between junctions 25 at Taunton and 27 at Tiverton on several nights this month. It's to allow work to be carried out to alleviate flooding on the motorway. From Saturday, February 14 to Sunday, February 15th the M5 will be shut southbound between junctions 25 and 27 from 9pm to 6am. And then again from Thursday, February 19th to Monday, February 23rd northbound between junctions 25 and 27 from 9pm to 6am.

A Martock man has successfully completed a parachute-ski jump off Mount Snowdon in North Wales. Tim Howell, who has been BASE jumping for 15 years, claims he’s the first to perform a parachute-ski jump from the top of the 1100 meter high Mount Snowdon.

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