A Wincanton man has been jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of rape and other offences. A family from Somerset is asking the government for better access to medicinal cannabis through the NHS. A new clothes shop has opened in Ilminster as part of a project to help young people with autism find employment...and more.
A Wincanton man has been jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of rape and other offences. Bournemouth Crown Court was told that Gary Bridger of Dancing Lane in Wincanton attacked a nurse at his mother’s home in Sherborne. She’d gone to the property to check that it was safe for his mother to return home from hospital. While inside the house, Bridger, grabbed the woman and forced her into a bedroom where he carried out the assault. The court was told that Bridger must serve a minimum of two-thirds of his 12-year sentence before being considered for release.
A family from Somerset is asking the government for better access to medicinal cannabis through the NHS. Parents, Emily and Spencer, pay thousands of pounds each year for private cannabis prescriptions for their 4-year-old daughter Clover, who suffers from epileptic seizures. The government says it needs more evidence before deciding whether it’s safe to prescribe medicinal cannabis on the NHS.
A trial using artificial intelligence is underway at four GP practices in Somerset. NHS Somerset says it’s using A1 to monitor ‘at risk’ patients so they can be supported at home to avoid being admitted to hospital.
A Chard pub has been recognised for the quality of its toilets. The Cerdic in Fore Street has been awarded a platinum rating in the Loo of the Year Awards. The awards are aimed at highlighting and improving standards of 'away from home' toilets across the UK.
A new clothes shop has opened in Ilminster as part of a project to help young people with autism find employment.‘Punky Dory’ in Silver Street sells vintage clothes and jewellery. It’s run by Silver Lining Internships, an employment placement organisation that supports young people with autism and special educational needs.
Chard boxer Paul Roberts has secured his second Southern Area Super Flyweight title. Roberts took the title defeating Martin Hillman of London with a seventh-round stoppage at York Hall in Bethnal Green. If you would like to meet Paul, he will be presenting trophies at the Chard and Crewkerne Amateur Boxing Show, at Holyrood School, in Chard, this coming Saturday.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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