Wednesday 17th December

Wednesday, 17 December 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Parcel business, Evri, has been criticised by Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke over what she claims have been ‘widespread delivery failures’. Demand for mental health support provided by South Western Ambulance Service is running at record levels. A nine-year-old Somerset boy has completed 100 days of litter picking for charity...and more

Parcel business, Evri, has been criticised by Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke over what she claims have been ‘widespread delivery failures’ in her constituency in the run-up to Christmas. It follows numerous complaints about parcels not arriving on time and being left in the wrong place. One resident claims that a parcel was left in a flowerbed, and another found her parcel on the side of the road. Ms Dyke has now written to Evri's chief executive demanding an urgent investigation.

Demand for the South Western Ambulance Service's mental health support is at record levels, with around a quarter of its staff seeking help in the past year. It comes as figures suggest emergency responders are more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health condition than the general population, with blue light workers at a higher risk of suicide than other groups.

The government is preparing to launch a consultation on banning trail hunting. Somerset’s hunts switched to trail hunting when the pursuit of foxes was banned 20 years ago. But critics, including some senior police officers, say it’s being used as a smoke screen for illegal hunting.

A nine-year-old Somerset boy has completed 100 days of litter picking. Theo Roberts set himself the challenge of collecting one large bag of rubbish every day for 100 days to raise money for the environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage. In that time, he has collected more than 340kg of waste and raised more than £2,300 for the charity.

Well done to Martock Charity Shop for reaching half a million pounds in donations to children’s charities in the South West since it opened in 2006. The independent charity shop at 3 North Street is run entirely by unpaid trustees, committee members, and volunteers, and donates to a range of good causes, including schools, children's hospices, children's hospitals, and neonatal units.

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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