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.

More from News

Friday 31st July

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says July has been its busiest month ever for emergency calls. Police have recovered a 1970s Austin Mini pick-up stolen in Shepton Mallet. A specialist spinal injuries service at Yeovil Hospital has treated three hundred patients in its first year... and more
Thursday 30th July

The Environment Agency has declared a drought across Somerset as the hot weather takes its toll on the county's water supplies. Police are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic accident near Crewkerne. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow...and more
Wednesday 29th July

Police have arrested two suspects in connection with a series of moped thefts in Chard. A combine harvester has been destroyed in a farm fire at Forton, near Chard. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow... and more
Tuesday 28th July

The former Beales department store in Yeovil could be brought back into use as part of a wider masterplan for the future of the town. A yellow heat health alert is in place across Somerset from nine o’clock this morning until nine o’clock on Friday morning. A Somerset farmer says this year is the driest on his land since 1976... and more
Monday 27th July

Gooch and Housego, based in Ilminster and one of the town’s biggest employers, has been sold in a multi-million-pound deal to an American private equity firm. A father who shook his four-week-old baby to death at a house in Chard has been sentenced to life in prison. A doctor who works for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is one of five people to have jointly set a new world record for rowing around Great Britain... and more
Friday 24th July

Avon and Somerset Police are warning people to watch out for scammers posing as Amazon. The CEO of the company that provides Somerset's recycling is warning of a major incident if people continue to put used batteries in waste bins. A former Yeovil pub could be demolished to make way for a major hotel expansion.
Thursday 23rd July

The West Country is officially one step closer to being declared in drought. Somerset Council says it's remodelling its service after a children's home was closed following an inspection. A new McDonald's planned off the M5 at Bridgwater could create up to 120 local jobs... and more
Wednesday 22nd July

Two men have been jailed for stealing electrical items and cash from a property in Yeovil. Somerset Council has defended its use of Yeovil’s new performance area in The Triangle, in Lower Middle Street. Tintinhull Primary School, near Yeovil, has won a top national award for outdoor play... and more