Wednesday 17th September

Wednesday, 17 September 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

The Environment Agency is being urged to rethink its decision to stop maintaining smaller rivers and streams in Somerset. South Western Railway, which runs trains through Sherborne, Yeovil and Crewkerne, has issued body cameras to more of its staff. Twelve new neighbourhood officers have joined Avon and Somerset Police...and more

The Environment Agency is being urged to rethink its decision to stop maintaining smaller rivers and streams in Somerset. The EA says it has to prioritise what it can deliver with the funding it has. Farmers and politicians have criticised the move, and now the Somerset Rivers Authority has called on the Environment Agency to carry out a formal impact assessment.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust says it's vital they get the input of families to an investigation into maternity services at Yeovil Hospital. Yeovil is one of fourteen hospitals across England to be examined as part of a government review of NHS maternity services.

South Western Railway, which runs trains through Sherborne, Yeovil and Crewkerne, has issued body cameras to more of its staff. It follows an increase in assaults and abuse on SWR staff, with two incidents being reported every day. The cameras are aimed at deterring assaults and other anti-social behaviour, and will collect video evidence for use in legal proceedings.

Twelve new neighbourhood officers have joined Avon and Somerset Police. The recruits, 50% of whom are female and 17% from an ethnic minority background, have been recruited through the Police Now's Graduate Programme. As neighbourhood officers, they will specialise in local policing, directly working with communities to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour, to build trust in the Avon and Somerset force.

A Chard accountancy firm is hosting a coffee morning to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Lentells is inviting the public to its office in Chard Business Park, on Leach Road, on Thursday, September 25th, for the charity event.

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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