Wednesday 28th May

Wednesday, 28 May 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset Council is to spend £3m on employment consultants as it seeks to bring its four thousand staff onto the same terms and conditions. Film and TV production companies spent an estimated £4m making films in Somerset last year. The Wurzels have released a new single written by artificial intelligence in the hope it will take them to the top of the charts...and more

Somerset Council is to spend £3m on employment consultants as it seeks to bring its four thousand staff onto the same terms and conditions. The council was formed in 2023 after it merged five local authorities, inheriting several different sets of terms and conditions for staff.

Film and TV production companies spent an estimated £4m in Somerset last year. The figure comes in the week The Salt Path, filmed in Somerset, is released. Somerset Council says that, in addition to production companies spending money locally, tourism also benefits from places and landscapes in Somerset being showcased on the Big Screen.

Chard-based professional boxer Paul Roberts is to challenge for the British flyweight and Commonwealth flyweight titles. He's scheduled to fight Harvey Horn for the titles and the coveted Lonsdale belt at the Skate Central Arena in Sheffield on June 14th.

A man from Forton, near Chard, is taking part in a 200km challenge to raise money for Brain Tumour Research. Jonathan Ingram, who is living with a brain tumour, says by the end of May, he will have walked, run, and cycled to reach the 200km target.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has developed a new online self-referral form for bowel cancer. The Trust says data shows younger people are being diagnosed with late-stage bowel cancer in Somerset, with the highest proportion in Bridgwater. The new service is open to people aged 40-49 who are registered with a general practitioner (GP) in Somerset.

The Wurzels have released a new single written by artificial intelligence called 'Wurzel Me Up'. The band, best known for hits like Combine Harvester and I Am A Cider Drinker, say they've used Ai in the hope it will give them a new Number One.

More from News

Friday 30th May

Yeovil Town Football Club has a new owner. Displays of birds and poultry at this year’s Royal Bath and West Show have been banned due to the spread of avian flu. Organisers of the Wessex Truck Show say they’ve cancelled holding it again in Yeovil. A storm thwarts a man from Martock's record-breaking attempt...and more.
Thursday 29th May

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has secured an adjournment debate in Parliament to discuss the sudden closure of Yeovil's maternity unit. The Royal Bath and West Show 2025 opens today. The go-ahead has been given to demolish the Crispin Shopping Centre in Street and build a retirement complex in its place...and more
Tuesday 27th May

The Government is to look at the circumstances behind the decision to close the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital. The Royal Bath and West Show opens this week with concerns being raised about the spread of Blue Tongue disease in farm animals. An 86-year-old Somerset man is preparing for his fourth skydive to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society...and more.
Friday 23rd May

Ten extra maternity beds have been made available at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital following the closure of Yeovil's maternity unit. Some Glastonbury festival goers say they've been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after a glamping business was liquidated. Chard Fire Station is asking businesses to offer their buildings for fire training. The Cotley Inn, in Wambrook, has been placed on a top 10 list of the best pubs in Britain...and more.
Thursday 22nd May

Residents of Chard are being asked to be more proactive and call the local police when they spot acts of crime and anti-social behaviour. Somerset Council says its gritting teams went out 1700 times last winter, covering more than 117,000 miles and spreading 6,000 tonnes of salt to keep local roads open. Leonardo Helicopters says it will be conducting test flights over Yeovil tonight up until 10.30 pm...and more
Wednesday 21st May

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says closing the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital is a disaster for the town. A Somerset transport company that supplies supermarkets says it’s being held to ransom by cyber hackers. NHS Somerset says 70% of people in the highest risk groups have yet to get their Covid-19 spring booster jab...and more
Tuesday 19th May

A Yeovil man says his life has improved since having a new weight loss treatment. A pub near Chard is blaming increased running costs imposed by the government for the business closing. A Somerset woman has been left with facial injuries after coming off her horse when it was spooked by a driver overtaking at speed...and more
Monday 19th May

Four thousand people have signed a petition calling for Yeovil’s maternity unit to be re-opened as soon as possible. UNISON is calling on Somerset Council to clarify how it will operate services now that hundreds of staff have been made redundant. The Bishop of Bath and Wells says he’s concerned about amendments to the assisted dying bill...and more.