Wednesday 29th January

Wednesday, 29 January 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

New mums in Somerset could soon be offered a cervical screening test six weeks after giving birth. Police are asking for help in finding a Yeovil man wanted on recall to prison. The government has given half a million pounds towards planting more trees in Somerset, including 100 new trees in Yeovil...and more

New mums in Somerset could soon be offered a cervical screening test six weeks after giving birth. At the moment, women are offered a test 12 weeks after childbirth. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust says if testing at six weeks proves accurate, it could save lives.

Police are asking for help in finding a Yeovil man wanted on recall to prison. Wayne Shortland, aged 41, is described as white, 6 feet tall, of medium/slim build. with brown eyes, and short greying hair. He has a scar on his left hand. Police say Shortland should not be approached and that if you know of his whereabouts, to call 999.

The government has given half a million pounds towards planting trees in Somerset. The funding has been secured through the Urban Tree Challenge and will be spent planting 700 mature trees, including 100 in Yeovil at Oak Tree Park, Yew Tree Park, and Milford Park.

Work has started building a new outside seating area at the rear of the William Dampier pub in Lower Middle Street in Yeovil. The William Dampier, run by JD Wetherspoons, is currently closed and is due to re-open on Tuesday, April 8th.

Police have released images of a man they want to speak with in connection with a burglary near Ilminster. Jewellery was taken in the break-in at a house on Peasmarsh Farm Lane in Peasmarsh on Boxing Day. Photos of the man can be viewed on the Avon and Somerset Police website. If you recognise the man or, have any information that could help the police, you’re asked to please call the non-emergency number 101.

We’re being asked to get outside and start counting different species in our gardens, parks and from our windows. It’s to contribute to the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch, which is the biggest public wildlife survey held in the UK.

Moolham Lane in Ilminster from the junction with Greenway to the junction with Kitchill Lane North will be closed to traffic on Friday. It’s to allow for Openreach to carry out pole testing works.

More from News

Monday 16th June

The new owner of Yeovil Town says he’s in talks with Somerset Council about buying back Huish Park. Water levels at some of Somerset’s reservoirs are below what they should be for this time of year. A Chard woman has been recognised in the King's Birthday Honours... and more.
Friday 13th June

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Chard, which left one person with life-threatening injuries. Texas Rocks in Middle Street, Yeovil, has closed temporarily following a significant fire. A Yeovil dental hygienist has been named as a finalist in the Ms Great Britain competition...and more.
Thursday 12th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised the Chancellor’s Spending Review for not delivering real change for Yeovil and South Somerset. The CEO of Leonardo UK states that they’re working towards closing the gender pay gap within the company. Yeovil Town is relocating its first-team training camp to Bristol... and more.
Wednesday 11th June

People in Somerset are being asked for their views on the state of the county’s roads and footpaths. A trial is being conducted at Yeovil Hospital to investigate whether administering shorter courses of antibiotics to patients can effectively treat sepsis. Somerset Council says it has no plans to reopen a block of public toilets in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 10th June

A mother from Chard says schools need to do more to identify students with dyslexia. A fire in a van that caught alight at Stoke-sub-Hamdon is being treated as accidental. A former Yeovil-based police officer, who made it appear he was working when he wasn’t, has been barred from policing...and more
Monday 9th June

Somerset Council is giving £1.5m to Hill View Special School at Ash near Martock to prevent it from closing. Two men have been convicted of killing a Yeovil man they mistakenly believed to be a convicted paedophile. People across Somerset are being asked to make a note of any wildlife they see...and more
Friday 6th June

Community Speedwatch volunteers in Keinton Mandeville have stopped monitoring the local traffic because of online and verbal abuse. Redstart Primary School in Chard has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. A care home resident in Glastonbury has raised more than one thousand pounds for Children's Hospice Southwest by knitting soft toys...and more.
Thursday 5th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he’s been told the temporary closure of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital will not be made permanent. Firefighters have dealt with a fire on a coach carrying passengers at Vagg Hill in Yeovil. The authorities in Chile are holding a man who lives in Milborne Port after being found with class-A drugs in a suitcase...and more.