Wednesday 30th October

Wednesday, 30 October 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset Council is facing a seven-and-a-half million-pound overspend on providing children’s services. The South West has one of the highest rates of underage smokers in England. A helicopter from RNAS Yeovilton has gone on permanent display at Portland Marina....and more.

Somerset Council is facing a seven-and-a-half million-pound overspend on providing children’s services in the current financial year. The Council says it’s due to increased numbers of children coming into the care system and higher costs of providing residential placements. In a report, the Council says there’s been a marked increase in children aged under two and between 10 and 15 coming into care, where serious youth violence, linked to criminal exploitation, has been a contributing factor.

South Western Railway, which operates trains through Crewkerne, Yeovil Junction and Sherborne stations, is repeating its offer of free travel to serving military personnel and veterans attending Remembrance Sunday events. The offer includes rail travel to the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London on Saturday, November 9th or Sunday, November 10th and to the Submariners’ Remembrance Service in London on Sunday, November 3rd. Details of the offer can be found on the South Western Railway website.

Five more libraries have been added to the list of those taking part in this year’s Winter Coat Exchange in Somerset. In our area, Street and Langport libraries are taking part in the scheme in which anyone needing a warm coat for the winter will be given a coat. If you have a coat to donate, you’re asked to please take it to your local library.

The South West, including Somerset, has one of the highest rates of smoking in England, with 1-in-20 11-to-15-year-olds engaged in the habit. This compares to only 1-in-100 11-to-15-year-olds smoking UK-wide. The report, published by Evapo, found that while 59% of underaged smokers get their cigarettes from friends and family, one in three get them from shops, despite it being illegal to sell cigarettes to someone under 18.

A helicopter from RNAS Yeovilton has been gifted to Portland Marina. Navy Lynx XZ250 served in the Falklands War and was in service for 32 years. It has been put on permanent display at Portland Marina to mark the site's former role as the Royal Naval Air Station HMS Osprey.

This year’s Somerset Trustee of the Year award has been given to Dr John Bowman who lives in Merriot. Doctor Bowman, a Trustee of Merriot Village Hall, was chosen for his work raising £80,000 to start a community lunch scheme and to re-fit the kitchens at the hall.

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Wednesday 2nd July

Business owners in Chard say ongoing roadworks in Fore Street are hurting their trade. A vehicle has been destroyed in a fire at a farm at Charlton Mackrell. A new recycling scheme has been launched to support Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. Castle Carey has created a Scarecrow Festival...and more
Tuesday 1st July

A murder trial starts today of the parents of a baby boy who died in Yeovil Hospital. Somerset residents are being asked to keep an eye on elderly neighbours, with temperatures expected to reach the high 20s again today. A tiny black kitten has been found inside a crate of laundry delivered to a cleaning business in Yeovil...and more
Monday 30th June

The Care Quality Commission has published its report into the running of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital. A public consultation has been launched into plans to build 150 new homes at Horton near Ilminster. A Chard man has embarked on walking 75 miles across Somerset, raising money for the Devon Air Ambulance...and more
Friday 27th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance is calling for Yeovil Hospital to be included in the government's national review of NHS maternity services. A Yeovil man has appeared in court charged with four counts of fraud. Yeovil Town players will be modelling the club’s new home and away strip at Huish Park this evening...and more.
Thursday 26th June

Thousands more music fans will arrive at Worthy Farm for the start of Glastonbury Festival. The government has granted Somerset Council a stay of execution, allowing it to defer a spending deficit on special needs education. A party has been held to mark the 100th birthday of a Somerset woman who has lived in the same house for 100 years...and more.
Wednesday 25th June

Businesses at the Cartgate services off the A303 near Yeovil say they feel threatened by Welcome Break Ltd's plans to build a new, bigger services area right next door. A man who lives in Tintinhull, found nearly double the drink drive limit, has been given a 20-month driving ban. Police are warning of fake tickets being on sale for Glastonbury Festival...and more
Tuesday 24th June

There’s been a drop in the number of potholes being filled in on Somerset’s roads. A Somerset company has developed a new type of un-crewed helicopter. A man has cycled from Spain to Somerset to attend Glastonbury Festival...and more
Monday 23rd June

Plans have been submitted to build a motorway-style service station at Cartgate on the A303. Police are asking for the public’s help in tracing those responsible for two house break-ins in Yeovil. A Community Champion at Tesco in Chard has been rewarded for her work supporting the local community...and more.