Wednesday 6th August

    A fire at the former Mermaid Hotel in Yeovil town centre is being treated as accidental. People with premium bonds in Somerset are being encouraged to check their numbers as over 800-thousand pounds of prizes remain unclaimed. Chard is set to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day later this month...and more.

    A fire at the former Mermaid Hotel in Yeovil town centre is being treated as accidental. Smoke was spotted coming from the property on the High Street at around 8.30 yesterday morning. The fire service says the building was empty at the time and suffered 100% smoke damage.

    People with premium bonds in Somerset are being encouraged to check their numbers as over 800-thousand pounds of prizes remain unclaimed in the county by bondholders. 

    A farm near Chard has taken delivery of two Albion cows and their calves to start a breeding programme. Albion Cattle are considered critically endangered, with a national population of just 300. The animals have been given conservation land to graze on at Beetham Farm in Combe St Nicholas in the hope they will soon start to breed.

    A couple in Martock, whose home was extensively damaged when a car drove into the front of it, have thanked the local people for their support. The house on Long Load Road was left in an unsafe state following the collision in early July. Owner, Mark Talbot-Phillips, says it will take at least a year to repair the damage.

    Chard is set to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day later this month. The war in the Far East claimed the lives of nearly 30,000 British soldiers and will be marked with a display and candlelight service at Chard Museum on Saturday, August 16th.

    A Red Kite, considered at one time to be on the brink of extinction, has been spotted in Somerset.  It was photographed flying above Maunsel Lock on the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal near North Newton. The appearance of a Red Kite in Somerset is part of a wider pattern of sightings across the UK.

    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

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Sunny intervals

      High: 23°C | Low: 10°C

    • Chard

      Sunny intervals

      High: 22°C | Low: 10°C

    • Crewkerne

      Sunny intervals

      High: 22°C | Low: 10°C

    • Somerton

      Sunny

      High: 22°C | Low: 10°C

    • Wincanton

      Sunny

      High: 23°C | Low: 10°C

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