Wednesday 8th April

Wednesday, 8 April 2026 06:00

By Steve Haigh

A Yeovil school teacher has been banned from teaching for sharing inappropriate details about her private life with pupils. A Stoke-sub-Hamdon woman has been given a 17-month driving ban. A Yeovil woman who survived bone cancer is raising is running the London Marathon... and more

A Yeovil school teacher has been banned from teaching for 2 years for sharing inappropriate details about her private life with pupils. A tribunal heard that Natasha Blackmore, aged 36, who was Head of Design Technology at Westfield Academy in Yeovil, treated her pupils as friends, sharing inappropriate personal details, including drunken nights out, and exchanging messages on social media.

Joshua Morris of the Green Party has been elected unopposed to Ilminster Town Council. The Greens say Joshua, who’s 23, will bring a new perspective to town council business. His election boosts the number of Green Party councillors on Ilminster Town Council to four.

A Stoke-sub-Hamdon woman who was nearly double the drink-drive limit when stopped by police has been given a 17-month driving ban. Mauritrus Raybold, aged 29, of New Road in Stoke-sub-Hamdon, pleaded guilty to driving in Street with excess alcohol when she appeared before magistrates in Yeovil. Alongside the disqualification, Raybold was fined £230 with £85 costs.

A Yeovil woman who survived bone cancer is raising money for the charity that helped her by running the London Marathon. Laura James was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma when she was 18, which resulted in surgery on her left leg, leaving her with a permanent foot drop. She’s raised more than £2,000 so far.

Exmoor National Park is staging a Nature Festival next month. The event, being held over 6 days beginning Saturday, May 16, will be a celebration of wildlife and well-being in the National Park.

More from News

Friday 12th June

It's claimed the increasing availability of drugs such as ketamine and cocaine has normalised drug use among young people in Somerset. The trial of a man accused of killing his one-month-old son in Chard begins today at Bristol Crown Court. A stone pillar outside the Langport Arms Hotel in Langport has been replaced after it was destroyed in a car crash... and more
Thursday 11th June

Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to the three aircrew from RNAS Yeovilton who died in last week's helicopter crash in Devon. Two men have been arrested and stolen vehicles seized following a major multi-agency operation in South Somerset. An event highlighting opportunities for women in the aerospace industry has been held in Yeovil... and more
Wednesday 10th June

The public will be consulted on how best to spend fifty million pounds of government funding to tackle flooding in Somerset. Avon and Somerset Police are backing a new road safety campaign aimed at reducing motorcycle fatalities. New welcome signs have been installed at entrances to the Mendip Hills National Landscape... and more
Tuesday 9th June

The government has announced a £50 million investment to strengthen Somerset’s flood defences. A woman from Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been banned from driving for 14 months after admitting drink-driving. Somerset Council has been told it must improve its adult social care services... and more
Monday 8th June

Plans for a new railway station in Langport remain stalled in Whitehall, according to Somerset Council. Plans to build 50 new homes in Broadway, near Ilminster, have been refused. The new water fountains in Yeovil’s Triangle, in Lower Middle Street, are being switched off during very hot weather because of safety concerns... and more.
Friday 5th June

A new NHS dental practice in Crewkerne says it won’t start operating at full capacity until July due to staff shortages. Somerset Council says it has no plans to show England matches in the World Cup on the Big Screen in Yeovil town centre due to safety concerns. A Somerset family has been thanked after completing a 73-mile walk raising money for a third world charity... and more
Thursday 4th June

An investigation continues today into the crash of a Royal Navy helicopter, based at RNAS Yeovilton, in which all three aircrew were killed. Somerset Council has confirmed that a new operator will take over several leisure centres across the county. The new live-action Masters of the Universe movie, filmed in Somerset, is released this week...and more
Wednesday 3rd June

A Yeovil man has appeared in court charged with assaulting three police officers. Somerset Council has begun legal action to recover more than £320,000 owed by housing developers. The line-up has been announced for this year’s Ilminster Midsummer Experience...and more