According to new data, shoplifting rose by 40 percent in the Avon and Somerset Police area in the year to June. Farmers in Somerset warn that a scheme to turn land into saltmarshes will destroy homes and livelihoods. Yeovil Literary Festival gets into full swing today...and more.
According to new data, shoplifting rose by forty percent in the Avon and Somerset Police area in the year to June. The shopworker's union USDAW has described the figure as deeply concerning. The data also shows an increase of ten percent in overall crime across England and Wales in the twelve months to June.
Conservative group leader on Somerset Council, David Fothergill, has welcomed the government’s decision to ban the sale of disposable vapes. The ban, aimed at protecting children's health and preventing environmental damage, will take effect from June next year and follows figures showing that nine per cent of the British public now buy and use vapes. Councillor Fothergill, says with nine per cent of the British public now buying vapes, the ban is much needed.
Yeovil Literary Festival gets into full swing today with children’s author David Walliams and Clarkson’s Farm's Kaleb Cooper amongst those appearing. Eight thousand tickets to the Festival have already been sold.
Farmers in Somerset warn that a scheme to turn land into saltmarshes will destroy homes and livelihoods. Four potential sites have been identified by the energy company EDF to reduce the impact of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant. The salt marshes are intended to offset the number of fish estimated to be killed by a new water-cooling system at the power station.
Work has been completed connecting hundreds more homes in South Somerset to full-fibre broadband. Gigaclear, who carried out the installation, says 850 properties in Ilchester have been added to the fibre broadband network.
A dog, stolen in Norfolk seven years ago, has been found 200 miles away safe and well in Somerset. A man who lives in Seavington St Michael near Ilminster has been jailed after driving a car at police officers. One hundred new affordable homes could be built near Langport...and more
A Yeovil man has been fined £1,200 for sending hostile text messages to his ex-wife. A report into the performance of Avon and Somerset Police has found it doesn't answer emergency calls quickly enough. Twenty-two swimmers at the Trident Swimming Club in Chard have won places in this year’s Somerset County Swimming Championships...and more
A man has appeared in court charged with murdering a one-month-old baby boy in Chard. Kingfisher Primary School in Yeovil has been highly praised by Ofsted. Somerset Council says it’s “extremely disappointed” after its bid to form a devolved Wessex group of local councils was rejected by the government...and more.
The Liberal Democrat Leader of Somerset Council, Councillor Bill Revans, says they had no choice but to ask the government to allow them to lift the 5 percent cap on raising Council Tax. Two teenagers have been released on bail following the stabbing in Yeovil. More than six thousand pounds has been awarded to local groups by Chard Carnival Committee...and more.
Somerset has been permitted to increase its Council Tax share by 7.5 percent. An Ilminster man, forced out of his house by last week's floods, says he doesn't know when he will be able to return home. Ilminster Literary Festival has launched its annual children’s writing competition, designed to encourage local children to write creative literature...and more.
Five men have appeared in court charged with the murder of a man in Yeovil. A 16-year-old is the second person to be arrested in connection with a stabbing in Yeovil. Yeovil’s new outdoor entertainment space in Lower Middle Street has been officially opened by the town’s MP... and more.
A teenager has been arrested following a stabbing in Yeovil. Water bills in Somerset are set to go up on average by £123 from April. Yeovil MP, Adam Dance will officially open Yeovil’s new outdoor performance space later today...and more
Lloyds bank is closing its branch in Chard. A Sherborne man has been jailed after defrauding a Yeovil woman of £40,000. A volunteer group in Chard is urging people to sign up to a flood victims register. A councillor in Shepton Mallet has become the first Reform UK member on Somerset Council... and more