Local News Friday 30th September

Friday, 30 September 2022 06:00

People in Somerset are being encouraged to take up their Covid booster and flu jabs as soon as they're offered them. Only a handful of trains will be running through Yeovil Junction and Sherborne stations on the Exeter to Waterloo line tomorrow and Sunday due to further strike action. A Chard man has been fined £120 for stealing alcohol from the Tesco store in the town. The National Trust is raising concerns about the climate's impact on autumn colour across the landscape in Somerset and a girl who lives in Ilminster has raised over £1500 for Young Lives versus Cancer in Somerset.

People in Somerset are being encouraged to take up their Covid booster and flu jabs as soon as they're offered them. Public health officials are warning of an earlier and bigger wave of seasonal flu, combined with rising numbers of Covid cases. NHS Somerset says the Covid autumn booster programme for people aged 65 and over and for healthcare workers has been very busy already.

Only a handful of trains will be running through Yeovil Junction and Sherborne stations on the Exeter to Waterloo line tomorrow and Sunday due to further strike action by members of the RMT and TSSA unions. South West Railway is advising people to use other forms of public transport this weekend and to only use the train if the journey is essential.

A Chard man has been fined £120 for stealing alcohol from the Tesco store in the town. Chino Brun of Phelps Close in Chard pleaded guilty to stealing a bottle of gin and two bottles of whisky from Tesco and also admitted being in breach of a conditional discharge imposed for a previous offence of theft when he appeared before magistrates in Yeovil. (This story is courtesy of Chard and Ilminster News).

The National Trust is raising concerns about the climate's impact on autumn colour across the landscape in Somerset. They say the next few weeks will be vital in determining how much the summer heat wave and the ongoing lack of rain have influenced the colours within the local landscape.

A girl who lives in Ilminster has raised over £1500 for Young Lives versus Cancer in Somerset. 6-year-old Lydia raised the money with a fate that she organised with the help of her parents. Last year, Young Lives versus Cancer in Somerset give grants worth £17,500 to local families to help with the costs of fighting cancer.

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Thursday 13th March

A new campaign has been launched to persuade people in Somerset to stop smoking. Four people have been arrested in Chard in connection with the supply of Class A drugs. A dog from Yeovil has won the title of ‘best in breed’ at Cruffs....and more.
Wednesday 12th March

A charity in Somerset is appealing for support after one of its sites was vandalised. The Leader of Somerset Council has been to Westminster to put the case for central government to provide councils with more money. A new primary school is to built in Chard.... and more
Tuesday 11th March

The union representing workers at Somerset Council is warning of further job cuts at the council next year. Secondary school pupils in Somerset are being offered help to withstand peer pressure to vape or smoke. The bells of St George's Church in Hinton St George have been fully restored after becoming difficult to ring ... and more
Monday 10th March

A property in Raglan Terrace in Yeovil has been closed down by a court order after it was linked to anti-social behaviour. NHS Somerset says investing in nurse apprenticeships has helped to boost recruitment. A new community garden has opened in Chard.... and more
Friday 7th March

The Leader of Somerset Council has repeated his call for a reform of the way that councils are funded. Crimestoppers is stepping up efforts to help tackle violent crime in Somerset. A new radar satellite is playing a crucial role in collecting data about flooding in Somerset...and more
Thursday 6th March

Somerset Council has approved a seven-and-a-half percent increase in council tax. People are being asked to return boxes of paracetamol bought from Boots Chemists in Somerset. It’s been revealed that five members of staff at Somerset Council are being allowed to work from home outside the UK...and more
Wednesday 5th March

Somerset Council has been told that hundreds of millions of pounds in loans taken out by former district councils, including South Somerset, have to be paid back. A Somerset charity says it needs more volunteers to help with research into new treatments for dementia. A local shop owner has welcomed Somerset Council’s decision to scrap plans to charge for parking after 6 pm...and more.
Tuesday 4th March

The population of Somerset has reached record levels with nearly one in ten born outside the UK. Stanchester School in Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been rated as ‘requiring improvement’. Experts have been called in to appraise a 15th-century piece of artwork in Sherborne...and more.