Local News Friday 6th August

    Exeter Crown Court

    A South Petherton man has been found guilty of murder following a jury trial at Exeter Crown Court. Up to 300 adult education courses in Somerset are under threat. Plans to build five new houses in Templecombe have been given the go-ahead. A former nurse at Yeovil Hospital has been struck off for allowing a child to leave the children’s ward without informing social services...and more.

    A South Petherton man has been found guilty of murder following a jury trial at Exeter Crown Court. Matthew Sheridan, had denied fatally stabbing Louis Bednall at a property in Hendford Hill in Yeovil last December. However, after deliberating on the case for less than ninety minutes, he was found guilty by the jury. The court had been told that Sheridan carried out a relentless and savage knife attack on Bednall after the two men argued over a bottle of vodka. Sheridan will return to court today for sentencing.

    Up to 300 adult education courses in Somerset are under threat. It comes after the local provider. Somerset Skills and Learning lost out on funding for a key contract. The decision has also put 18 staff at risk of redundancy. The Department for Education says the process to award the contract was fair and open and that adult learners in Somerset can still access education and training through other providers. 

    Plans to build five new houses in Templecombe have been given the go-ahead. The three detached and two semi-detached houses will be built at the end of West Street. South Somerset District Council approved the application despite local concerns about pedestrian safety.

    A former nurse at Yeovil Hospital has been struck off for allowing a child to leave the children’s ward without informing social services. Fiona Diba was a nurse at Yeovil Hospital in 2016 when she allowed a child to leave the children's ward with its parents, in breach of a protection plan. Following an investigation, the Nursing and Midwifery Council has ruled that she should no longer practice as a nurse. In a statement, Yeovil Hospital said it welcomed the decision.

    A call has been made for disabled people to be provided with better toilet facilities at the Cartgate services on the A303 in South Somerset. Jo Elgarf says she had to use the toilet floor at Cartgate to change her daughter, Nora. She’s asking Highways England to provide a disabled toilet that has a hoist and space for a carer. 

    A dairy farmer Lewis White from Castle Cary has proposed to his girlfriend using two of his cows. He wrote ‘will you marry me' on the sides of the cows and his girlfriend Emily Francis accepted without hesitation. Lewis says being a farmer, how could he not have involved his cows in the biggest decision of his life.

    More from News

    • Thursday 17th April

      The father of a one-month-old baby boy in Chard is to stand trial for the murder of his son. New figures show that just under 1300 crimes were reported to the Police in Yeovil during the final quarter of last year. A night in a prison cell is offered at Shepton Mallet Jail to those who want to be alone this Easter...and more.

    • Wednesday 16th April

      Big changes are being made to where taxi ranks in Yeovil are located. Farmers are being told to keep an extra lookout for people acting suspiciously following the latest livestock theft near the Devon and Somerset border. Channel 4’s Location Location Location is coming to Somerset, with anyone looking to buy a property locally invited to apply to be in the show...and more

    • Tuesday 15th April

      A 36-year-old man remains in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of a sexual assault in Yeovil. Yeovil Labour Club has had its drinks licence revoked. NHS Somerset has been taking its physiotherapy team around the county to cut waiting times for patients. A men-only cooking course has been launched in Sherborne with all ingredients and equipment provided free of charge...and more

    • Monday 14th April

      A new banking hub has opened in Crewkerne. South Western Ambulance is asking people to only dial 999 in a life-threatening emergency over the Easter weekend. £1.8 million is being spent improving walking and cycling routes around a major new housing development at Up Mudford in Yeovil...and more

    • Friday 11th April

      Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in Yeovil in which a man riding an e-bike was injured and later died in hospital. Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says the number of false alarm calls it receives is on the increase. A new micro-pub opens in Chard next week...and more

    • Thursday 10th April 

      Yeovil MP Adam Dance is calling for more targeted support for schools in Somerset. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident near Wells in which a cyclist died. Plans have been approved to convert a former care home in Yeovil into a house of multiple occupation...and more

    • Wednesday 9th April

      A man from Yeovil has been jailed for stabbing another man in a pub in the town. Work is underway to help minimize the flood risk at Chard Reservoir. Plans have been submitted to build thirty-six new homes at Sparkford. A new Town Crier is needed in Glastonbury...and more

    • Tuesday 8th April

      Work is underway to demolish the Glovers Walk Shopping Centre in Yeovil. A Yeovil man has appeared in court charged with drink driving for a third time. Somerset Council has paid £35,000 in compensation for failing to deliver the right support to children with special educational needs. Another shop in Yeovil town centre is closing for good today...and more

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 14°C | Low: 8°C

    • Chard

      Sunny intervals

      High: 14°C | Low: 8°C

    • Crewkerne

      Sunny intervals

      High: 14°C | Low: 8°C

    • Somerton

      Sunny intervals

      High: 15°C | Low: 9°C

    • Wincanton

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 15°C | Low: 8°C

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