Local News Thursday 21st April

Thursday, 21 April 2022 06:00

Egg producers in Somerset are warning of shortages because of soaring costs. It’s costing more than half-a-million pounds every year for police to enforce the badger cull in Somerset. Somerset’s Public Health team is again urging older and more vulnerable people to take up the offer of a free, further Covid-19 booster jab. Academics from the University of Reading are appealing to apple tree owners in Somerset to take part in a research project and Somerset jockey, Bryony Frost, is facing a spell on the sidelines and is unsure when she will return to competition, after suffering a fall on th

Egg producers in Somerset are warning of shortages because of soaring costs. Their trade body, the British Free Range Egg Producers Association, is asking supermarkets to raise prices, otherwise, they'll have to limit production. They say the cost of feeding hens had risen by fifty percent and energy costs by forty percent.

It’s costing more than half-a-million pounds every year for police to enforce the badger cull in Somerset, aimed at slowing the spread of bovine tuberculosis. Figures show it cost more than £540,000 to enforce the cull in Somerset in 2021 and that more than £5.6million has been spent in total since the cull was introduced in 2013. Campaigners have called for an end to the cull, describing it as poor value for money, and ineffective at combating the spread of TB.

Somerset’s Public Health team is again urging older and more vulnerable people to take up the offer of a free, further Covid-19 booster jab. People aged 75 years and older, residents in care homes, and those aged 12 and over with weakened immune systems, are being offered a Spring booster of the coronavirus vaccine. For the latest information on Covid-19 testing, vaccinations, support, and guidance, go to the Somerset County Council website.

Academics from the University of Reading are appealing to apple tree owners in Somerset to take part in a research project. They say samples taken from apple trees show the extent of damage caused by climate change, and the impact it has on pollinators.

Somerset jockey, Bryony Frost, is facing a spell on the sidelines and is unsure when she will return to competition, after suffering a fall on the opening day of the Grand National meeting. The 27-year-old was riding the Paul Nicholls trained ‘Thyme White’ when she fell in the Red Rum Handicap Chase. Scans have shown she fractured vertebrae and injured her shoulder.

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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.
Monday 3rd March

A woman from Crewkerne has been fined £280 for assaulting two emergency workers. Plans have been announced to open new NHS dental surgeries in Chard and Crewkerne. A Yeovil man has been thanked for raising £10,000 for the cardiac charity Heartbeat...and more
Friday 28th February

A local man has been charged after allegedly driving a tractor while under the influence of alcohol. One hundred bikes, collected with household waste in Somerset, have been donated to charity. The junction of the A37 Ilchester Road and Stiby Road in Yeovil will again shut this evening for resurfacing...and more.
Thursday 27th February

Fourteen hundred people have added their names to a petition against Somerset Council's plans to scrap free car parks. St Margaret’s Hospice has won a share of £25 million of government funding. A man from Charlton Adam is preparing to visit Ukraine as an Aid Worker for a tenth time...and more
Wednesday 26th February

A local man has been charged with possessing an air weapon following an incident in Yeovil town centre. The Labour government has removed funding to the Amulet Theatre in Shepton Mallet that the previous Conservative government had allocated. Entries are now open for this year’s Minster Miles 10K fun run with organisers aiming to exceed last year’s number of runners...and more.