Local News Thursday 8th April

Thursday, 8 April 2021 07:30

An inquest has been opened and adjourned into the death of Yeovil Town captain Lee Collins. Taylor Woodrow Plus has won the contract to upgrade the A358 between the Southfields roundabout near Ilminster and M5. The Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police, Andy Marsh is leaving his post. A Chard man has appeared in court charged with a drink and driving offence....and more.

An inquest has been opened and adjourned into the death of Yeovil Town captain Lee Collins. The hearing was told the footballer was pronounced dead after being found in his room at the Lanes Hotel in West Coker on March 31st. Somerset Senior Coroner, Tony Williams, asked for further reports and adjourned the inquest to July 7th. Meanwhile, £4,000 has been raised through a public appeal to help Lee Collins’s family. The appeal is being run through social media by Yeovil Town Disabled Supporters.

Taylor Woodrow Plus has won the contract to upgrade the A358 between the Southfields roundabout near Ilminster and M5. Highways England will spend £328 million turning a 9-mile stretch of the road into a dual carriageway, together with a reduction in the number of road junctions and private accesses onto the A358.

The Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police, Andy Marsh is leaving his post. He says it’s the right time to embark on a new challenge, and won't be seeking to extend his contract beyond June. Andy Marsh joined the Avon and Somerset force in 1987 and was appointed Chief Constable in 2016.

A Chard man has appeared in court charged with a drink and driving offence. Lanis Fustei of Samuel Vickery Way in Chard was disqualified from driving for two-and-a-half years and given 80 hours of unpaid work. Magistrates in Yeovil also fined him £346 for driving without the correct insurance. Fustei pleaded guilty to both offences.
At the same court, Daniel Marks of Swanmead Drive, in Ilminster, pleaded guilty to a drink driving charge and was fined £300 and given 80 hours unpaid work.

An extra eight million pounds has been allocated towards supporting care providers in Somerset. The money from the County Council is to help those most affected financially by the pandemic. The Council says around half of the funding will be given to those in greatest need in the form of a Covid supplementary payment.

A fundraising event themed around the story of Homeward Bound is raising money for the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard. The charity is encouraging people to walk, cycle, even to swim the 200 miles distance on which the Homeward Bound story is based

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Tuesday 4th February

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Monday 3rd February

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Friday 31st January

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
Thursday 30th January

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
Wednesday 29th January

New mums in Somerset could soon be offered a cervical screening test six weeks after giving birth. Police are asking for help in finding a Yeovil man wanted on recall to prison. The government has given half a million pounds towards planting more trees in Somerset, including 100 new trees in Yeovil...and more
Tuesday 28th January

Work continues to clean up from the floods in Chard, Ilminster, Somerton, South Petherton, and parts of Yeovil. A man who threatened to kill a support worker at the mental health unit in Yeovil has been sentenced to a community order. A competition that gives new musicians the chance to play at this year's Glastonbury festival has opened for entries...and more
Monday 27th January

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