Thursday 5th December

Thursday, 5 December 2024 05:00

By Steve Haigh

Attacks on local ambulance crews have more than doubled in the past five years. The trial has begun of two Yeovil men, charged with murdering a neighbour. Somerset Council is due to make a decision early in the New Year on controversial plans to build 47 new homes at Horton, near Ilminster...and more.

According to data from the South West Ambulance Service, attacks on local ambulance crews have more than doubled in the past five years. The latest figures for 2023 recorded more than 3200 incidents which is the highest number for any ambulance service in the country.

The trial has begun of two Yeovil men, charged with murdering a neighbour in a row over rubbish. Martin Carty of Raglan Terrace and Mark Sothcott of Stiby Road are accused of killing Franklin Ingram at Mr Carty’s flat. Taunton Crown Court was told the attack, in June earlier this year, took place after Mr Ingram had complained about Mr Carty sweeping up rubbish and leaving it outside his flat. Both defendants deny murder, and the trial continues. (story courtesy of BBC Somerset).

Somerset Council is due to make a decision in the New Year on controversial plans to build new homes at Horton, near Ilminster. Developers, Blue Spruce Properties Ltd, have applied to build 47 homes on land between Paulls Lane and Pound Road in Horton, close to the western edge of Broadway. The application is facing opposition from local residents who claim Broadway is already overdeveloped.

EDF says it plans to start generating power from the newly installed nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point C by the end of the decade. Hinkley Point C is the first nuclear power station to be built in Britain for 30 years.

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says the government needs to 'wake up' on housing - not just by tackling the housing shortage but the shortage of skills needed to build the 1.5 million new homes over the next five years that the government has promised. Mr Dance says not only is the Labour government’s target over-ambitious but there aren’t enough people being trained as builders or planning staff available within local councils to handle the work.

Three of our local carnival clubs are celebrating after collecting top awards at the Somerset County Presentation. Rubilo Juvenile Carnival Club won both the Somerset County Juvenile Champions 2024 prize and the Most Original Juvenile Entry Champions 2024 prize. Jack Carnival Club clinched the title of Somerset County Single Adult Masquerader Champion. Little R was crowned Somerset County Single Juvenile Masquerader Champion.

Station Road in Ilminster will close tonight and for the next six nights.This is to allow the road to be resurfaced. It will shut between 6.30 and 11.30 each night until next Tuesday, December 10th.

More from News

Tuesday 24th December

Two men from Yeovil have been found guilty of murdering a man in the town. A school in Chard has been named the best-run primary school in Somerset. Somerton MP Sarah Dyke is calling on the government to provide more funding for community pharmacies. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident on the A303...and more
Monday 23rd December

Public Health at Somerset Council is blaming a rise in measles cases on a drop in the number of children getting the MMR vaccination. Police have produced an online gallery to try and find the owners of hundreds of stolen items. The sale of a boxing glove in Chard claimed to have been worn by Cassius Clay, has been halted after new evidence about its authenticity came to light...and more
Friday 20th December

Somerset Council is pursuing a less ambitious plan for redeveloping Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre. Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he hasn’t given up on trying to keep open the town’s hyper-acute stroke unit. Yeovil’s new outdoor performance space in the Triangle in Lower Middle Street will open for public use early in the New Year...and more
Thursday 19th December

A Somerset pensioner has criticised the government for refusing to compensate women who claim they were not given adequate warning about changes to the start date for receiving the state pension. Parents are being asked to check their children have been vaccinated against measles following a rise in cases. The use of energy-saving light bulbs is greater in the South West than in any other region in England.
Wednesday 18th December

The Unite union says it is becoming ‘increasingly anxious’ about a delay in awarding Leonardo in Yeovil a multi-million-pound contract to build a new medium-lift helicopter for the RAF. The government has set Somerset a target to build 3,700 new homes next year. A boxing glove once worn by Muhammad Ali is being auctioned in Chard today...and more
Tuesday 17th December

Emergency teams are still working across Somerset to remove trees damaged in last week’s Storm Darragh. Crewkerne Town Council has been asked to ban the Seavington Hunt from gathering in the town centre on Boxing Day. The London Standard newspaper has named the Lord Poulett Arms in Hinton St George as its "Country Pub of the Week"...and more
Monday 16th December

The government says it won’t intervene in the decision to close the hyper-acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Police are asking for witnesses to an accident in Yeovil in which a man suffered a broken leg. Shepton Beauchamp Church of England Primary School has been rated as good by Ofsted...and more.
Friday 13th December

Somerset-based social housing provider, Stonewater, is urging caution over plans by the government to relax the planning rules. The Samaritans in Yeovil are gearing up for their busiest time of the year. The curtain goes up today on this year’s Yeovil panto, Jack and the Beanstalk, at the Westlands Entertainment venue...and more.