Thursday 9th May

Thursday, 9 May 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.

Great Western Railway says it’s unable to run services in Somerset again today due to continued strike action by members of the train driver’s union ALSEF. Meanwhile, South Western Railway says only two morning and two evening services will run through Pen Mill station in Yeovil, as they too have been heavily impacted by ASLEF’s overtime ban.

A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people from overdosing on opioids. Using a new App, users are directed to places where naloxone, a drug used to reverse opioid misuse, is given out free. It’s estimated that around 2,000 people misuse opioids in Somerset and are at risk of overdosing. The campaign features posters displayed at railway and bus stations and in supermarkets across Somerset.

Plans have been submitted to build four new industrial units on Blacknell Lane at the eastern edge of Crewkerne. The application on behalf of Pilsdon Pen Ltd shows the location of the units close to the Wool Gardens housing development, using the road to the town’s household waste recycling centre for entry.

The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard has issued an urgent appeal for donations to help keep it open. The Centre looks after 300 animals and employs 170 staff and volunteers. Over the past two years, their operating costs have risen on average by 40 percent. The charity is now considering selling off a 20-acre plot of farmland along with a three-bedroom cottage to raise some much-needed cash.

A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name. ‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton, has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names.

The A358 between Chard and Axminster at the junction with Two Ash Lane has reopened following a burst water main that led to it being closed for most of yesterday. As well as stopping the water leak, the road was resurfaced where the burst had happened.

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