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.

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Monday 10th February

A dog, stolen in Norfolk seven years ago, has been found 200 miles away safe and well in Somerset. A man who lives in Seavington St Michael near Ilminster has been jailed after driving a car at police officers. One hundred new affordable homes could be built near Langport...and more
Friday 7th February

A Yeovil man has been fined £1,200 for sending hostile text messages to his ex-wife. A report into the performance of Avon and Somerset Police has found it doesn't answer emergency calls quickly enough. Twenty-two swimmers at the Trident Swimming Club in Chard have won places in this year’s Somerset County Swimming Championships...and more
Thursday 6th February

A man has appeared in court charged with murdering a one-month-old baby boy in Chard. Kingfisher Primary School in Yeovil has been highly praised by Ofsted. Somerset Council says it’s “extremely disappointed” after its bid to form a devolved Wessex group of local councils was rejected by the government...and more.
Wednesday 5th February

The Liberal Democrat Leader of Somerset Council, Councillor Bill Revans, says they had no choice but to ask the government to allow them to lift the 5 percent cap on raising Council Tax. Two teenagers have been released on bail following the stabbing in Yeovil. More than six thousand pounds has been awarded to local groups by Chard Carnival Committee...and more.
Tuesday 4th February

Somerset has been permitted to increase its Council Tax share by 7.5 percent. An Ilminster man, forced out of his house by last week's floods, says he doesn't know when he will be able to return home. Ilminster Literary Festival has launched its annual children’s writing competition, designed to encourage local children to write creative literature...and more.
Monday 3rd February

Five men have appeared in court charged with the murder of a man in Yeovil. A 16-year-old is the second person to be arrested in connection with a stabbing in Yeovil. Yeovil’s new outdoor entertainment space in Lower Middle Street has been officially opened by the town’s MP... and more.
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