Tuesday 12th November

    New figures have shown a sharp rise in crime in Chard in the last six months. A retired RAF pilot in Somerset has been speaking about the joys of being a foster parent at the age of 88. Councillor Pauline Parsons has been honoured for her 40 years service to the local community...and more

    Chard Neighbourhood Policing Team says it remains dedicated as ever to cracking down on crime, to make Chard a safer place for people to live, work and visit. It follows data showing that the highest number of crimes of the last three years were recorded in Chard between July and September. 516 crimes were recorded, a 13.2 per cent increase in the same period in 2023 when 362 crimes were recorded. Local people say the rise in crime has left them feeling unsafe, especially in the crime-hotspot areas like Silver Street, Jocelyn Park and Bishop's Court. Meanwhile, two people have been arrested following a burglary in Chard. A bank card was taken and later used to buy items at a local supermarket. A 63-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman, both arrested on suspicion of burglary, remain in police custody.

    NHS Somerset is calling on people to donate the gift of blood this Christmas. They’re asking people to book appointments in the lead-up to Christmas to avoid last December's results when the amount of donated blood was at its lowest for three years. NHS Somerset says it takes only one hour to give a pint of blood, with each donation saving or improving the lives of three people.

    Wessex Water has been fined half a million pounds for polluting a river and killing thousands of fish. The company admitted three failures in 2018, causing the deaths of two thousand fish, including endangered eels. Wessex Water says it has improved its systems to stop it from happening again.

    A retired RAF pilot in Somerset has been speaking about being a foster parent at the age of 88. Nigel, who’s believed to be the oldest foster carer in the County, has been providing a home for children awaiting long-term adoption for the last four years and has even been known to take those in his care to Glastonbury Festival. He says although it's hard work at his age but still enjoys doing it.

    Councillor Pauline Parons of Seavington St Michael Parish Council has been honoured for her forty years of service to the local community. Pauline, who’s stepping down as a councillor, gave four decades of service to Seavington St Michael Parish Council as both a member and clerk.

    A new accessible toilet has opened in the Quedam Shopping Centre in Yeovil. The facility, paid for through the government’s Changing Places Toilets Fund is designed to meet the needs of people with disabilities that limit their mobility. The new accessible toilet can be found in the Quedam opposite New Look.

    More from News

    • Tuesday 31st March

      Somerset Council says it doesn’t have the money to install solar panels on the roof of the Octagon Theatre. Three men have been charged in connection with an investigation into a hunt in Somerset. Changes have been announced to the times of waste collections in Somerset over the Easter holidays... and more

    • Monday 30th March

      Avon and Somerset Police say its armed officers attended 2,700 incidents in Somerset last year. Plans have been submitted to build 40 new homes in Curry Rivel. South Western Ambulance is offering free CPR and defibrillator training to help improve cardiac arrest survival rates...and more

    • Friday 27 March

      There's been a big improvement in ambulance response times in Somerset. Three local people have been charged with offences linked to the theft and supply of prescription-only drugs. A fragment of a jawbone found in a cave in Cheddar Gorge appears to show that humans kept dogs as pets as far back as 5,000 years ago... and more

    • Thursday 26th March

      Somerset Council is offering food vouchers during the school easter holidays to families whose children receive free school meals. A local man has been charged in connection with an incident involving a firearm in Yeovil. The Environment Agency says it could take up to 10 years to protect homes at Holway House Park and Home Farm Park in Ilminster from flooding...and more.

    •  Wednesday 25th March

      Yeovil MP Adam Dance has raised concerns in the House of Commons about the planned closure of Yeovil Hospital’s hyper-acute stroke unit. Police in Yeovil are appealing for information after a man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm. A 13-year-old terrier named Mole has been rescued after becoming trapped underground...and more

    • Tuesday 24th March

      Yeovil College has received a glowing report following an Ofsted inspection. The main road between Chard and Ilminster is to be better protected from flooding. A six-thousand-year-old wooden walkway has been uncovered on the Somerset Levels... and more

    • Monday 23rd March

      A wildcat helicopter belonging 815 Squadron based at RNAS Yeovilton has been in action tracking two Russian ships in the English Channel. People living in Somerset will have to pay to use Dorset’s household waste recycling centres from today. A road in Ilminster has closed to traffic today and will stay shut for the next ten days... and more

    • Friday 20th March

      Police are appealing for witnesses to a three-vehicle crash in Sherborne. The jobs of housing maintenance staff at Somerset Council could be outsourced to a private contractor. A pie throwing event is taking place in Chard today for Red Nose Day ... and more

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 15°C | Low: 6°C

    • Chard

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 15°C | Low: 6°C

    • Crewkerne

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 15°C | Low: 6°C

    • Somerton

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 15°C | Low: 7°C

    • Wincanton

      Light rain

      High: 15°C | Low: 6°C

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