Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.
Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. Speaking on behalf of NHS Somerset, Dr Bernie Marden says 25 percent more GP appointments were created in 2023 compared to 2019 before physios, paramedics and nurses were used to treat people in GP surgeries.
A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a private water supply, and a wild-swimming pond on the Somerset/ Devon border. Appearing for sentencing at Exeter Magistrates Court, Derek Dyer of Crawley Farm at Yarcombe was also given a community order of 60 hours of unpaid work in a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency.
Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Clare Moody, who won the recent PCC election standing on a Labour ticket, is promising to create a better connection between the public and the police. Meanwhile, a week of action to tackle knife crime in the Avon and Somerset Police area is underway. Assaults involving a knife increased by 13 per cent in the final quarter of 2023 with more than 370 incidents recorded.
A Somerset pharmacist says a new service that allows pharmacists to treat common health problems is benefiting patients. People suffering from things like sore throats and earache can now go straight to a pharmacist for help rather than seeing a GP.
New owners take over running Chard Post Office today. As well as Chard Post Office, Steve and Teresa Smith, also run Crewkerne and Beaminster post offices. Chard Post Office is closed today for the transfer to take place.
Work’s been completed fitting a new roof to the village hall in Ashill. It replaces the original roof of the 90-year-old building that was found to contain asbestos.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
A major incident has been declared by Somerset Council to ensure a multi-agency response to the flash flooding that's affected Chard, Crewkerne, Ilminster, South Petherton and parts of Yeovil. Police believe a 4x4 pick-up truck, found submerged in the River Yeo at Yeovilton at the weekend, may have been stolen. An appeal to raise £2 million to restore the Grand Organ at Wells Cathedral has raised over £1 million in less than 18 months...and more
Wednesday 5th February
Tuesday 4th February
Monday 3rd February
Friday 31st January
Thursday 30th January
Tuesday 28th January
Monday 27th January
