Tuesday 21st January

Tuesday, 21 January 2025 05:00

By Steve Haigh

A Yeovil man, who drove while on drugs, injuring two children, has been given a one-year suspended prison sentence. Somerset cider maker, Thatchers, has won a trademark battle against Aldi. Secret World Wildlife Rescue Centre is looking for more land for its animals...and more.

A Yeovil man who drove while on drugs and injured two children has been sentenced. Bournemouth Crown Court was told that Stephen Farrant was driving a cement mixer on the A30 towards Sherborne when he contravened a red traffic signal and crashed into a car turning into Sheeplands Lane. The passengers, two children aged 10 and 11, sustained serious injuries. Farrant, who had pleaded guilty to careless driving and driving while over the legal drug limit at an earlier hearing, was given a twelve-month suspended prison sentence and disqualified from driving for three years.

A 10-year programme of work to dredge Somerset's rivers means nearby villages are less likely to flood, according to Somerset Rivers Authority. The organisation was set up in the aftermath of the 2014 floods that left communities on the Somerset Levels cut off for months.

Drivers face a diversion of 21 miles from tomorrow when a road on the Somerset Levels closes for repairs. The A361 along Fore Street and High Street in the village of Othery will be shut for 13 nights between January 22nd and February 8th. It’s to allow for the A361 through Othery to be resurfaced. During the closure, traffic will be diverted through Bridgwater and along the M5 corridor.

Somerset cider maker, Thatchers, has won a long-running trademark battle in the Court of Appeal against Aldi over the labelling of a lemon cider drink.

A Somerset wildlife charity is looking for more land to home its animals. Secret World Wildlife Rescue rehabilitates injured animals before releasing them back into the wild.

Yeovil Recycling Centre will be closed on Friday, January 31st. It’s for resurfacing work to take place. If you’re planning a visit to the Yeovil Recycling Centre on Friday, January 31st, you’re asked instead to take your items to the recycling sites in Chard and Somerton. The Yeovil site will re-open as normal on Saturday, February 1st.

More from News

Thursday 2nd April

The joint master of a hunt in Somerset has criticised the decision to hold a public consultation on banning trail hunting. Images of two men police want to speak to in connection with an arson attack on a barber’s shop in Wincanton have been released. The company that runs four leisure centres in the Mendip area has gone into administration... and more
Wednesday 1st April

No money has been committed to major new road projects in Somerset. A road linking Chard and Clayhanger has been closed after it collapsed due to badgers burrowing under the surface. The Bishop of Bath and Wells is on day-2 of his pilgrimage across Somerset to mark the holy week of Easter... and more
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