Local News 26th July

Wednesday, 26 July 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Police are investigating the attempted kidnap of a woman in Yeovil. Somerset Council has signed a letter to the Prime Minister asking for e-scooters to be legalised. Court Barton in Ilminster is closed again to traffic today and won’t reopen until Friday. An Ilminster woman has launched a campaign to get more giant sunflowers grown in Somerset...and more.

Police are investigating the attempted kidnap of a woman in Yeovil. It happened as she was being followed by a silver Skoda SUV along Preston Road at around 9.50 pm on Sunday, July 9. Police say the car pulled up alongside the woman and a man grabbed her arm and tried to pull her into the car. The offender has been described as white, with dark features, in his mid to late 30s and was wearing a black hat. Police would like to speak to a man and woman who were walking a dog in Preston Park off Preston Road at around the time of the incident. If you can help, you’re asked to please call the non-emergency number 101.

Somerset Council has signed a letter to the Prime Minister asking for e-scooters to be legalised. More than fifty organisations including environmental charities and campaigners claim the UK is the only developed nation not to have permanently legalised e-scooters or committed to do so.

Court Barton in Ilminster is closed again to traffic today and won’t reopen until Friday. It’s to allow for Wessex Water to carry out repairs.

An Ilminster woman wants to see more sunflowers grown in Somerset. Marjorie Edwards started growing the giant blooms in 2021 during Covid to get people out into their gardens. She's launched a grow a sunflower as tall as a house’ initiative in the hope that gardeners will grow more sunflowers.

Local man Michael Peach is the latest to qualify as an on-call firefighter with the Devon and Somerset Rescue Service. On-call firefighters do the same emergency work as full-time firefighters but can also have other jobs. They carry a pager, which activates when they are needed to attend incidents.

Jason Inchley of Chard has won best in class at the Riding for the Disabled National Championships. Scoring seventy-seven points riding his thirteen-year-old mare, Rubin Ryella, Jason won the Open Grade Two section outright.

Yeovil Town beat League Two side Newport County 2-0 in a pre-season friendly at Huish Park last night. Yeovil's goal scorers were Morgan Williams on twenty-one minutes and Jake Hyde in the seventy-third minute.

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Friday 7th November

A man from Yeovil has been jailed for eight years after being convicted of three counts of rape. Smoking rates in Somerset remain higher than in many other parts of the UK. Students at three schools in Yeovil have created a new shoe design for Clarks.
Thursday 6th November

The Supreme Court has ruled that building thousands of homes in Somerset has been "unlawfully held up". The Head of Holyrood Academy in Chard has described the building of a new primary school in the town as an ‘incredible opportunity’. A pub near Chard has been named one of the best in Britain by The Good Food Guide...and more
Wednesday 5th November

Members of the Unite union at Leonardo in Yeovil have called off a planned strike for today. South Western Railway says trains on the West of England Line will start running normally again at the end of the month. A memorial post box has been placed at the entrance to Crewkerne cemetery...and more.
Tuesday 4th November

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says from today it will no longer respond to automatic fire alarms. School in a Bag, based in Chilthorne Domer, is sending 400 school bags to Jamaica, following Hurricane Melissa. Yeovil Town has paid tribute to former manager Colin Addison, who has passed away...and more.
Monday 3rd November

Plans have been approved to convert Old Viney Bridge Mill in Crewkerne to residential use. The go-ahead has been given to decommission Hinkley Point B nuclear power plant in Somerset. We’re being asked to provide food for hedgehogs that come into our gardens this winter...and more.
Friday 31st October

There's anger in Chard about a road diversion in place alongside two sets of roadworks through the town. A motorcyclist has been injured in an accident in Bruton. £100,000 has been donated towards re-opening Shepton Mallet’s Amulet theatre...and more
Thursday 30th October

Bird flu has been detected at a nature reserve in Somerset, resulting in the closure of part of it. St Margaret’s Hospice in Somerset is calling for the hospice sector to be given more central funding. The Barrington Boar in Barrington has been placed 12th in The Good Food Guide’s list of 100 best pubs in Britain...and more
Wednesday 29th October

Police are investigating a suspected arson attack on a mobile home near Yeovil. Somerset Council is suggesting people turn their pumpkins into soup this Halloween. People in Yeovil have until Sunday to comment on controversial plans to sell off four car parks in the town centre... and more.