Local News Friday 12th March

Friday, 12 March 2021 07:30

A Sherborne man has appeared in court to deny an offence under the Hunting Act. Somerset Wildlife Centre is the latest to sign a petition for hedgehogs to have better protection. Police are appealing for information about a horse trailer stolen in Yeabridge, near South Petherton. Motorists are being warned of a road closure between Ilchester and Yeovil, beginning next Monday....and more

A Sherborne man has appeared in court to deny an offence under the Hunting Act. Mark Hankinson, aged 60, is accused of encouraging or assisting others in an online webinar to commit an offence under the Hunting Act 2004. A director of the Masters of Foxhounds Association, Mr Hankinson attended the hearing virtually at Westminster magistrates court and pleaded not guilty. The case was adjourned for a trial to be held in September.

Somerset Wildlife Centre is the latest to sign a petition for hedgehogs to have better protection. The petition calls for the animals to be moved into schedule 5 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. Putting them in this category would make sure hedgehogs' nesting sites were protected from harm.

Police are appealing for information about a horse trailer stolen in Yeabridge, near South Petherton. The trailer was taken on Monday and is described as a triple axle, Ifor Williams livestock trailer. It has the registration plate CK06 RDU and has a sticker on the side FK2469. Police are also searching for a sit-on motor mower stolen from near Ashill. The mower, made by Winton, was taken from a property on Barrington Hill Road, Windmill Hill between 10 pm on Sunday and 6 am on Monday earlier this week. Call the non-emergency number 101 if you can help with information on either of these crimes.

Motorists are being warned of a road closure between Ilchester and Yeovil. Beginning next Monday, the A37 Ilchester Straight, together with part of the B3151 Yeovil Road will be subjected to re-surfacing work. Work will take place between from Monday 15 March and Thursday 1 April from 7am to 7pm weekdays. These sections of road will be closed to all traffic during these dates, except to provide access for residents and business owners.

Children at Tintinhull Primary School near have been on a virtual trip to France. Pupils at St Margaret's have spent a week on-line leaning about the French Revolution, about French food and French literature, immersing themselves in the culture of the country from the safety of their classroom.

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Friday 26 April

A man has been arrested in Castle Cary and charged with stalking, harassment and making threats to kill. The NHS in Somerset says its staff retention rate has improved over the past two years. A farmer in South Petherton is preparing to cycle 1,000 miles to raise money for charity...and more.
Thursday 25th April

The NHS is offering spring COVID-19 vaccines to people in Somerset who are at increased risk of serious illness from the virus. A new way of making roads safer for children in Somerset has started this week. A Yeovil-based apprentice has been named as a winner in the JTL Regional Awards. Haselbury Mill near Crewkerne has been put up for sale...and more
Wednesday 24th April

Yeovil Town FC have sent a strongly worded letter to the Football Association asking for plans to end FA Cup replays to be dropped. A Somerset woman who's spent the last 32 years living with Hepatitis C, says better support is needed for those affected by the contaminated blood scandal. A new school of musical theatre has opened in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 23rd April

Two teenage boys have admitted animal cruelty after filming themselves throwing a lamb down a stone staircase at Montacute. Somerset Council could lose around £5 million by selling the Marks and Spencer building in Yeovil. Chard, Wincanton, Castle Cary and Ansford are on a list of fifteen places in Somerset where new 20 mph speed limits could soon be introduced...and more.
Monday 22nd April

The parents of a two-week-old baby boy, accused of his murder at Yeovil Hospital, are to stand trial. Protesters have splashed red paint across the front of County Hall in Taunton for a second time. A comedy film about the world of competitive marrow-growing and made in Shepton Mallet has opened in cinemas across the UK...and more.
Friday 19th April

Work starts today building a new eastbound carriageway as part of dualling the A303 between Sparkford and Podimore. A childhood obesity clinic in Somerset has revealed that it is treating children as young as eight months old. Somerset Wildlife Trust has launched a campaign to recruit an army of young people to act as conservation champions...and more.
Thursday 18th April

A Martock man has been jailed after admitting to shining lasers at aircraft flying over Yeovil. Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the TK Maxx store at Babylon Hill. Nearly four hundred people have put their names forward for redundancy at Somerset Council...and more.
Wednesday 17 April

Three local primary schools have been named on a list of England's top five hundred primary schools. A new co-working space for businesswomen has opened in Wincanton. Urgent repairs are being carried out to Ilminster's new public clock after it started showing the wrong time...and more