A two-week campaign has started in Somerset to get people public to surrender 'unwanted' firearms. People are being urged to be aware of ticks as they head out into the countryside during the warm weather. Concern has been expressed about how changes to farming subsidies and payments could impact the future of agriculture in Somerset and Young people from across Somerset have been recognized for their outstanding achievements in the Pride of Somerset Youth Awards.
A two-week campaign has started in Somerset to get people public to surrender 'unwanted' firearms. Avon and Somerset Police say those who surrender firearms 'will not' face prosecution for illegal possession and will remain anonymous. To have a firearm collected from your home, call the non-emergency number 101 or, surrender it at your local police station.
People are being urged to be aware of ticks as they head out into the countryside during the warm weather. Ticks carry potentially fatal infections such as Lyme Disease and are more prevalent between May and September. To minimize the risk of being bitten, advice is to walk on clearly defined paths, avoid dense vegetation and use insect repellent that repels ticks.
Concern has been expressed about how changes to farming subsidies and payments could impact the future of agriculture in Somerset. Research by the University of Gloucestershire suggests new payment schemes will mean up to £440 million less to spend on materials and services, and in turn, a significant knock-on for South West jobs and businesses.
Young people from across Somerset have been recognized for their outstanding achievements in the Pride of Somerset Youth Awards. The event honours youngsters who've done something special or have overcome adversity.
Tourism leaders in Somerset are hoping to reverse last year’s downturn in visitor numbers now that the six-week-long school summer holiday is underway. A Chard woman who was driving a van without insurance that crashed has been given a 16-month driving ban. A Somerset hedgehog rescue centre says a lack of rain and hard ground conditions are making it difficult for hedgehogs to survive this summer...and more.
Somerset Council is planning to open twelve new Special Educational Needs units in mainstream schools. Yeovil Hospital is participating in a trial that could revolutionise the treatment of sepsis within the NHS. A 55-acre site in Chard, with plans approved to build 295 homes and a new football ground, has been put up for sale...and more
Somerset Community Foundation has launched a "Together for West Somerset Appeal" to help families affected by last Thursday's school coach crash on Exmoor. People in Somerset are being encouraged to improve their recycling of food waste. Free family cooking sessions are being held in Chard. A new children’s soft play area is soon to open in Yeovil...and more
A GoFundMe page set up to support families of last week’s Exmoor bus crash, in which a 10-year-old boy died, has raised over forty thousand pounds. A local councillor is calling for the introduction of speed cameras on the A30, from Yeovil to Sherborne. A group from a school in Ilchester have hiked 26 miles across the Jurassic Coast to fundraise in memory of a school colleague...and more
EDF has completed another milestone in constructing the new 'Hinkley C' nuclear power plant near Bridgwater. The Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire opens today with helicopters built in Yeovil on display. A road leading to Chard reservoir, shut two months ago for strengthening work to a dam wall, has re-opened...and more
Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he has serious concerns about plans that could see the closure of inpatient beds at Crewkerne Community Hospital. Ilminster residents are being asked to vote in a referendum on adopting a new neighbourhood plan for the town. An event in which people take part in a race against horses is returning to Somerset later this year...and more
A children’s play area in Ilminster has been closed on safety grounds after badger setts were found on the land. Somerset Council sold off £90m of property assets last year to help fight off bankruptcy. Crewkerne Community Hospital could be turned into a neighbourhood health centre...and more.
The fire service has blamed a discarded portable barbecue for starting a blaze at Ham Hill Country Park. A care home for people with autism and complex needs in Crewkerne has been rated 'good'. A seven-year-old Yeovil boy has set a new world record for completing the most number of consecutive sit-ups for his age group...and more