Local News Monday 18th October

Monday, 18 October 2021 06:00

A Somerset GP says the government is "out of touch" thinking that a winter rescue package will help recruit new doctors. Police say they’re working with Yeovil Town football club to identify those behind the crowd trouble at Saturday’s FA Cup game against Weymouth at Huish Park. Two major brands in the Quedam shopping centre in Yeovil are closing. Police are appealing for witnesses to an assault on a girl in Sherborne. The public has voted Somerset for being the best place in England for accessible walks...and more.

A Somerset GP says the government is "out of touch" thinking that a winter rescue package will help recruit new doctors. The government is making an extra £250 million to pay for temporary staff to help patients get face-to-face appointments. Medical Director of Somerset’s Local Medical Committee, Dr. Barry Moyse says the problem lies in the shortage of GP's.

Police say they’re working with Yeovil Town football club to identify those behind the crowd trouble at Saturday’s FA Cup game against Weymouth at Huish Park. Police, who had dogs and mounted units deployed, say a handful of fans were involved with incidents of disorder breaking out before and after Saturday’s game. Anyone with video footage is asked to call the non-emergency number 101. Saturday’s game ended in a 1-1 draw, with the tie being replayed at Weymouth’s Bob Lucas Stadium, tomorrow night, the kick-off is at 7.45 pm.

Two major brands in the Quedam shopping centre in Yeovil are closing. The Quedam says Monsoon and Accessorize will shut their stores at the end of October but that new tenants have been lined up to take over the units.

Police are appealing for witnesses to an assault on a girl in Sherborne. It happened in an alleyway that runs off Powys Lane, behind Sherborne Preparatory School, at around 6 pm last Sunday evening, October 10th. A man reportedly touched the girl inappropriately over her clothing before she pushed him away. He then walked out of the alleyway and in the direction of Acreman Street. He is described as white, aged around 50, between five feet five and five feet eight inches tall and of large build, with brown hair in a buzz cut style and unshaven. He was wearing a dark blue baggy T-shirt and light grey tracksuit bottoms. If you can help, please call the non-emergency number 101.

Yeovil Town Football Club have been thanked for donating a set of brand-new shirts to Buckler’s Mead Academy in Yeovil. The club gave the shirts in response to the BBC’s Kit out of the Nation appeal. Head of PE at Buckler’s Mead, Sarah Morrison, says they’re enormously grateful to Yeovil Town.

The Newt Hotel and Country Garden near Bruton is the new headline sponsor of the Chelsea Flower Show. It’s signed a four-year deal with the RHS and will also sponsor the Chelsea Flower Show Charity Gala preview event.

The public has voted Somerset for being the best place in England for accessible walks. The county has 43 walks suitable for people in wheelchairs and 74 walks suitable for pushchairs. The survey by the outdoor clothing retailer Millets shows that Yeovil County Park’s wheelchair-friendly walks are amongst the most popular in Somerset.

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A father has been found guilty of murdering his two-week-old son at Yeovil Hospital. From Monday, no trains will be stopping at Crewkerne until further notice. Experts say the dry weather has created ideal conditions for wasps to multiply in significant numbers across Somerset. A rare railway carriage from the 1880s, believed to have been built in Somerset, is being given a new lease of life...and more.
Thursday 24th July

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.
Wednesday 23rd July

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
Tuesday 22nd July

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
Monday 21st July

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
Friday 18th July

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
Thursday 17th July

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
Wednesday 16th July

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.