Local News Thursday 22nd June

    A Somerset mother is accusing the Government of failing families with children requiring special schooling. Friday, June 30th is the last chance for people aged seventy-five and over to get a Covid booster jab. Somerset is seeing an increase in dragonfly numbers due, it's claimed, to climate change...and more.

    A lack of funding and accountability is what a Somerset mother is accusing the Government of over their support to families with special educational needs children. Amanda Holden was one of a group of parents who took part in a protest outside Parliament yesterday, aimed at getting the government to do more. The government says it's putting significant new money into special needs education that will rise by more than fifty per cent over the next four years.

    Friday, June 30th is the last chance people aged seventy-five and over and those with a weakened immune system have of getting a Covid booster. It‘s also the last chance for people to have a first or second Covid jab. From next month, the vaccination programme will change to a targeted seasonal offer and will only be given to those at an increased risk. To book an appointment go online to the NHS Somerset website or, call 119.

    An Ilminster man has appeared in court charged with attempted theft. Maxall Nicholls, of Trafalgar Court on Station Road, pleaded guilty to trying to steal cash at Redlands Service Station in Clyst St Mary, near Exeter. He was fined eighty pounds and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of a further eighty pounds.

    Somerset is seeing an increase in dragonfly numbers, including sightings of rare species. The British Dragonfly Society says it’s recorded larger than average numbers of dragonflies on the Somerset Levels, including the endangered Norfolk Hawker, and says it's mainly due to climate change.

    More from News

    • Friday 7th February 

      A Yeovil man has been fined £1,200 for sending hostile text messages to his ex-wife. A report into the performance of Avon and Somerset Police has found it doesn't answer emergency calls quickly enough. Twenty-two swimmers at the Trident Swimming Club in Chard have won places in this year’s Somerset County Swimming Championships...and more

    • Thursday 6th February

      A man has appeared in court charged with murdering a one-month-old baby boy in Chard. Kingfisher Primary School in Yeovil has been highly praised by Ofsted. Somerset Council says it’s “extremely disappointed” after its bid to form a devolved Wessex group of local councils was rejected by the government...and more.

    • Wednesday 5th February

      The Liberal Democrat Leader of Somerset Council, Councillor Bill Revans, says they had no choice but to ask the government to allow them to lift the 5 percent cap on raising Council Tax. Two teenagers have been released on bail following the stabbing in Yeovil. More than six thousand pounds has been awarded to local groups by Chard Carnival Committee...and more.

    • Tuesday 4th February 

      Somerset has been permitted to increase its Council Tax share by 7.5 percent. An Ilminster man, forced out of his house by last week's floods, says he doesn't know when he will be able to return home. Ilminster Literary Festival has launched its annual children’s writing competition, designed to encourage local children to write creative literature...and more.

    • Monday 3rd February

      Five men have appeared in court charged with the murder of a man in Yeovil. A 16-year-old is the second person to be arrested in connection with a stabbing in Yeovil. Yeovil’s new outdoor entertainment space in Lower Middle Street has been officially opened by the town’s MP... and more.

    • Friday 31st January

      A teenager has been arrested following a stabbing in Yeovil. Water bills in Somerset are set to go up on average by £123 from April. Yeovil MP, Adam Dance will officially open Yeovil’s new outdoor performance space later today...and more

    • Thursday 30th January

      Lloyds bank is closing its branch in Chard. A Sherborne man has been jailed after defrauding a Yeovil woman of £40,000. A volunteer group in Chard is urging people to sign up to a flood victims register. A councillor in Shepton Mallet has become the first Reform UK member on Somerset Council... and more

    • Wednesday 29th January

      New mums in Somerset could soon be offered a cervical screening test six weeks after giving birth. Police are asking for help in finding a Yeovil man wanted on recall to prison. The government has given half a million pounds towards planting more trees in Somerset, including 100 new trees in Yeovil...and more

    Today's Weather

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