Local News Thursday 26th May

Thursday, 26 May 2022 06:00

Yeovil is the second easiest place to pass a driving test in the UK, according to new research by the insurance firm, Ingenie. A special church service has been held at RNAS Yeovilton to remember those who lost their lives serving on HMS Coventry and the Atlantic Conveyor in the Falklands conflict. The Liberal Democrats, who won control of Somerset County Council in the local elections earlier this month, have confirmed Councillor Bill Revans in the role of new County Council Leader...and more

Yeovil is the second easiest place to pass a driving test in the UK, according to new research by the insurance firm, Ingenie. Between April 2020 and June 2021, the town had a pass rate of 66.5 per cent. Dorchester had the highest pass rate in the UK with 67.3 per cent of those taking the driving test, passing it.

A special church service has been held at RNAS Yeovilton to remember those who lost their lives serving on HMS Coventry and the Atlantic Conveyor in the Falklands conflict. This week marks 40 years since both ships were sunk during the Falklands War with more than thirty men losing their lives.

The Liberal Democrats, who won control of Somerset County Council in the local elections earlier this month, have confirmed Councillor Bill Revans in the role of new County Council Leader. At the first meeting of all 110 councillors held in Bridgwater who will run the new Somerset unitary council from April next year, Councillor Val Keitch, the current Leader of South Somerset District Council, was given the Local Government Reorganisation and Prosperity portfolio, with Councillor David Woan as her deputy.

Two garden designers from Bruton have won a ‘Best in Show’ award at the Chelsea Flower Show. Lulu Urquhart and Adam Hunt were chosen for their creation of a garden depicting a beaver wetland habitat. The garden, which also won a Chelsea gold medal, features a beaver lodge, dam, a pond and stream, and various plants including orchids, forget-me-nots and hawthorn.

The first business to move in at a new industrial estate in Yeovil has begun trading. The national chain, GSF, which sells car parts, has opened a Yeovil branch on the new Glenmore Trading Estate, off Lufton Way, close to Yeovil Town’s Huish Park ground.

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Friday 1st August

A family in Marston Magna is trying to get a relative home from a holiday in Greece, where he's been taken seriously ill. The fire service is warning of the dangers of leaving mirrors in view of direct sunlight. Residents in Touchstone Lane in Chard have started a new community speed watch group...and more
Thursday 31st July

A bird flu surveillance zone has been imposed in Somerset. The go-ahead has been given to build sixteen new homes in Shepton Beauchamp. The catering team at Yeovil Hospital has won a top award for the food it serves. Year Four pupils at Herne View Primary School in Ilminster have been presented with dictionaries by the local Rotary Club...and more
Wednesday 30th July

The fire service says they still don’t know what caused Monday’s major shop fire in Yeovil. A safeguarding review is being carried out into the case of Daniel Gunter, who was found guilty at Bristol Crown Court last week of murdering his two-week-old baby son at Yeovil Hospital. National convenience store chain, Costcutter, has taken over the empty YMCA charity shop in Middle Street in Yeovil for a new store...and more
Tuesday 29th July

Parents in Somerset are being advised not to leave their children unsupervised with pets. Somerset Council says it's dealing with a backlog of sixteen hundred planning applications. Ninety thousand pounds has been raised so far for Somerset Community Foundation’s appeal supporting people affected by last week’s coach crash in West Somerset...and more
Monday 28th July

A boat used for sightseeing trips on the River Parrett at Langport has sunk after being vandalised. A union representing firefighters in Somerset says former retained staff are missing out on pension payments. Thirty-nine new affordable homes are to be built in Merriot...and more
Friday 25th July

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