Local News Tuesday 31st May

Tuesday, 31 May 2022 06:00

More than 300 weapons were taken-off local streets during a knife amnesty held earlier this month by Avon and Somerset Police. Two midwives at Yeovil District Hospital have launched new training course aimed at raising awareness of inequalities seen through pregnancy and birth. Twenty thousand trees have been planted in Somerset by more than 200 individuals and organisations as part of the Queens Green Canopy initiative...and more.

More than 300 weapons were taken-off local streets during a knife amnesty held earlier this month by Avon and Somerset Police. Weapons were surrendered into knife bins and at police stations. Checks were also made on outlets selling knives to under-18s with 29 retailers found failing in their legal obligations.

Two midwives at Yeovil District Hospital have launched new training course aimed at raising awareness of inequalities seen through pregnancy and birth. Becky Cockings and her colleague Bea Chubb noticed their midwifery training predominantly focused on white mothers and babies.

Twenty thousand trees have been planted in Somerset by more than 200 individuals and organisations as part of the Queens Green Canopy initiative. The Green Canopy project, which spans two tree planting seasons, will start again in October through to the end of the Jubilee year.

Plans have been submitted to locate eight new digital advertising boards in Yeovil town centre. If agreed, the boards would be sited in Westminster Street, High Street, The Borough, Upper Middle Street and The Triangle. The new advertising boards are part of the Yeovil Refresh project that’s aimed at revitalising the public spaces in the town centre.

A flower festival dedicated to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in Chard has raised funds for two good causes. £650 will now be shared between St Mary's Church and Barnardos following the event at the St Mary's Church held last weekend.

Motorcyclists will have the opportunity to learn new riding techniques at an event in Yeovil next month. ‘Raise Your Ride’, an initiative run by Somerset Road Safety aims to reduce rider casualties and will take place at Bransons Motorcycles on Oxford Road on the Pen Mill trading estate on Sunday, 19th June.

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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