Local News Tuesday 3rd May

    Churches in Somerset are being warned to be extra vigilant for thieves targeting church roofs for metal. A Somerset woman is campaigning for long Covid to be recognised as a disability. Households will no longer have to pay to dump DIY waste at public tips under plans set out by the government. Members of Milborne Port Opera are calling for greater investment in the arts scene in Somerset and Children at Shepton Beauchamp Church School are keeping a close eye on a nest of Blue Tits where some eggs have been laid.

    Churches in Somerset are being warned to be extra vigilant for thieves targeting church roofs for metal. Specialist insurer Ecclesiastical says metal thefts from churches are on the increase; it’s believed due to a rise in the price of lead and copper. 

    A Somerset woman is campaigning for long Covid to be recognised as a disability. Holly Pearse is a victim of ongoing Covid symptoms and fears that in the long term it could impact her employment. She wants sufferers to be given greater protection at work from being dismissed because of having the illness

    Households will no longer have to pay to dump DIY waste at public tips under plans set out by the government. It would include plasterboard, bricks and baths. The move’s aimed at cutting fly-tipping with councils in England reporting over a million fly-tipping incidents in 2021. 

    Members of Milborne Port Opera are calling for greater investment in the arts scene in Somerset. The group says whichever political party wins control of the new Somerset unitary council after the local elections on Thursday, they want the new council to make more investment in theatres and village halls and to provide a wider range of local sporting opportunities.

    Children at Shepton Beauchamp Church School are keeping a close eye on a nest of Blue Tits where some eggs have been laid. When the time comes for the eggs to hatch, the children will get a close-up view of events, thanks to a camera that has been installed inside the bird box where the Blue Tits have built their nest.

    More from News

    • 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

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Heavy Rain

      High: 12°C | Low: 5°C

    • Chard

      Light rain

      High: 10°C | Low: 5°C

    • Crewkerne

      Light rain

      High: 10°C | Low: 5°C

    • Somerton

      Medium-level cloud

      High: 11°C | Low: 5°C

    • Wincanton

      Light rain

      High: 11°C | Low: 5°C

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