Monday 15th December

Monday, 15 December 2025 05:00

By Steve Haigh

Toolstream in Yeovil has been put into administration, threatening the jobs of dozens of employees. NHS Somerset has issued a last chance call for people to get a flu jab after hospital admissions increased by 76% in a week. Police are investigating the theft of a bike valued at £7,000 in Sherborne... and more

Toolstream in Yeovil has been put into administration threatening the jobs of dozens of employees. Its sister company, Group Silverline Ltd, has also been entered into administration. A notice on the Toolstream website says as of December 11th, the affairs, business and property of both companies will be managed by joint administrators, Hywel Phillips and Gavin Park of Teneo Financial Advisory Limited. It’s understood that Toolstream staff were called to a meeting late last week and instructed to remain at home until further notice.

NHS Somerset has issued a last-chance call for people to get a flu jab after hospital admissions increased by 76% in a week. By Sunday, 7th December, the number of people in hospital with flu had risen to an average of 139 per day, up from 79 per day in the week ending Sunday, 30 November. The figures also showed a 93 per cent increase in beds occupied by people with flu, compared with the same week in December last year.

Thirty new jobs could be created with the opening of a new food and drink business in Sherborne. The Loungers Group has applied for a premises licence to run a food-led café restaurant bar at 55 Cheap Street in Sherborne. The building, previously occupied by M&Co, is currently being used by the Original Factory Shop.

Plans have been submitted to build 150 new homes off Broadway Hill at Horton, near Ilminster. The 14-hectare site is currently in agricultural use. Developers, Gleeson Land, say 53 of the homes will be ‘affordable’ and that a nearby playing field will be extended as part of the scheme.

Police are investigating the theft of a bike valued at £7,000 in Sherborne. It was taken from the home of Zoe Tucker, the current holder of the Duathlon World Championships title. Zoe had been using the bike to train for next year’s European Duathlon Championships in May and says it’s a ‘devastating loss’.

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Wednesday 17th December

Parcel business, Evri, has been criticised by Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke over what she claims have been ‘widespread delivery failures’. Demand for mental health support provided by South Western Ambulance Service is running at record levels. A nine-year-old Somerset boy has completed 100 days of litter picking for charity...and more
Tuesday 14th December

New data shows that crime in the Avon and Somerset police area is at an all-time high. Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard has issued a warning to prospective pet owners ahead of Christmas. The owner of four pubs in Somerset has warned that many could be forced to shut unless the government reconsiders business rates...and more.
Friday 12th December

The Chief Executive of Somerset Council, Duncan Sharkey, has admitted to making mistakes in cutting jobs. Yeovil MP Adam Dance is supporting a Lib Dem initiative to introduce a new ‘Farm First’ training scheme. Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance has launched an appeal to help buy a second helicopter... and more.
Thursday 11th December

A man has appeared in court in connection with an attack in Wincanton. A member of Somerset Council, jailed for 26 months for taking part in a Just Stop Oil protest, may not have to stand down as a councillor. NHS Somerset has announced that changes to stroke services at Yeovil Hospital will "go live" in the spring of next year...and more
Wednesday 10th December

Avon and Somerset Police say 62 drivers were arrested in the first week of the Christmas drink and drug driving campaign. A reindeer farm near Yeovil thinks it may have to close after being told it needs a Zoo licence. Father Christmas has made a special delivery of presents to Charlton Farm Children's Hospice in Somerset...and more
Tuesday 9th December

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset has criticised the government for axing the role. Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Ilminster in which a woman was seriously injured. Residents of Freedom Avenue in Yeovil are raising funds for charity with a big display of Christmas lights...and more.
Monday 8th December

Plans to build 150 new homes in Ilminster have been scrapped. A Somerset councillor has been jailed for 26 months. Marks & Spencer wants to build a new Food Store in Ilminster. Poundland has announced that it’s shutting its store in Middle Street in Yeovil...and more
Friday 5th December

Police are appealing for witnesses after an assault on a man in Chard. Lloyds Banking Group has announced a date for closing the Halifax in Yeovil. Train journeys on the Castle Cary to Taunton line will be disrupted next week due to engineering work. The mental health charity MIND in Somerset has produced a Christmas advent calendar... and more.