Monday 28th July

Monday, 28 July 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

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

A boat used for sightseeing trips on the River Parrett at Langport has sunk after being vandalised. The Duchess of Cocklemore was built in 1908 and used as a ferryboat in Devon. Mud was thrown over the roof and the bilge pumps, which kept the boat afloat, were switched off before it sank.

A union representing firefighters in Somerset says former retained staff are missing out on pension payments. The Fire and Rescue Services Association states that recent legal amendments mean anyone who served as a retained firefighter between April 2000 and April 2006 may qualify for the payments.

Thirty-nine new affordable homes are to be built in Merriot. The development at Shiremoor Hill will comprise two, three, and four-bedroom houses and bungalows, available for rent or purchase.

A Chard man has been given a ten-week suspended prison sentence after being caught driving while disqualified and without insurance, and for being in possession of an offensive weapon. Appearing in court in Yeovil, Tyler Saunders, aged 20, of Auckland Way, in Chard, who pleaded guilty to all charges, was also disqualified from driving for 18 months and given a twenty-five-day rehabilitation order and told to pay costs of £40.

No trains are stopping at Crewkerene station from today, until further notice. Passengers are being offered a replacement bus service connecting Yeovil Junction and Axminster stations. Network Rail says it’s due to the dry weather causing clay embankments to shrink, meaning trains cannot travel safely at their normal speeds.

Hatch Beauchamp Primary School has held its first literary festival. Featuring workshops and performances by visiting storytellers and authors, the four-day event was supported by Hatch Beauchamp Parish Council and Somerset Community Foundation.

A defibrillator has been installed at The Arrow at Abbey Manor in Yeovil. It can be found to the left of the pub's front entrance and is available 24 hours a day.

More from News

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
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
Tuesday 22nd July

Somerset Community Foundation has launched a "Together for West Somerset Appeal" to help families affected by last Thursday's school coach crash on Exmoor. People in Somerset are being encouraged to improve their recycling of food waste. Free family cooking sessions are being held in Chard. A new children’s soft play area is soon to open in Yeovil...and more
Monday 21st July

A GoFundMe page set up to support families of last week’s Exmoor bus crash, in which a 10-year-old boy died, has raised over forty thousand pounds. A local councillor is calling for the introduction of speed cameras on the A30, from Yeovil to Sherborne. A group from a school in Ilchester have hiked 26 miles across the Jurassic Coast to fundraise in memory of a school colleague...and more
Friday 18th July

EDF has completed another milestone in constructing the new 'Hinkley C' nuclear power plant near Bridgwater. The Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire opens today with helicopters built in Yeovil on display. A road leading to Chard reservoir, shut two months ago for strengthening work to a dam wall, has re-opened...and more