Thursday 26th March

Thursday, 26 March 2026 05:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset Council is offering food vouchers during the school easter holidays to families whose children receive free school meals. A local man has been charged in connection with an incident involving a firearm in Yeovil. The Environment Agency says it could take up to 10 years to protect homes at Holway House Park and Home Farm Park in Ilminster from flooding...and more.

Somerset Council and Citizens Advice are offering support to families worried about the cost of food during the Easter holidays. Families whose children receive free school meals can now apply for supermarket vouchers through the Somerset Citizens Advice website. It comes after Somerset Council ended a scheme giving all free school meal families vouchers every school holiday.

A local man has been charged in connection with an incident involving a firearm in Yeovil. William Martin, aged 38, is facing one count of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and a second count of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He was arrested after officers were called to Rosebery Avenue at around 2 pm on Monday following reports that a member of the public was carrying a suspected handgun. Officers said that while attempting to engage with a man in Monmouth Road, a short while later, a firearm was discharged by an officer. There were no injuries reported.

Protecting homes from further flooding at Holway House Park and Home Farm Park in Ilminster could take up to 10 years, according to the Environment Agency. Park homes on the sites off Station Road were flooded in October 2021. Repairs were carried out to a bund on Home Farm Way, which has proved successful in keeping floodwater away. But the Environment Agency says any further improvements may take up to 10 years due to the extensive modelling required to carry out the work and the need to secure government funding.

Somerset Council says one hundred new homes being built in Huish Episcopi will be affordable. The council has approved the plans, submitted by the housing association Abri, to build the properties off Somerton Road.

Blacklands Lane in Tatworth will be closed to traffic for one day next month. It’s to allow Openreach to carry out cabling works. The closure will be in effect from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm on Wednesday, 1st April.

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Thursday 10th September

Work has begun building a new multi-million-pound David Lloyd leisure centre in Yeovil. NHS Somerset says a new system to handle emergency stroke care will lead to "better outcomes" for patients. Tickets for next year’s Glastonbury Festival will go on sale in October...and more
Wednesday 9th September

Police have released an image of a man they want to speak to following an assault in Yeovil. Businesses in Taunton say they're worried that planned changes to parking rules could put people off visiting the town. The Red Arrows will take to the skies near the Somerset border in a one-off display later this week... and more
Tuesday 8th September

Police in Avon and Somerset say they’re dealing with a big increase in reports of cloned vehicle fraud. A new video system designed to speed up stroke care has been launched in Somerset. Pilgrims are walking through Somerset this week to mark eight hundred years since the death of Saint Francis of Assisi... and more
Monday 7th September

Avon and Somerset Police are warning about a new scam involving criminals posing as police officers. Flu vaccinations are now available on the NHS ahead of the winter. Liverpool comedian John Bishop has cancelled his show in Taunton later this week after breaking his ankle... and more
Friday 4th September

Police are investigating a suspected arson attack on a vehicle near Shepton Mallet. New taxi charges come into force in Somerset later this month. The fire service is treating as accidental a blaze at a flat in Yeovil town centre... and more
Thursday 3rd September

Fifteen thousand people have signed a petition calling on Somerset Council to cancel plans for a huge data centre in Bridgwater. A nest of Asian hornets has been found in Somerset. More patients in Somerset are set to benefit from a hospital project aimed at restoring independence... and more
Wednesday 2nd September

Yeovil-based charity, School in a Bag, has started sending supplies to Nepal to help in the aftermath of the devastating floods. 6,000 people have signed a petition opposing plans for a new relief road in Chard. The Royal British Legion in Somerset is appealing for more volunteers to help run this year’s Poppy Appeal... and more