Wednesday 7th May

Wednesday, 7 May 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

The Interim Chairman of Yeovil Town, Stuart Robins, says the club is close to finding a new owner. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch is examining an incident in which a volunteer was struck by a wagon at the Gartell Light Railway centre near Templecombe. An Ilminster man has been charged with fox hunting. Councillor Tony Lock has been sworn in as the new Mayor of Yeovil...and more

The Interim Chairman of Yeovil Town, Stuart Robins, says the club is close to finding a new owner. He stepped into the Chairman’s role last month following Martin Hellier’s resignation and decision to sell his majority shareholding. Stuart Robins says negotiations with a third party to buy Yeovil Town are progressing well but gave no further details.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch is examining an incident in which a volunteer was struck by a wagon at the Gartell Light Railway centre near Templecombe. The volunteer was hit as he was attempting to get off the wagon near the Common Lane level crossing. The heritage railway was closed to the public at the time of the accident.

Racing pigeons from Somerset, released in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, have arrived back in the County. Pigeons played a vital role in World War Two, delivering messages when radio communications were disrupted. Over 1,000 pigeons from all parts of the West of England, including 50 destined for Somerset, flew back over the English Channel at the weekend, completing the crossing in around five hours.

Police are appealing for witnesses to an incident in Langport in which a man received serious head injuries when he was hit by a car. Emergency services were called to Parrett Close in Langport at 3 pm on Monday after a car collided with a pedestrian and two stationary vehicles. Avon and Somerset Police would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the incident or has dashcam footage. If you can help, you’re asked to please call the non-emergency number 101.

An Ilminster man has been charged with fox hunting. It follows reports of a fox being pursued by a hunt group and killed in the area of Drimpton, near Beaminster. The man has been charged with hunting a wild mammal with dogs under Section 1 of the Hunting Act 2004 and is due to appear at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, May 28th.

Entries are still open for this year’s Bristol, Bath, and Somerset Tourism Awards. It’s a chance for tourism and hospitality businesses to show off their success and honour their teams. Entries close on Sunday, May 18th, with businesses allowed to enter as many categories as they are eligible for. To enter, go to somersettourismawards.org.uk

Councillor Tony Lock has been sworn in as the new Mayor of Yeovil. Councillor Lock's chosen charities for his year in office are Yeovil Hospital Charity and Yeovil Freewheelers, also known as Yeovil Blood Bikes. Yeovil's new Deputy Mayor is Councillor Wes Read.

More from News

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
Monday 28th July

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
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