News in Shepton Mallet

A chef from Shepton Mallet has launched a new Facebook page to share top culinary tips and home cooking videos to help families during the coronavirus lockdown.

Sean Boyle, aka Sean the Chef, has already attracted almost 600 followers in just eight days since setting up this page.

Shepton Mallet residents will be able to spot Elon Musk's Starlink satellite train tonight (April 20).

Elon Musk's satellites have been spotted all over Western Europe, with many saying they looked like "Santa's sleigh".

News from the front... I was sitting in the garden with a cup of tea and it was so silent and for some reason I thought of Simon and Garfunkel's song, The Sound of Silence, with the haunting opening lines of "Hello darkness, my old friend".

Thinking about music, I recalled reading an article about the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping through New York City, where apparently the soundtrack of this dreadful virus is the sound of sirens.

The Somerset Coronavirus Appeal, launched by the Bath and West Showground-based Somerset Community Foundation (SCF), has grown to more than £450,000 since its launch just a month ago on Thursday March 19.

The appeal raises money to fund local charities and community organisations supporting those in most urgent need during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, and donations have come from local individuals, charitable trusts and businesses.

Shepton Mallet residents are being warned against buying unapproved coronavirus antibody testing kits.

The tests - designed to detect if people have had coronavirus and are now immune - are a key part of the Government's strategy to boost testing capacity to protect the vulnerable, support the NHS, and ultimately save lives.

A fundraising appeal for Shepton Mallet Salvation Army foodbank is set to smash through its £2,500 target... but still more money is needed to keep up with increasing demand.

The online appeal was launched to buy essential food for vulnerable residents during the coronavirus crisis and beyond.

Police chiefs have set out guidelines on what exactly people in Shepton Mallet can and can not do during the coronavirus lockdown.

The National Police Chiefs' Council and College of Policing has published a document, reproducing a practical guide by the Crime Prosecution Service, to explain to officers what constitutes a 'reasonable excuse' to leave home.

Dog owners in Shepton Mallet are being warned not to throw sticks for their pooch to protect their pet from potentially life-threatening injuries... and avoid a hefty bill.

Shepton Vets has treated three patients with injuries caused by sticks in just one week.

More than 10,000 coronavirus lockdown breaches have been reported to Avon and Somerset Police.

Chief constable Andy Marsh said his officers get hourly updates of hotspots to speak to anyone not following the rules, handing out fines if they have to.

A fire crew from Shepton Mallet helped to free a casualty last night (April 16) who got trapped trying to recover a vehicle that had crashed 100 metres off a road near Somerton.

Just before 11.30pm last night, Devon and Somerset Fire Control received a call from the ambulance service requesting assistance to recover one casualty from underneath a vehicle on the B3153 Snap Hill near Somerton.