Author: Lesley Webb

Fire Service Consultation

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As part of this consultation, we are hosting online question and answer sessions, to answer any questions that people might have about the proposals and listen to their views. At each session, people from across Devon and Somerset will hear from senior leaders in the fire service about the proposed changes and the impact that responding to automatic fire alarms has on our Service, as we as having time to ask any questions.

The dates are:

  • Thursday 6 February, 1-2pm
  • Tuesday 25 February, 2-3pm
  • Wednesday 12 March, 12-1pm
  • Thursday 20 March, 6-7pm

Information about how to join these events is available on our website.

We have promoted these dates on our social media (@dsfireupdates), please can you help reach as many people as possible by sharing this with your networks.

Thank you again for your support, and please continue to encourage others to tell us what they think about the proposed changes by filling in our online survey. Don’t forget to fill it in yourselves too.

For further information, visit www.dsfire.gov.uk, email rightresponse@dsfire.gov.uk or call 01392 261287.

Best wishes,

Megan Hegarty

Severe Weather Emergency Provision ACTIVATED

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Severe Weather Emergency Provision (SWEP) ACTIVATED

Somerset Council – all areas

This provision is active now until Monday (03.03.25) when it will be reviewed.

This means that additional resources are available to support people sleeping rough and accommodation may be available.

To access this service, call the numbers below as early as possible.

During office hours: 0300 123 22 24

Outside of office hours: 0300 123 23 27

Bright Lights

Published on by Lesley WebbLeave a comment
Following complaints at Monday’s Parish Council meeting about the bright light in the Wessex Water compound near the Old Dairy the Council chairwoman, Katy Attwater, spoke with the Site Manager after dark and he lowered the angle of the lights as much as possible.
Sometimes, when they are loading and unloading equipment, he has to raise the lights temporarily for safety reasons. As ever, the Wessex Water  workmen were very accommodating and did everything they could to improve the situation.
However, it is a safety issue and vehicles and equipment have to move in and out of the site entrance throughout the night.  They have very strict safety regulations they have to adhere to for night time work.
We hope this has improve the situation.

Police Notice

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Do you recognise this van? We have reason to believe this van has been involved in rural crime across Somerset. The vehicle has now been seized by police however we need your help to track down who may have been using it.

Have you seen it in your local area? If so, please get in contact via 101 quoting 5224325444.

Attachments:

Police Message for businesses

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We have received a number of reports of businesses in Bristol have lost significant sums of money due to a scam involving card payment machines.

Since Monday 13 January we have had at least half a dozen incidents where the offenders have gone into businesses pretending to want to buy goods, but when they have been presented with the PDQ card machine have interfered with the payment and defrauded the companies.

Several dental practices and gardening firms have reported incidents to us in recent days and enquiries to try to identify those responsible are ongoing.

We wish to raise awareness of the incidents and provide businesses with the following advice:

  • Keep PDQ machines out of reach, for example locked away in an office when not in use
  • Link the PDQ machine to the business computer system to provide additional security
  • Set additional pins that only employees can access
  • Make sure all staff are aware and check the transaction amounts before confirming
  • Keep up-to-date CCTV systems to help ID offenders

We encourage anyone who has experienced any similar incidents to please contact us online or on 101 and quote reference number 5225009877.

If a crime is in progress, always dial 999.

If you can help, please call 101 and give the call handler the reference number 5225009877, or complete our online appeals form.

You can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers 100 per cent anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their Anonymous Online Form.

No personal details are taken, information cannot be traced or recorded and you will not go to court or have to speak to police when contacting Crimestoppers.