MILLIONS around the world will be tuning in to Olympic action this weekend - and for the weeks ahead - as the Games in Japan get underway.

POLICE have appealed to people across the Avon and Somerset force area to look out for a 15-year-old boy who has been missing from home for a week.

FORMER footballer Gary Lineker has announced he is to host new ITV game show, Sitting On A Fortune - and you could get on the telly and have a shot at the £100,000 top prize.

COUNTRYSIDE lovers in Somerset are being warned of the dangers of being bitten by an insect prevalent in the great outdoors at this time of year.

ALMOST 200 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in three Somerset districts in a 24-hour period.

IT'S been a scorcher in Somerset today - but just how hot did it actually get?

PEOPLE in the Somerset are being warned of the potential dangers of giant hogweed as the summer holidays approach.

SOMERSET is set to be run by ONE local government authority within two years.

AFTER a very challenging 16 months of no events at all for the husband and wife team behind Aspire Running Events - Tony and Donna King - they were delighted to host the Brean Festival of Running this month.

PROTESTORS who are against the closure of a mental health ward headed to Bridgwater today to lobby councillors.

WITH the current heatwave predicted to last until the end of tomorrow (Thursday), Somerset has been put on rain alert for the weekend.

PASSENGERS are being asked to help back a bid for potentially millions of pounds to improve bus services across Somerset.

A NUMBER of roads across Somerset have "melted" in the extreme heat, according to the county council.

AFTER the Met Office issued its first ever extreme heat warning this week, Somerset County Council is asking everyone to take care and keep an eye out for vulnerable friends and neighbours.

VOLUNTEERS rescued a couple after their jetski became disabled and was drifting out towards the sea.

THE ambulance service covering Somerset has experienced its busiest week on record.

THIS car caught the attention of Avon and Somerset police officers on an enforcement operation targeting commercial vehicles.

POLICE are asking the public in Somerset to be on the lookout for a prisoner on the run.

PAITIENTS accessing healthcare in Somerset must continue to wear face masks, despite the relaxation of the rules under Freedom Day (Monday, July 19).

Supermarket chains Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Lidl and Aldi have provided an update on the face mask rules for shoppers across the UK.

THERE will be 'significant problems' with rubbish and recycling collections this week in Somerset, people are being warned.

THE Met Office has issued its first ever amber extreme heat warning with Somerset set to see the hot conditions continuing through the week.

PEOPLE buying homes in the Taunton postcode area have been knocking an average of more than two per cent off the asking price over the past year, according to a 'we buy any house' firm.

PROTESTORS who are against the closure of a mental health ward are planning to lobby councillors before a meeting this Wednesday (July 21).

HERE are the scores of locations where Avon and Somerset Police will be siting mobile speed cameras this week.

ROADWORKS are starting across the county today (July 19).

AROUND one in six areas in England - including four districts in Somerset - are now reporting their highest rate of new Covid-19 cases since comparable records began last summer, when mass testing was first introduced in the UK, latest figures show.

HEALTH bosses say they have no plans for any further closures of Somerset’s minor injuries units (MIUs).

KAYAKERS heading to an island off the Somerset coast prompted an emergency response from lifeboat crews.

WE have compiled a list of what we think are possibly the top ten worst driving habits - but do you agree?

THE closure of a long-standing Bridgwater firm has provoked an outpouring of memories from past employees and customers.

“IT is absolutely vital that we proceed now with caution and I cannot say this powerfully or emphatically enough: this pandemic is not over. We cannot simply revert instantly from Monday July 19 to life as it was before Covid.”

BELOW are the planning applications received by Sedgemoor District Council between July 1 and 7, 2021.

TEMPERATURES could reach up to 30°C this weekend in Somerset - so make sure to pack your suncream.

SEVEN coronavirus patients are being cared for in Somerset NHS Foundation Trust hospitals, figures show.

UNTIL this year, I was a Love Island virgin, and before I watched my first episode there was only one thing I felt sure of - that I'd hate it.

MORE than 1,400 people have been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace in Somerset.

WOODBINE Farm is a charming grade II listed period property situated on the outskirts of a popular village.

AS the nation reacts to the racist abuse suffered by three of England's footballers, analysis of the latest figures reveals how racial hate crime increased in Avon and Somerset in the four years before the coronavirus pandemic.

INCREASED security measures are being installed at two Somerset parks.

A GRADUATE is opening an independent bookshop in an unusual location - her childhood home.

A ROBBER yanked a gold necklace off the neck of a woman in her 60s as she walked along a footpath.

A SOMERSET woman who bumped into Hollywood actor Harrison Ford in a London food hall said she was "too starstruck to speak".

SOMERSET County Council will continue to provide help to families in need of food support over the school Summer Holidays.

A SEAFRONT hotel in Weston-super-Mare that provided respite breaks for military veterans is to become a residential development.

BORIS Johnson and Rishi Sunak have seen off a Tory revolt over cuts to aid funding, leaving charities angry at the prospect of an indefinite reduction in spending.

A WOMAN had to be rescued after fainting atop a Somerset beauty spot.

THE RSPCA is appealing for help to track down the person who dumped a mother cat and her seven kittens beside a road in Somerset.

SUMMER may finally have arrived in Somerset as we put the rain behind us and start to enjoy some sunshine.

PEOPLE in Somerset were unable to report emergencies by calling 999 for a time last night (July 12).