THE Queen will be visiting South Somerset later this year as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour of the nation.

It has been revealed that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be in the South West of England on May 1-2 with visits to Sherborne, Salisbury, Crewkerne, Yeovil and Exeter

Danielle scoops £100k Lotto scratchard win

FLAT-HUNTING and driving lessons are on the horizon for a young woman from Yeovil after she scooped the top prize on the National Lottery £100,000 Turquoise Scratchcard.

Danielle Salway, 20, a former bar manager, bought the life-changing Scratchcard while in Yeovil town centre on Wednesday, January 25.

She knew she had won the top prize almost immediately, when she scratched the card outside the shop.

Speaking about the moment she realised she was £100,000 richer, Danielle said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes. I rang my mum there and then – we were both so excited. It’s taken a while for it to sink in.

“I used to buy Scratchcards quite regularly, but I hadn’t bought one for ages. I bought one on Wednesday because it caught my eye and it was only £1.”

Danielle, who lives with her grandmother, Jan, has been looking for a new job since the pub she worked in closed down six months ago.

She said: “It is very hard looking for work at the moment, there aren’t many jobs around.

“This money has come at just the right time for me. I plan to put the majority of the money towards buying a flat of my own, but I would also like to spend some on having some driving lessons and buying a car, which will help me when applying for jobs.

“I haven’t even thought about what sort of car or flat I might want as I didn’t ever think something like this would happen. I think I will probably stay in Yeovil, near to my family. The money has given me freedom, I couldn’t be happier.”

Danielle’s winning Scratchcard was bought at WH Smith on Middle Street in Yeovil

X-FACTOR finalist Jamie Archer will be performing in concert at the Westland Leisure Complex in Yeovil.

Archer, who reached the televised final stages of the 2009 TV show, is most famous for his first audition where he sang Kings of Leon’s Sex on Fire.

He become a firm favourite throughout the show as he was mentored by Simon Cowell in the live finals. He went out in week six of the show which was eventually won by Joe McElderry who beat off the challenge of Olly Murs in the final.

Jamie, who is well-known as Afro because of his big hair, will be in Yeovil on March 24. Tickets are priced £10 in advance and available from the box office on 01935-848380 

Sztos 2 (Polish Roulette) in Yeovil Cineworld from 17 February 2012.

A POLISH man charged with a drink-driving offence after being stopped on Reckleford in Yeovil has had the case adjourned for an interpreter to be present.

Rafal Ryszard Szlarski, 22, of Queens Road, Bridgwater, appeared before South Somerset Magistrates charged with driving with excess alcohol and not in accordance with a licence on December 17.

The court proceedings had to be halted due to the defendant's lack of comprehension.

He was ordered to return to the court on January 20 when a Polish interpreter will assist him.

In the meantime he was given unconditional bail.

A GROUP of Polish rough sleepers bedding down in a car park have been found permanent homes.

The former migrant workers had attracted complaints to police and local councils for frequenting the West Hendford car park in Yeovil.

They had taken over one corner of it to sleep each night after losing their jobs and falling on hard times.

But working with the police and other agencies, staff at Yeovil Night Shelter have managed to secure the group beds at Barnabas House in Newton Road.

This means that all 19 homeless people who were known to night shelter staff and volunteers are now off the streets.

Shelter administrator Christine Mason said: "It's a really positive thing and workers at Barnabas House have been fantastic.

"The people sleeping in the car park were obviously very vulnerable there and finding them a home has been difficult.

"Barnabas will offer an aftercare worker too, so they can hopefully look forward to a better future, finding their own homes eventually and looking for work.

"This means that all of the people known to us have a secure roof over their heads, not just for one or two nights but for the foreseeable future.

"There will still be some homeless people who are not known to us yet or who don't want that kind of help and we will still be there for them."

The night shelter stopped offering dormitory accommodation in August after a change in government policy.

However, it still provides homeless people with clean and dry clothes, a hot meal and a shower.

Mrs Mason added: "Now we're not offering overnight accommodation any more I think we are actually offering more long-term help for those people.

"It has actually been a very positive change and we will be doing much more of that sort of work in the new year.

"It's a good direction to be heading in."