Suffolk's annual celebration day off to a sunny start

Siobhan Taylor, a powerlifting nurse from Haverhill, said she loved the town and it was a place where you could "always find a friend"

Events are being held across Suffolk as part of an annual celebration of all the county has to offer.

Suffolk Day was first held in 2017 and is being hosted in the town of Haverhill, in the west of the county, for this year's event.

The Mayor of Haverhill told the BBC it was a "privilege" for the town to be the focal point this year.

BBC Radio Suffolk has been reporting live from the town, where residents said they were proud of Haverhill and wanted it to get the attention it deserves.

'The people here are lovely'

Greengrocer Paul Firman will have been trading in the town for 36 years next month

Paul Firman said Haverhill had always "been good to me" and gave him a "good living", but he worried that the town was often overlooked.

"We feel quite isolated here because we are not the jewel in the crown," he said.

"We are the second biggest town in Suffolk and we don't seem to get the fair share of the apple...Bury St Edmunds receives the main bob of the wealth.

"This is a great town...the people are lovely here and there is a very friendly strong sense of community."

'Always find a friend in Haverhill'

Decorations have been hung in Haverhill for Suffolk Day

Siobhan Taylor, who lives in the town, works in the intensive care unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

The powerlifting nurse said she loved Haverhill but agreed with Mr Firman.

"It is unfortunate that we feel the services needed to support the population are being pulled away from us...but it is the people that make the town.

"They are the salt of the earth, and you will always find a friend in Haverhill."

Tony Brown brought a 1963 scout car to the event ahead of armed forces day next week