Norwich Evening News

Family left distraught by war medals theft is today's front page story for the Norwich Evening News, external :

Image source, Norwich Evening News

Jonathan Head
BBC South East Asia Correspondent

An appeal court in Thailand has upheld  the death sentences against two Burmese men for the murders of two British tourists in 2014. 

Image source, PA

Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were convicted of the murders of Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Hemsby near Great Yarmouth, and David Miller, 24, of Jersey, in December 2015.

The controversial investigation was marred by questions over the quality of the DNA testing on which the conviction was based. 

Lawyers for the two men can now appeal to the Supreme Court.

Jill Bennett
BBC Radio Norfolk

There was a touch of the red carpet at Thornham Village Hall last night.

The hall has gained quite a reputation for its film shows and satellite link-ups with Covent Garden, Glyndebourne and the National Theatre.

Now it's installed the very latest technology to bring surround sound and high definition pictures to local audiences. 

Meanwhile, just over the border in Suffolk, the main musical acts performing at this year's Latitude Festival in Suffolk have been revealed.

The 1975, Mumford and Sons and Fleet Foxes will be headlining the festival at Henham Park, near Southwold, in July. 

The festival, now in its 12th year, kicked off in 2006 with the likes of Snow Patrol, Patti Smith and Paolo Nutini, and has grown ever since. 

Nanette Aldous
BBC Radio Norfolk

Part of a main road into Norwich will be closed today to remove a fallen tree which came down as a result of Storm Doris.

A crane needs to be put in place on Bracondale.

It means the road city-bound between County Hall and the King Street turning will be closed between 09:00 and 16:30.

Traffic is being diverted via Hall Road. 

There's a spot of trouble on the mainline at Manningtree...

BBC Weather

It's going to start out bright, with sunny spells , but perhaps the odd isolated shower for much of the day. 

Cloud will increase and will bring rain to some areas during the evening from the southwest. It'll feel chilly in the rather brisk west or south-west winds. Maximum temperature 9C (48F).

Kate Williams
BBC Local Live

Well good morning Norfolk, and welcome back from us at BBC Local Live. 

We'll be bringing you regular, bite-size news throughout the day - with all the news, sport, weather and travel. 

There's a spot of trouble on the trains further down the line at Manningtree, which we'll bring you news of shortly. But next up, the weather.

The government wins a High Court injunction blocking industrial action by prison staff.

That's all from the Norfolk Live team - unless a major story breaks our next scheduled updates will begin at 08:00 tomorrow.

Scroll down to see the stories we've brought you today, but here's a quick recap of some of the main ones:

• Norfolk's chief constable says people caught viewing child sex images online should not always be sent to prison
• New roundabout planned for accident blackspot
• Lorry driver admits guilt over steam engine crash that injured six people

Before we go, a reminder that Bracondale in Norwich will close shortly after 09:00 tomorrow to inbound traffic for work to remove a storm-damaged tree.

Julie Reinger
BBC Look East weather

It will be a cloudy start to the night, with showers and longer spells of rain continuing to push in from the west.

Skies will then clear and temperatures could fall low enough in some sheltered spots to allow a frost.

Wednesday will get off to a cold and bright start.

Thicker cloud and rain will eventually push in from the south-west, but there is still some uncertainty as to how quickly this will happen, and how far north the rain will get during daylight hours. 

There'll be light to moderate south-westerly winds and highs of 9C (48F).

BBC Weather  has a more detailed forecast for where you live.  

Both city-bound lanes of Bracondale in Norwich will close shortly after 09:00 when a crane arrives on site for the removal of a dangerous tree.

A large tree in the rear garden of a property cleaved in half during Storm Doris, and has damaged a nearby property. The half that has gone through the house needs to be removed in pieces.

The remaining half of the tree is very precarious and needs to be removed before the expected stronger winds later this week.

A crane will be used to lift each piece out over the roofs of the houses. As this happens the outbound lane may also be closed for a time.

Image source, Google

The work is expected to finish by 16:00. If not, the site will be left safe and work will continue on Sunday.

Diversions will be signed from just before the A47 slip roads into the A146 Trowse bypass junction, and traffic will be directed via the A146 to the Hall Road roundabout where traffic will then be diverted into the city.

Traffic that uses Martineau Lane can access the roundabout to County Hall and Trowse.

The chairwoman of an influential House of Commons committee has written to Norfolk's chief constable, Simon Bailey, to ask for immediate reassurances that police are not planning to change their approach to child sex offences straight away.

Mr Bailey, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for child protection, has said people men caught viewing indecent images of children online should not always face a criminal charge.

Yvette Cooper said Mr Bailey's comments were of "great concern" to the cross-party committee. The Labour MP added that his suggestions that the system couldn't cope with 400 arrests a month for looking at indecent images of children "raises some very serious concerns about the sale of online child abuse... the level of resourcing the police have available to deal with it... and the priority being given to it by police forces."

Staff at an independent bookshop in Norwich say they're baffled by comments made about them by the author Susan Hill.

Ms Hill, who wrote The Woman in Black, has written an article for a national newspaper, external claiming The Book Hive promoted anti-Donald Trump views while banning those that support the American president. She's now cancelled a planned public appearance at the London Street shop.

Image source, Google

Deputy manager Rory Hill says they're surprised and upset by the author's comments, saying they stock as they see fit for the local community, and have never banned or intentionally not stocked a book.

"We have books about Donald Trump in the shop right now that are neither pro or against, the same way we had books for and against Brexit, and the same way we had books in the general election for and against every single political party... on the same token should we not want to do that we're also entitled to because it's our shop... but we stock as we see fit what customers want in Norwich," he said.

Mr Hill says Ms Hill has never been in the shop, and has given no reason for cancelling the event with them, for which it has lost money.

We have put a request in to Ms Hill for comment. 

It was a flipping fun-filled time in Great Yarmouth earlier today, as runners "batter-ed" it out in a series of pancake races.

"Egged-on" by spectators, teams of four whisked their way to the finishing line, tossing their pancakes with varying degrees of skill.

And it was all in the name of charity - to support the town's food bank.

Andrew Woodger
BBC News

As the defence continues in the trial of a man accused of murdering Peter and Sylvia Stuart, the defendant has been asked about tattoos on his shoulders.

The man, who says he is Vital Dapi, says he has an eagle on his left shoulder, but that it is has one head, unlike the double-headed eagle on the Albanian flag. 

On his right shoulder is a picture of a lion. 

Max Hill, his defence counsel, asked if he had any bullet wounds or scars, and he said he did not. 

He also said he would be prepared to show his tattoos and lack of scars to the court, but he has not been asked to do so yet.

The defendant says he travelled to Greece from Albania in January 2016 and described looking for work by going to Omonia Square in Athens in the hope of getting hired. 

He says he planned to travel to Luxembourg in May last year.

The defendant has told Ipswich Crown Court that on 4 June he left Athens by road having paid 300 Euro to get to Luxembourg in a caravan. 

Peter and Sylvia Stuart, who were last seen in Pulham Market on 29 May, were reported missing from their home in Weybread on 3 June and Mr Stuart's body was found that evening. 

The defendant, who the prosecution says lived in Tilbury, says he arrived in Luxembourg on 6 June having travelled via Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Austria and Germany. 

He separated from his fellow travellers in Luxembourg City. 

He said he had had to leave his passport with the people who arranged his travel and did not have it any more.

Samantha Dalton
BBC Essex

A 53-year-old lorry driver has admitted dangerous driving after six people were seriously injured when a steam engine came loose from the back of a lorry and crashed into a bus in Essex. 

Philip Last, of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was at the wheel of a low-loader in West Mersea, where the crash happened on 23 September, 2015.

He pleaded guilty to six counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving on the first day of a trial at Ipswich Crown Court. 

"Your negligence in securing your load had obviously very grave consequences," Judge David Goodin said.

"At the forefront of my mind is an immediate custodial sentence." 

The case was adjourned until 22 March for pre-sentence reports.

The man accused of murdering a couple in Suffolk claims he had never even been to the UK before his arrest, a court hears.