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Mariam Issimdar
BBC News

The wildlife charity poised to buy Hickling Broad after raising its target of £1m says the public can be reassured the wetland will benefit from the takeover.

The Norfolk Wildlife Trust needed to raise the cash to purchase 655 acres of the privately owned Hickling Broad Estate that were put on the open market in September 2016. 

The purchase of Hickling Broad, the largest in Norfolk and Suffolk, will be the trust's biggest land purchase and more than 1,400 acres of reedbed, fen, grazing marsh, open water and woodland make up the Hickling Broad reserve.

Its wetland habitats have already been restored by Norfolk Wildlife Trust, to offer a year-round haven for threatened wildlife such as swallowtail butterflies, marsh harriers, Norfolk hawker dragonflies and the bittern.  

Brendan Joyce, from the trust, said: "In our hands we know it's safe. We know it will be managed well not only for wildlife but for all the people that enjoy it." 

Image source, Evelyn Simak/Geograph

Image source, BBC/Andy Hay

Norfolk Wildlife Trust has reached its target of raising £1m in less than six months to buy Hickling Broad.

The largest broad in Norfolk and Suffolk, it is home to the booming bittern one of the UK's rarest breeding birds, external.

About £100,000 of the target was raised by the general public within the first three weeks of the appeal. The trust has also been helped in the purchase with a £1m loan by the Garfield Weston Foundation.

Brendan Joyce, the trust's chief executive, says: "We hadn't realised the extent to which it's seen as such a special place in the hearts and minds of so many people in Norfolk but also elsewhere. 

"We had a lot of donations from outside of the county as well."

Jay Lawrence
BBC Radio Norfolk

Image source, Getty Images

Travelling Norwich City fans were treated to a rare win on the road as the Canaries beat Preston 3-1 in the Championship. 

Graham Dorrans and Josh Murphy put them 2-nil up at half-time, before James Maddison sealed the win with a goal on his league debut. 

Manager Alan Irvine said his side showed enough quality early on to produce the goods.

"We were excellent in the first-half. We could have had more goals, particularly the one [chance] right before half-time, which could have killed the game off. 

"We knew there would be a reaction from Preston... We had some more chances in the second-half, we didn't play as well as we did in the first-half. Thankfully, we got the third goal just before the end."

Jay Lawrence
BBC Radio Norfolk

Norwich City bucked their recent away form with a win at Preston North End yesterday.

Goals from Graham Dorrans, Josh Murphy and a strike from James Maddison on his league debut gave City a 3-1 victory at Deepdale.

The Canaries' record on the road this season has been dismal with last night's Championship win the first in seven attempts.

Image source, Getty Images

Interim head coach Alan Irvine said his team selection showed what Norwich are capable of.

"What people have probably seen is that I like playing gifted, talented, attacking players. 

"I try to get as many on the team sheet as I possibly can without it being an unbalanced team, as you clearly have to have a defensive shape when you don't have the ball.

"I thought the players did really well today."

Kate Kinsella
BBC Look East weather

It's a chilly start to the day, with figures in low single figures, and one or two of us do have a few showers, but most of us should see a decent amount of sunshine. 

The further west you are, the drier the day and the more sunshine you'll see,  but you'll still have the chilly north-easterly breeze. 

The showers will mainly affect more easterly parts, and the east coast, but they should die away. 

Top temperature across the region of 12C (54F).

Watch my full regional forecast here:

Mariam Issimdar
BBC News

Good morning from the team at Norfolk Live.

We hope you've had a great Easter and not overdone it on the choccies. 

You can check back with us regularly to find out what's been happening around the county and don't forget, you can keep us posted too with news from your area by contacting us through the "Get involved" button at the top of the stream. 

We start with news that Norfolk Wildlife Trust has reached its target of raising a million pounds to buy one of the UK's most important national nature reserves. More details on this story shortly. 

The weather is up next. 

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