A man in his 50s was taken to hospital yesterday with serious head and chest injuries after he was hit by a car at the Forest Retail Park in London Road, Thetford.

At about 14:45, a BMW 320i hit a parked Renault Traffic van which was shunted into a man who was standing at the rear of the van.

The BMW then hit two more parked cars, a BMW 116 and a Vauxhall Zafira.

Officers are keen to hear from anyone who witnessed the incident.

A consultation into proposals to merge two Great Yarmouth schools has led to a slight change of plan.

The Inspiration Trust will still combine Trafalgar College and the Charter Academy next year, on the Charter's existing site on Salisbury Road.

But it will delay the start of the new sixth form until 2021 - two years later than planned, when pupil numbers should have increased.

Matt Hancock, the Conservative MP for West Suffolk, says although no more money was pledged, his meeting with the Roads Minister Jesse Norman on Monday evening was "positive".

"Take the Fiveways roundabout for example - about five years ago we got that incredible improvement to the dual carriageway, the A11, but there's clear problems at Fiveways [roundabout at Mildenhall]," said Mr Hancock.

"We've [already] got a commitment to half a billion pounds to put in traffic lights which most people think would have a good impact in the short term.

"The other thing that was interesting is the longer term question - we need really the dual carriageway to run all the way through and have the roundabout separate rather than everyone having to stop at the roundabout.

"Now that obviously is a much more expensive piece of work, but that's on the table too."

Andrew Sinclair
BBC Look East political correspondent

One of UKIP's senior MEPs has attacked a group of Great Yarmouth defectors as "disloyal, depressing and disgusting".

Seven of the 12 UKIP councillors on town's Borough Council have switched to the Conservatives, giving the Tories full control of the local authority.

One of them, Kay Grey, said that after the Leave result in the EU referendum "many voters feel this is UKIP's job done".

Norfolk farmer Stuart Agnew, a UKIP MEP for the East of England whose office is in Great Yarmouth, said "The Conservatives are not getting Brexit right, without UKIP the Tories are going to be able to get away with an unsatisfactory Brexit.

"Now is not the time to leave."

A new housing estate is being planned for Hunstanton to up the number of affordable homes there.

Estate agents say there's been a steep rise in house prices over the past five or six years, driven by the demand for second homes.

Dale Gagen, an officer from King's Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council, external, says with a government grant they could build a number of affordable homes in partnership with developers: "What we've managed to do, is the council's come up with the site, the government's come up with some grant money.

"We've put the two together and we're able to build these additional 14 properties for people in Hunstanton."

One of the defectors says that after the EU referendum "many voters feel this is UKIP's job done".

Jill Lunn suffered a heart attack while trapped under a heavy metal gate that had fallen on her.

BBC Radio Norfolk's Rob Butler has been to today's Norwich City press conference ahead of the visit of Wolves in The Championship tomorrow:

Michael Sousa, 12, was warned by a teacher about sliding on the day of his death, an inquest hears.

The new road near Norwich is due to open on 12 November.

Helen Burchell
BBC News

This rather sheepish looking dog had to be rescued after getting himself into a spot of bother while out for "walkies".

Image source, Cambs Fire and Rescue Service

The German shepherd-Rottweiler cross had managed to get stuck in a deep muddy ditch in Coldham near Wisbech on Friday.

Two crews used a long ladder to rescue him, after Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue Service was called by his distraught owner.

Image source, Cambs Fire and Rescue Service

"The owner heard his dog whimpering in the dyke and tried getting him out himself. The dog got further up the dyke, but became very tired," a spokesman said.

They had to wrap the cold, muddy dog in blankets before he was taken to be checked over by a vet.

"The owner of the dog did the right thing by getting in touch with the fire service," the spokesman added.

"We always encourage dog owners to contact us to avoid putting themselves at risk."

Andrew Sinclair
BBC Look East political correspondent

Opposition councillors on Norfolk County Council have attacked next year's proposed budget describing the plans as "vague and lacking detail".

The ruling Conservatives insisted that greater efficiency could lead to better services.

Under the proposals which are going out to consultation, there will be £41m cuts over the next four years, including savings having to be found for budgets covering children's centres, road maintenance and bus services.

But the council can't provide details yet about the effects on individual projects or services.

The leader of the Labour group, Steve Morphew, told today's Policy & Resources Committee, external "people out there deserve answers", while Dan Roper for the Liberal Democrats described the forthcoming consultation as "a sham".

"If there are going to be cuts, why doesn't the council come out and say there will be cuts?" Mr Roper asked.

Council leader Cliff Jordan said he wanted to provide better services by being more efficient with a declining budget.

"It's not about cuts," he said.

"We know we're not going to get as much money [from central government] - it's about trying to get the best we can with the money we have."

The authority will finalise its budget for 2018-19 in February.

Early plans for a proposed new school and nursery in North Lynn are going on show later this week.

The proposal is to relocate the existing St Edmund’s Academy, external primary to a brand new site on the Lovell housing development. A new school building with up-to-date classrooms and a playing field would be built, along with a nursery.

The new building would allow the school to increase its roll from 315 to 420 places, with the potential to expand further if needed.

The plans will be on view at the following times/places:

• Wednesday, 1 November - Active Lynnsport, Greenpark Avenue, King's Lynn from 10:00 to 14:00
• Thursday, 2 November - St Edmund's Academy, Kilham's Way, King's Lynn from 15:30- 18:00

Norfolk County Council says the events will enable people to see the early designs before a detailed application is submitted in the near future.

If a future planning application is approved, it's hoped work could start in summer 2018, with completion the following year.

The MP for Norwich North has held a surgery at the Britvic factory in Norwich, for employees concerned at the potential closure of the site.

Image source, Chloe Smith

Chloe Smith (Conservative) met with employees at the end of last week and listened to their concerns, whilst updating them on the work she is doing to support the closure-prevention campaign.

Last week, Chloe met the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in Westminster, to discuss the possible closures of Britvic and Unilever’s operations in Norwich.

Chloe emphasised that around 350 jobs could be at risk.

People in Fakenham will find out later on if they will keep the Highfield Road car park.

A consultation, external about the future of the land at Highfield Road saw 200 people respond, with the majority in favour of keeping the facility.

Now North Norfolk District Council officers are recommending it's kept as a car park and that £75,000 of improvements are made.

Image source, Google

Annie-Claussen Reynolds and Roy Reynolds, councillors for Fakenham's Lancaster ward, said: "We are pleased that so many people completed the survey and once it was clear that the majority wanted to keep the car park this gave us a steer.

"We have requested that the toilets are refurbished, and, also, a couple of coach places are provided."

Councillors vote on the issue today.

Andrew Sinclair
BBC Look East political correspondent

Further proposed cuts to public spending of £41m, and a 4.9% increase in council tax, are being discussed by Norfolk County Council as it begins the process of drawing up next year's budget this morning.

Members of the Policy & Resources Committee, external are expected to launch a consultation into the proposals which are fairly "broad brush" at the moment.

They include:

• making some people with disabilities contribute towards the cost of their care
• a "remodelling" of children's centres which could see some closed or moved into other council buildings
• a cut in subsidy for bus services
• a reduction in non-safety critical highway maintenance
• a reduction in the number of roads gritted

The council leader Cliff Jordan says the Conservatives are committed to being as efficient as possible with the budget, with the aim of helping those most in need.

But the Labour group leader Steve Morphew says the cuts have gone too far, telling BBC Radio Norfolk this morning "we're now down to the bone, we're beyond the bone".

The £41m cuts cover the next four years. The council's annual budget is £1.4bn.

A bike-sharing scheme will start in Norwich tomorrow, making it the fourth city in Britain to get the bikes, which can be picked up and dropped off anywhere within a defined zone.

The scheme, which is run by OFO, external, will see 200 bikes available from 50p an hour.

Users pick up a bike, unlock it via a mobile phone app, ride it where they want to go, then leave it there, ready for someone else to use.

Image source, OFO

Mike Stonard, a city councillor, says they've made sure there's a code of conduct within the scheme to prevent bikes being discarded or badly parked: "Anybody abandoning a bike is immediately off the scheme and anybody who breaks transport regulations for example, there's a 'two strikes and you're out' system.

"For good behaviour you get additional points, for bad behaviour you lose points," he said.

"If they get down to zero points they're off the scheme and they're not allowed to use it any more."

Image source, OFO

Chris Goreham
BBC Radio Norfolk sport

Norwich City lost striker Nelson Oliveira just 10 minutes after he came on as a substitute in Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Derby County at Carrow Road.

The Portuguese international suffered a calf problem and had to be replaced as The Canaries lost a league game for the first time since August.

Image source, Getty Images

Oliveira has been battling a groin problem this season, but head coach Daniel Farke told me this is a new concern.

"It would be good to have him back on the pitch, but it doesn't look too good and we have to wait and see what the doctor says," he said.

Sam Winnall's late winner for Derby County condemns Norwich City to their second defeat in five days.