We asked yesterday whether you think there should be a real Christmas tree in Ipswich town centre rather than the steel structure which is currently used.

Paul Osborne has emailed us saying: "We took a straw poll in our club today, not one person, approximately 30 of us, had a good thing to say about this silver thing.

"Everyone agreed that a traditional tree is the right thing for the county town of Suffolk.

"Children will soon lose the whole idea of Christmas if this nonsense continues."

Image source, Ipswich Borough Council

Ipswich woman Sylvia Mitchell has launched a petition asking for the return of a "real" tree, which has more than 600 signatures.

Ipswich Central, external says it'll only consider buying a traditional tree if businesses in the town, who pay for it, call for one.  

Kelly McCormack
BBC Radio Suffolk

This morning, a conservation expert is going to attempt to uncover part of a Carl Giles cartoon which has been masked by paint in an Ipswich pub for more than 20 years.

Image source, Giles archive

Fans of his work are hoping the huge cartoon, on the wall in the former Sporting Farmer (which became the Drum and Monkey), will see the light of day again.

Giles enthusiast John Field has told BBC Suffolk he's unsure it'll ever be fully restored.

Graeme Mac
BBC Radio Suffolk sport

It is more than a month since Teddy Bishop last featured in an Ipswich Town starting eleven, but the midfielder is in line for a recall this weekend.

Manager Mick McCarthy says the 20-year-old is over his injury nightmare and ready to add more creativity to the Blues midfield for the visit of Huddersfield Town on Saturday.

"I've been willing him to be fully fit to play 90 minutes for the last 18 months. He gets there and then he breaks his nose!" McCarthy said.

"However, that's a tiny one and he's over that, so hopefully he can start."

Graeme Mac
BBC Radio Suffolk sport

Nine points separate Ipswich Town from Championship leaders Huddersfield ahead of the two teams' meeting at Portman Road tomorrow, but Blues boss Mick McCarthy says it has not been a poor start from his team.

"There's been some good, some bad, and some indifferent," he said at his pre-match press conference.

"In terms of solid performances, I'd say we've been good on the whole.

"We had a half at Brentford that was below our standards, and against Leeds we weren't as good as we could have been, but we weren't awful."

Graeme Mac
BBC Radio Suffolk sport

Josh Emmanuel clearly has the build of a centre-half, but the 19-year-old says his immediate Ipswich Town future is at right back.

Emmanuel, who made his first start of the season on Tuesday night, will be back in the Ipswich side for tomorrow's match at home to Championship leaders Huddersfield.

"I think I'm too attacking minded to be a centre back. I enjoy right back and that is my position," Emmanuel said.

"I'm thankful to the gaffer and TC [Terry Connor] for the opportunity. I want to improve every game and every training session." 

Pictures and a plea issued by the mother of Corrie Mckeague, the serviceman who's been missing since the early hours of Saturday morning, have been shared more than 160,000 times.

He was last seen in Bury St Edmunds during a night out in the town.

Image source, Suffolk Police

Yesterday Nicola Urqhart, his mum, posted the messag, externale: "Thank you from the very bottom of my heart to every single person who has shared my post, I am so sorry I've not been able to thank everyone individually."

The search continues to find the serviceman, who is stationed at RAF Honington.

BBC Travel

Elizabeth Rizzini
BBC Look East weather

It's the last day of September, and statistically it's been a very warm month with lots of sunshine.

And there's more sunshine today, although there'll be heavy showers from late morning into the early afternoon.

Temperatures reaching 18(C) (64F). Watch my full forecast:

BBC Weather has more details for where you live.

Philippa Taylor
BBC Local Live

Welcome back to our live coverage.

We'll be finding out the latest in the search for missing RAF serviceman Corrie Mckeague, and discovering what people feel about plans to ban dogs from part of Southwold beach for eight months of the year.

And of course, we'll take a look at the local papers and bring you the very latest sporting news from across the county.

But we'll start with the all-important weather forecast shortly...

That's it for our live updates today, although any breaking news will appear here overnight.

We'll be back at 08:00. Thanks for joining us and have a good evening.

Alex Dolan
BBC Look East weather

A fine end to the day and staying dry overnight with lengthy clear spells. Turning chilly with temperatures dropping to single figures. Lows of 7-9C (45-48F) tonight.

There will be a dry and bright start to Friday with some pleasant spells of autumn sunshine. Some isolated showers developing later, mainly affecting western counties. Highs of 18C (64F).

For more details see BBC Weather.

Graeme Mac
BBC Radio Suffolk sport

Josh Emmanuel (below, right) is set to continue at right-back for Ipswich Town this weekend, just a few days after starting for the first time this campaign against Brighton.

Image source, Getty Images

The 19-year-old, who made seven appearances for the Blues last season, says the highlight of his career to date was playing against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the League Cup. 

"I remember looking up and seeing too many faces to even describe what was going on!" Emmanuel said. 

"It was a great experience but I was a bit disappointed that Memphis wasn't playing for them on the night because that would have been a good test!"

Mike Cartwright
BBC Look East

It's been a busy three months for Shaun Whiter, much of it taken up with return visits to Addenbrooke's Hospital and physiotherapy and pilates sessions.

But there's one goal uppermost in his mind.

Image source, David Lee

"I want to get upright. The main thing obviously is walking down the aisle," he said.

He's due to marry fiancee Charlotte Way next July and in order to walk down that aisle he tells me he'll do "anything I can to get upright, really."

Tommy Flowers, who now has a educational institute named after him at BT Adastral Park in Martlesham Heath, was a significant member of the code-breaking team who worked at Bletchley Park (pictured) during World War Two.

Mr Flowers developed the Colossus machine in 1943 - which is described by BT as the world's first programmable computer.

It was used to break the Germans' Lorenz cipher which, in turn, provided the UK and her allies with information for, among other things, the D-Day landings in 1944.

Flowers worked for the General Post Office, which became British Telecom in 1981.

After the war, he carried out telecommunications research, including the development of the first all-electronic telephone exchange.

Mike Cartwright
BBC Look East

Shaun Whiter was helping his friend and fellow footballer Joey Abbs to change a tyre when the pair were hit by a car.

They were already close, but was the bond between them now unbreakable, I asked.

"Yes, he’s a great friend. I’ve asked him to be one of my ushers at my wedding," Mr Whiter said.

He couldn’t thank Joey enough, he told me.

"He made that call that night to save my life, and made the phone calls to the paramedics.

"He saved my life, and I can’t repay him other than giving him my friendship and trying to support him through this time, because he’s obviously been through it as well."

Mr Whiter lost both his legs in the hit and run and Joey Abbs sustained a serious leg injury in the accident in Newmarket on 1 July.

A new information, communications and technology (ICT) training suite has been opened at BT's research centre near Ipswich and it's named after computer pioneer Tommy Flowers.

The centre at Adastral Park, external at Martlesham will aim to bring together ICT sector organisations and academic researchers to work on areas such as cyber-security.

Dr Tim Whitley, head of research for BT, said: “This institute will bridge the gap between industrial research and the fantastic talent that exists in the academic sector."

Mike Cartwright
BBC Look East

It's only been three months since Shaun Whiter lost his legs in a hit and run accident, but he tells me he's "doing well".

"It’s a tough thing to go through, but I’m trying," he says.

"I’m trying my best, and the support I’ve been getting from family and friends, it’s just been unreal."

It's not just about dealing with the physical changes brought about by the accident, though.

"Mentally, as well as physically... it is really a tough thing to go through," he said.

A former landlord of the Drum and Monkey pub in Ipswich, says Carl Giles was commissioned to create his farm mural "for a case of scotch" - which he never received.

Speaking as the borough council confirmed they'll send a conservator in to see if they can remove the layers of paint that have been put on top of the mural, Bob Williams said: "The mural was actually commissioned by Peter Strutt, from the brewery, for a case of scotch. 

"He never did get his case of scotch, poor old Carl, he moaned about it every day of his life." 

Mr Williams added that Carl did the outline "and he had students from the art college come and fill in". 

"I was there nine years and I used to look at it every day, you'd always see something different," said Mr Williams.

An Ipswich woman who's campaigning for the borough council to reinstate a "real" Christmas tree in the town centre says the current one resembles "hamster cage balls".

Image source, Ipswich borough council

Sylvia Mitchell has launched a petition, which has more than 600 signatures, and which she'll hand over to the council next month.

She says: "A  lot of people don't like the white tree, they prefer the traditional one, especially for the children.

"I don't like them at all, I think they're absolutely awful, they look like hamster cage balls."

Ipswich Central, external says it'll only consider buying a traditional tree if businesses in the town, who pay for it, call for one.

What do you think? Would you prefer a "real" tree? Send us an email, or post a message on our Facebook page, external.

Mike Cartwright
BBC Look East

I've just been speaking to Shaun Whiter, who lost his legs in a hit and run accident in Newmarket.

He's told me he's determined to walk down the aisle when he marries his fiancee next year.