Some of Newmarket's famous racehorses are showing support for the NHS with new sheets emblazoned with a rainbow heart.

Rainbows have become a sign of solidarity and support for the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic.

The distinctive new sheets can be seen in a video by Newmarket Racecouse sharing messages of support for Addenbrooke's, West Suffolk and Newmarket hospitals from jockey Frankie Dettori and trainer John Gosden.

Three died with coronavirus while the disease is linked to the five other deaths, managers say.

Seaside spots around the east coast that would normally be teeming with visitors were eerily quiet as people observed the coronavirus lockdown over the Easter weekend.

Apart from a few residents taking their permitted exercise and giving their dogs a stretch on the sand, popular beaches in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex were almost empty, these aerial pictures show.

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council went as far as publicising a "Don't Visit Southend" campaign before the weekend, urging tourists to stay away to protect the local population.

It thanked people on Twitter for staying at home and said nearly £10m in grants had been paid out to 944 small businesses to try and keep them afloat during the pandemic.

Tourists largely stayed away from East of England seaside spots as people heeded the coronavirus lockdown.

Emily Woodger says she is "thankful" after her five-month-old daughter was treated for Covid-19.

Aurora's bedroom has been transformed as she cannot have a party with her friends.

Crystal Stanley says the rainbows represent "positivity, hope and togetherness" during the pandemic.

Kesgrave Kruisers says the fun contests are helping runners support each other through the crisis.

Fayaz Ayache stopped working last month but may have visited patients at home since.

Image source, Long Melford FC

A Suffolk junior football club has named the NHS its Player of the Year.

Long Melford Colts and Fillies FC donated the £1,000 it would normally spend on trophies for the end-of-season celebrations to frontline NHS workers instead.

Club chair Rob Bowden said: "Nick Marlow, our under-13s manager, came up with the idea and our management committee unanimously agreed.

"We know clubs up and down the country are already doing a lot to support their local communities, but we hope it's an idea which might catch on."

Two independent food and drink businesses have experienced a surge in online sales after the Coronavirus lockdown hit their usual trade.

Fen Farm Dairy in Bungay, Suffolk, and Flint Vineyard in nearby Earsham, Norfolk, lost wholesale business overnight when restaurants and pubs were forced to shut.

Jonny Crickmore of Fen Farm - which sells raw milk, butter and cheese - said it had to furlough six staff and slow down the maturing process on its Brie, which it stopped producing for two weeks.

However, it noticed a boost in online sales and more people using its vending machines at roadside kiosks, which are regularly cleaned and have hand-sanitiser for customers

Ben Witchell, of Flint, said it closed the vineyard to the public for tours, which had a knock-on effect on sales.

"People have been going online and buying it - hopefully this has opened a new avenue to us," he said.

"We would be doing 20 cases a week but we are doing 20 cases a day.

"It's really positive; we're doing really well."

Let's take a quick look at the newspaper headlines across Suffolk today:

• The Ipswich Star, external is highlighting the work of community heroes in fundraising and collecting for NHS frontline staff, including local businesses that are donating electrical items and essentials during the coronavirus pandemic

• The former Royal Court Hotel in Lowestoft, which has been empty for more than a decade, is to developed into 29 flats and a cafe, says Lowestoft Journal, external
• Suffolk’s most senior Church of England clergyman, the Right Reverend Martin Seeley, says the evil of the coronavirus will be overcome – and sees consolation and hope for all this Easter, reports the Sudbury Mercury, external

A village helped celebrate a boy's eighth birthday at a distance during the lockdown.

Cher Connelly, from Capel St Mary, Suffolk, said her son Mason was "so excited" about his birthday but could not celebrate with friends due to the current situation.

Image source, Cher Connelly

So she posted on the village Facebook page, asking people to put up a sign, sending him birthday wishes, so they would see the messages during their daily walk.

On Wednesday, people had put up banners and posters they had made, some had left out cakes and there was a man juggling outside his house to wish Mason the best.

Ms Connelly said she was "overwhelmed" by the response and that Mason felt like a "Capel celebrity".

Image source, Cher Connelly

Warwick Avenue comes alive at 11am every day with residents dancing on their drives.

Zoe Applegate
BBC News

Trespassers have been warned to stop going on to a bird reserve during the lockdown.

RSPB Minsmere, external, on the Suffolk coast and home of BBC Springwatch for several years, has been closed until further notice.

However, the charity said people have been spotted on the 2,472 acre (1,000 hectare) site and urged them to "stay away to respect the reserve".

Martin and Kate Thacker, their daughters Shannon and Phoebe, two dogs and cat are living in a van.

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

A 46-year-old man has been charged with flouting the rules imposed to ensure people's safety during the coronavirus crisis.

Over a three-day period, police several times requested a man to return to his home after he was found to be in Granville Street in Ipswich without a reasonable excuse.

Despite warnings he persisted and was issued with two fixed penalty notices on Saturday, 4 April but later returned to the area again and was arrested

He has been charged with "contravening a requirement as to the restriction of movement during the emergency period - contrary to regulations of the Health Protection Regulations 2020, external".

He was released on bail and is due to appear at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 20 May.

Image source, UK Government

Racing's first four Classics of the season are postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic while Royal Ascot will not "take place as an event open to the public".

Zoe Applegate
BBC News

A newly-appointed NHS volunteer from Suffolk plans to document his experience by taking selfies with those he helps.

Image source, PA

Daniel Heath, 29, from Haverhil, was prompted to volunteer because his mother and sister work in Covid-19 wards, while his partner is a cardio physiologist.

He is one of 750,000 volunteers reporting for duty from this week to help vulnerable people.

Mr Heath, whose workplace has closed and cannot be furloughed, has already helped deliver an elderly couple's prescription to them.

"I want to take a selfie with everyone I've helped from a distance, and just get them in the background waving or something, and then I can compile hundreds of pictures of all the people I've helped," he said.

"It will be nice to look back and share that with people."

A grieving son warns coronavirus is "everywhere" after his mother died with it in rural Suffolk.