Summary

  • Updates for Wednesday, 21 June 2017

  • The first ever Suffolk Day is here!

  • Kids in wigs: Students mark Suffolk Day by dressing as Ed Sheeran

  • More than 6,000 people take part in Bury St Edmunds plan consultation

  • An Ipswich woman is fined £200 for discarded fag end

  1. Former nurse, 101, fundraising with birthday lapspublished at 10:07 British Summer Time 5 May 2020

    Joan Rich is completing the 560m (1,837ft) loops of her local Suffolk park before her next birthday.

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  2. Lockdown playground upgrade 'something to look forward to'published at 08:49 British Summer Time 5 May 2020

    Although all play areas are currently closed in parks, a council is using the lockdown to revamp one area.

    Ipswich Borough Council, external said to "limit future disruption" and to "give you something to look forward to", work is starting this week on updating Christchurch Park's play area.

    "All staff on site will be following the latest government guidance on safe working," a spokesman added.

    Artist impression of Christchurch Park play areaImage source, Ipswich Borough Council
    Image caption,

    An artist's impression of how the play area could look

  3. Hospital's £6.8m payout over brain damage at birthpublished at 19:49 British Summer Time 4 May 2020

    Mistakes made before and after the boy's birth in 2009 were admitted by the hospital.

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  4. Husband charged with farmhouse shooting murderpublished at 19:29 British Summer Time 4 May 2020

    Peter Hartshorne-Jones, 51, is due to appear before magistrates on Tuesday charged with murder.

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  5. Woman 'may have survived' if pull cords workedpublished at 18:19 British Summer Time 4 May 2020

    Jean Trigg died in hospital after spending 11 hours on the floor of her flat after a fall.

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  6. What the papers are saying in Suffolkpublished at 16:30 British Summer Time 4 May 2020

  7. Women's Tour cancelled for 2020published at 13:55 British Summer Time 4 May 2020

    BBC Sport

    The Women's Tour 2020, which was due to finish in Suffok, has been cancelled for 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, but organisers have confirmed it will be rearranged for June next year.

    The six-stage cycling race, which has been held in Britain every year since 2014, was due to take place from 8-13 June and was initially postponed in March.

    Organisers SweetSpot have applied to cycling's governing body the UCI to stage the next edition between 7-12 June, 2021 using the same planned route.

    Women's tourImage source, Getty Images

    The sixth and final stage is due to be between Haverhill and Felixstowe.

    Hugh Roberts, from SweetSpot, said: "With the extra time now available we look forward to making next year’s Women’s Tour even bigger and better than before and a fantastic celebration of cycling and Britain."

    Councillor James Reeder from Suffolk County Council said the cancellation was the "right decision" and it was looking forward to the race next year.

  8. Rugby players raise £16k for hospital charitypublished at 13:29 British Summer Time 4 May 2020

    Rugby players raised £16,000 for a hospital charity when they ran a socially-distanced relay, covering 180 miles (290km) in 24 hours.

    With no matches to play during lockdown, the Thurston Rangers, external players have been keeping in contact through the team WhatsApp group to "stave off boredom and encourage each other to stay fit".

    One of the players came up with idea that they could run a relay between their home villages.

    Ed Ballam, 1st team captain, with his mum, who he lives with and is an NHS worker, at the end of the run at 05:00 on Sunday at the club. To the left, Oliver Paxman, who came up with the idea of the fundraiser.Image source, Thurston Rangers
    Image caption,

    First team captain Ed Ballam (centre) lives with his mum, who works in the NHS

    Over the weekend, 52 players took part in the Rangers Relay Rainbow Run, keeping themselves two metres apart for their handovers.

    They raised the money for My Wish Charity , externalat West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds.

    Matt Ansell, from the club, said: "As well as the great amount of money raised, the outcome has been a huge amount of pride amongst the players that they and the club have pulled together in this way."

  9. Mask photos show 'emotions and tiredness' of NHSpublished at 00:02 British Summer Time 3 May 2020

    Colin Gray photographs his colleagues to give them "something to look back on in years to come".

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  10. Charity song to spread 'positivity and hope'published at 00:38 British Summer Time 2 May 2020

    "I wanted to try and turn a negative into a positive," says Suffolk singer Serena Grant.

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  11. Three stalls reopen at market closed due to coronaviruspublished at 12:52 British Summer Time 1 May 2020

    Patrick Byrne
    BBC News

    A county town's main street market has reopened after closing six weeks ago due to the coronavirus lockdown, but only with three stalls.

    A fishmonger, bread stall and a general food stall are back in business on Ipswich Market, external, with two-metre social distancing rules applied.

    Ipswich Market

    Fishmonger and market spokesman Mike Young said he was glad to be back, although it would only be on Fridays and Saturdays.

    "We will police people keeping to the rules and we have been quite busy so far with our regular Friday customers who had heard we were open on the radio and from other places," he said.

    "Some fishmongers had kept going (through the lockdown) and the supermarkets also had fish and were very good at policing the 2m distancing rules."

    Ipswich Market

    Mr Young was not worried about supplies of fish, despite Billingsgate (the major fish wholesale market in London) being closed for three weeks and only partially open in the last two weeks.

    "One thing that is going to be huge is the home delivery business. We put something on social media yesterday [Thursday] at teatime and 11,300 people have seen it," he said.

  12. Double rainbows brighten up the skypublished at 09:47 British Summer Time 1 May 2020

    Alex Pope
    BBC News Online

    Rainbow over PeterboroughImage source, David Lowndes

    Children putting their drawings of rainbows in their windows has become part of coronavirus lockdown culture.

    And on Thursday evening, just a clap for carers was taking place, real double rainbows were seen above the skies in the East.

    David Lowndes, a photographer for the Peterborough Telegraph, external, captured this amazing double rainbow above Peterborough Hospital (above).

    ‪In Mildenhall, Suffolk Police, external, said: "We're not the treasure at the end of the rainbow - that will be the time we can all hold our friends and family once again."

    Rainbow and police carImage source, Suffolk Police

    And in Basildon, Essex police officers took a photo of this double rainbow...

    Rainbow over police carImage source, Essex Police
  13. Hospital launches email and voice message service for patientspublished at 18:01 British Summer Time 30 April 2020

    A hospital trust has set up a new email and messaging service to allow relatives and friends to maintain contact with patients during the Covid-19 pandemic when visiting is restricted.

    The Letters to Loved Ones, external service, using email or a voicemail for the team to deliver, has been established by the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, external, which covers Colchester and Ipswich hospitals, Aldeburgh, Clacton, Halstead, Harwich and Felixstowe community hospitals and Bluebird Lodge near Ipswich.

    Covid-19

    “We understand that it is really difficult to not be able to visit the people you care about while they are in hospital, particularly in these challenging times," chief executive Nick Hulme said.

  14. Street celebrates isolating couple's 70th anniversarypublished at 16:14 British Summer Time 30 April 2020

    Eastern Daily Press

    A couple in Beccles hoping to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary with family and friends, until the coronavirus lockdown postponed their dream, were given a great surprise by their neighbours.

    Percy Harris and his wife Margaret expected to spend the special day with just each other but were pleasantly shocked when neighbours came together in commemoration of their marriage.

    Neighbour Hollie Pigney organised a card to be signed by residents and the town mayor joined them in a round of applause when it was delivered.

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  15. Anger as gang member's murder sentence cutpublished at 19:53 British Summer Time 29 April 2020

    Kyreis Davies was convicted of murdering Tavis Spencer-Aitkens, 17, in Ipswich.

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  16. Coronavirus-claim man who spat on nurses jailedpublished at 19:15 British Summer Time 29 April 2020

    Zeb Fitts was so aggressive the West Suffolk Hospital nurses treated him in a police van, a judge hears.

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  17. What the papers are saying in Suffolkpublished at 15:52 British Summer Time 29 April 2020

  18. Ipswich Waterfront to close to traffic to make space for exercisepublished at 09:22 British Summer Time 29 April 2020

    Ipswich Waterfront is being closed to traffic from today to allow people to exercise at a safe distance during the coronavirus pandemic.

    University of Suffolk, Ipswich Waterfront

    Social distancing guidlines say that those not self-isolating can exercise once a day but should keep two metres apart from people not in their household.

    The waterfront is a popular thoroughfare for walkers and the closure, between Custom House and Coprolite Street, will last for 21 days.

    Councillor Andrew Reid from Suffolk County Council, external said the temporary closure would "create a safe open space for over 2,000 local residents who live close by, many of whom live in flats, and do not have access to a garden."

    The authority also said it would consider closing other roads for similar purpose in the future.

  19. Ipswich Town players donation buys cases for hospital phonespublished at 08:36 British Summer Time 29 April 2020

    A donation made by four Ipswich Town, external players is being spent on providing NHS workers with protective phone cases designed to prevent infections.

    Jack Lankester, Brett McGavin, Liam Gibbs and Tommy Smith, who all come from the Bury St Edmunds area have made a donation to the My Wish, external charity at West Suffolk Hospital.

    It will be used to buy antimicrobial-type phone cases for doctors and nurses, who use hospital mobile phones to communicate.

    Jack LankesterImage source, Getty Images

    Lankester (pictured), who came up with the idea, said: "My mum and girlfriend work for the NHS and I know a lot of friends who work at West Suffolk Hospital, so I thought there's got to be something we can do.

    "So I got in contact with the charity... and asked if there was anything that needed ordering now or anything that we can just order for you."

  20. Tribute to East of England NHS staff who have diedpublished at 18:38 British Summer Time 28 April 2020

    More than 100 NHS staff and health workers in the UK have now died with coronavirus, it has been confirmed.

    As the nation fell silent at 11:00 to remember those who have passed away, here we remember and pay tribute to 14 from the East of England whose deaths have been reported to the media.