A plea to save a "vital" direct train service from Norwich to Liverpool has been made to government.

Image source, N Chadwick/Geograph

Norfolk County Council's environment, development and transport committee has written an open letter to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, emphasising how important its sees the direct Norwich to Liverpool Lime Street service.

It comes after a central government consultation, external into the future of the East Midlands franchise questioned whether the service would be better off split in either Nottingham or Sheffield.

Terry Jermy, Labour councillor, said more journey connections could only result in problems for travellers.

"It only takes one train to be late and the rest of the connections are affected," he said.

The franchise is currently run by Stagecoach-owned East Midlands Trains but this expires in August next year. The Department for Transport has yet to comment.

Jason Noble
Suffolk Local Democracy Reporter

Ipswich Maritime Festival bosses are preparing to hoist the colours for the event's return this year, as organisers have confirmed it will be held annually once again.

In 2016 Ipswich Borough Council said that the event would be held every two years in order to have a stronger offering, with a smaller Waterfront Festival in the intervening years.

But organisers have now confirmed that the event will be every year once again - with 2018's event set to be the "biggest and best" yet.

The weekend, external will run from 10:00 on 18 and 19 August, and feature a host of new additions including pirate re-enactments joining the usual sailor displays, water taxis transporting visitors from one end of the festival to the other, and a Jack Sparrow lookalike.

Image source, Ipswich Borough Council

Sixteen colonies of bees in hives, weighing about 50kg (7st 10lb) each, have been stolen from an address in Braintree.

The hives were stolen from a site between Beazley End and Bocking Churchstreet between 20:00 on Thursday and 08:00 on Friday.

Essex Police is asking anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the area at the time to get in touch.

Image source, Gloucestershire Constabulary

Tributes have been paid to a soldier who died in a crash in Gloucestershire.

Joshua Gilbert-Bufton, 20, was killed when the VW Golf he was driving collided with a lorry on the A417 on Crickley Hill at about 4am on Wednesday 16 May.

His family said he grew up in Torquay before moving to Hereford and joining the army at 19 years old.

This newborn is quickly finding his feet and spending quality time with mum down on the farm.

League Two side Cambridge United sign centre-back Louis John from Sutton United on a free transfer.

A metal pole crashes through a car, passing through the steering wheel and close to a child seat.

A former soldier deployed to Iraq killed himself after a battle with post traumatic stress disorder.

Former Norwich City and Inter Milan "legends" went head-to-head at Carrow Road on Saturday to mark the approaching 25th anniversary of City's UEFA Cup run.

Almost 18,000 watched Canaries favourites - including nine from the original squad - host a charity friendly with Inter Forever with Mike Walker, club manager at the time, returning to the dug-out to take charge of the Norwich team.

Darren Eadie, Darren Huckerby, Iwan Roberts, Paul McVeigh and Grant Holt combined to create what Radio Norfolk's Rob Butler suggested was "the best forward line ever seen at Carrow Road", external.

Former Germany international Jurgen Klinsmann was among those playing for the Italian side.

The match, which ended in a 2-1 win for Inter Forever, raised funds for The Nest, a £10.9m community sports hub near Norwich Airport.

Plans for a new waste recycling centre and highways depot have hit a snag.

Image source, Lewis Clarke / Geograph

The proposed site near Norwich Airport would not be cost-effective, according to Norfolk County Council officers.

Nicola Young, waste infrastructure manager, said: "At this stage it is not possible to demonstrate that revenue savings would be delivered for either the highways or district depot elements to offset the required capital investment."

The lease on Mile Cross Recycling Centre is due to end in 2021.

Street cleaning vehicles, highway maintenance and a salt store for gritting would also need to be located at the new depot.

Capital funding of £2.75m has been allocated for the recycling centre in the 2018/19 budget.

The original plaque at the author's former home was crumbling, says his appreciation society.

Fred, a 10-year-old labrador, has taken the ducklings "under his paw" at an Essex tourist attraction.

Two Essex police officers plead not guilty to misconduct in a public office, the Old Bailey hears.

Details of all the county cricket signings and departures from the 2018 season.

The club said the unnamed player was "our brother, our family, our friend".

Essex host Glamorgan in the One-Day Cup group stage – listen to BBC local radio commentary.

A teenage girl remains in an induced coma in a critical condition a week after being hit by a car.

The collision, involving a grey BMW i3 happened on Wisbech Road, Westry, at about 17:10 last Monday.

The girl was walking home from school at the time.

Cambridgeshire Police has renewed an appeal for anyone who saw it happen to come forward.

PC Ben Patten said it "happened at a busy period, with lots of people present".

The father of Saffie Roussos asks Bono and Ed Sheeran to organise a "modern-day Live Aid".

Police were stopped from responding to an emergency call after someone let the air out of one of their car's tyres.

Officers were on foot patrol in the village of Doddington in Cambridgeshire on Saturday, and had left their car parked in Church Lane for about an hour at 15:30.

Image source, Cambs Police

"Although this may seem funny to some, unfortunately we were unable to respond to help a seriously injured person as a result. This makes the situation much more serious," they wrote on Facebook.

Appealing for witnesses, they added: "Clearly we cannot allow this person to put lives at risk again."