Suffolkcounty

Colchester Zoo is reopening its popular Group Reindeer Experience for Christmas. Groups of up to five can meet reindeer named Alaska, Winter and North, with sessions available at 10am or 3.30pm on selected dates in November, December and January. Participants will meet the animals' keeper and may offer them a treat, though direct contact is not guaranteed.

Channel 4 has announced the recommissioning of Train-ing It with Joe Wilkinson for two further series following a successful debut run. Richard Ayoade, a Suffolk-raised comedian, stars in the first episode of the second series, joining Wilkinson on a train journey. The filming at Ipswich station in late October occurred between dates on Ayoade's Afterthoughts live tour.

The Suffolk Tractor Light Parade returns on Sunday, December 13, with more than 100 tractors decorated in festive lights travelling through east Suffolk. The event will raise funds for three charities: Brave Futures, Home-Start Suffolk and YANA, with organisers aiming to collect more than £13,000. The parade starts and finishes at Clarke & Simpson Auction Centre in Campsea Ashe, with a pre-parade display opening at 3.15pm and the illuminated convoy setting off at 4.30pm.

More than 28,500 homes in East Suffolk waited at least 21 days for food waste collection after new Government recycling rules came into force in June. One address near Halesworth waited 70 days. Over 80 per cent of the eastern district experienced unreliable or non-existent food collections in June and July. Councillor Paul Ashton apologised and said the council was already making improvements and learning lessons from the launch of the new service.

A 78-year-old male cyclist died on Thursday, October 29, from injuries sustained in a crash three weeks earlier. The collision involved a black Hyundai Tucson on the A1156 Felixstowe Road in Ipswich near Trinity Park on Tuesday, October 6, at approximately 5.15pm. The cyclist was airlifted to Addenbrooke's Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Hopsters, an Ipswich craft beer shop founded by Ed Barnes, will move from St Nicholas Street to the former Cult Cafe Bar on Ipswich waterfront, rebranding as Hopsters Dockside. The new venue will feature live music, festivals, tap takeovers and food, with Dough Pusher Pizza also opening there. The St Nicholas Street branch closes on 2 January 2027, with the waterfront location opening on 22 January 2027.

A 27-year-old man was arrested after a woman in her 20s reported being raped at Westbourne Park in Ipswich on November 3 at around 10pm. The man was arrested the following afternoon and released on bail until December 14. Suffolk Constabulary said the parties were believed to be known to each other.

A £12 million upgrade to the Masons Materials Recovery Facility in Great Blakenham in Suffolk has been completed. The facility now processes glass bottles and jars for the first time, supporting the new Better Recycling kerbside scheme launched in June across five Suffolk councils and Braintree district.

Callers known as 'Nottingham Knockers' have been reported in Trimley St Martin and Trimley St Mary, claiming to have served prison sentences and be on youth offending schemes. They attempt to sell everyday household products at high prices to householders. Suffolk Trading Standards advises residents to refuse doorstep callers and avoid pressure to buy, as the group operates without required Pedlar's Certificates and is not part of any legitimate rehabilitation programme.

Harvey and Becca Thompson from Ipswich are calling for greater NHS awareness of cow's milk protein allergy after their son Roman was repeatedly misdiagnosed. Roman showed symptoms from two to three weeks old, including breathing problems, skin rashes and bleeding, but doctors initially attributed his condition to silent reflux and baby acne. He was eventually correctly diagnosed with severe cow's milk protein allergy at the Children's Assessment Unit.

Colchester Zoo has welcomed a second baby chimpanzee born to Tara on 3 November, the second of the endangered species born at the zoo this year. The first, Kiera, arrived in January after a 17-year gap. Both youngsters are granddaughters of the late Billy Jo, and keepers report that the new arrival and its parents are doing well.

Television presenter Paddy McGuinness is bringing his Blast From The Past stand-up tour to Ipswich Regent Theatre on 25 February 2028. The show will blend observational humour with nostalgia for television, music and pop culture. The 33-date UK tour begins in Blackburn in October 2027 and finishes in Birmingham in March 2028.

A Suffolk school avoided being defrauded after staff rejected an invoice for unordered notebooks posted from the USA but claiming a London address. Suffolk Trading Standards is warning schools and other organisations about invoice fraud, where criminals send fake bills or attempt to divert legitimate payments to their own accounts.

Suffolk faces its first autumn cold snap later in November as the Met Office forecasts colder air spreading down from the north. Daytime temperatures are currently expected to peak between 10C and 12C over coming days, before the cold arrives towards the end of November, though the exact timing remains uncertain. No snow is forecast for Suffolk, though northern Scotland could experience wintry showers.

Showbiz couple Michael and Hilary Whitehall are bringing their new live show The Wittering Whitehalls: Recollections May Vary to the Ipswich Corn Exchange on 9 April 2027. The show draws on their hit podcast, which has amassed over five million downloads since launching in 2022, and will feature anecdotes, family stories and behind-the-scenes revelations from Michael's 50 years in showbusiness as a theatrical agent and television personality.

Three people have been jailed for a combined 47 years after a lorry driver's tip-off exposed an attempted £80 million cocaine heist. The gang arrived in Ipswich when the 780kg shipment from Mexico landed at Felixstowe in November 2021, checked into a budget hotel and hired a van while waiting to intercept the lorry. Craig Le-Mare, 36, received 20 years; Kelly Robertson, 46, received 15 years; and Michael Weston, 57, received 12 years and nine months, all for conspiracy to supply cocaine.