Norfolk

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Elderly man dies in A143 Earsham, Bungay crash

The road in Earsham, Bungay, was closed for more than 10 hours after an elderly man died following a collision with a lorry. Stock image. Picture: WENDY TURNER

The road in Earsham, Bungay, was closed for more than 10 hours after an elderly man died following a collision with a lorry. Stock image. Picture: WENDY TURNER

A man thought to be in his mid 70s has died after being involved in a collision with a lorry in the early hours.

Police were called to Earsham, Bungay, at 1.12am on Sunday to reports of a collision between a lorry and pedestrian.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene and road closures were put in place while investigations were conducted and road cleared.

The road was reopened at 11.33am.

Police would now like help to identify the man who died in the crash.

The man is described as white, between 65 and 80 years old, around 5ft 6in tall, bald with grey hair at the back and side, of an average build.

He was wearing a navy blue fleece top with a JCB logo on the shoulder, grey trousers, dark grey/blue baseball cap with a small penguin motif and navy blue slippers with Velcro strapping.

Acting Detective Inspector Michael Roxby said: “We would be grateful for anyone who may have seen the man on this stretch of road or in the local area in the early hours to get in touch.

“We would also encourage the public to check on elderly male relatives who live in this area and are similar in description.”

Anyone who can help to identify the man or is a witness to the incident should contact Acting Detective Inspector Michael Roxby of Norfolk Constabulary on 101 quoting CAD 23 of Sunday, November 29.

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A11 closed in both directions between Attleborough and Thickthorn following four car crash

The A11 has been closed in both directions between Thickthorn and Attleborough following a crash involving five vehicles Picture: Chris Bishop

The A11 has been closed in both directions between Thickthorn and Attleborough following a crash involving five vehicles Picture: Chris Bishop

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A man has been airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries following a crash between four cars this afternoon, which has closed a stretch of the A11.

At around 3.10pm, emergency services were called to the A11, between Thickthorn and Attleborough, following a crash involving four cars – including a Jaguar and a Ford Mondeo.

The crash happened in the carriageway heading towards Norwich, however, police have closed the road in both directions to allow the East of England Air Ambulance to land at the scene.

A spokesman for Norfolk Constabulary said the road is likely to be closed “for the foreseeable” while emergency services treat to the people involved and the vehicles are recovered.

Traffic is being diverted away from the scene via the Old A11 and police have warned the road will remain closed for some time.

The northbound carriageway was re-opened at around 4.30pm, but the southbound carriageway remains closed while the vehicles are recovered.

The police spokesman said that “multiple” people had suffered injuries in the crash, including one man who was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital via air ambulance with “significant and life-threatening injuries”.

The cars involved were a black Jaguar, a silver Ford Mondeo, a silver Ford Focus and a fourth car, which the police did not provide details of.

Anybody who witnessed the crash or has dashcam footage of it is urged to contact Norfolk Constabulary on 101 quoting incident number 195 of November 22.

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England / Norfolk / Reference Library

Norfolk firm busy with requests for swimming ponds like David Beckham

A swimming pond. Pic: Richard Bloom/The Swimming Pond Company

A swimming pond. Pic: Richard Bloom/The Swimming Pond Company

© Richard Bloom

A Norfolk firm is being inundated with requests to turn garden ponds into swimming lakes.

Paul Mercer, managing director of the Swimming Pond Company, based in Bressingham. Pic: www.theswimingpondcompany.co.ukPaul Mercer, managing director of the Swimming Pond Company, based in Bressingham. Pic: www.theswimingpondcompany.co.uk

With more people at home in lockdown, people are looking to adapt their ponds for swimming.

David and Victoria Beckham are currently creating one at their home in the Cotswolds and Bake Off’s Prue Leith has a lake at her Oxfordshire home.

MORE: Coca-Cola’s Christmas truck tour cancelled because of Covid

A swimming pond. Pic: Richard Bloom/The Swimming Pond CompanyA swimming pond. Pic: Richard Bloom/The Swimming Pond Company

But you’ll need a celebrity-style salary because they cost around £75,000. And, at this time of year, they’re only for the hardy becausse the water is very cold.

Paul Mercer, managing director of the Swimming Pond Company, based in Bressingham, near Diss, said the idea has really caught on during Covid with ten swimming ponds planned for customers over the next 12 months.

A swimming pond. Pic: Richard Bloom/The Swimming Pond CompanyA swimming pond. Pic: Richard Bloom/The Swimming Pond Company

He said: “In the spring lockdown, we stopped construction but the phone just kept ringing, we’ve never had so many enquiries. People were at home, the weather was fantastic. Some people had a house in London and were staying at their home in the country.

“Swimming in a pond, in crystal clear water, is a real antidote to stress. One customer described it as ‘swimming in a Monet painting’, it is fantastic and so different from swimming in a pool or the sea. It’s like swimming through rain, the water is soft, there is no smell of chemicals like chlorine, no salt. The bottom isn’t muddy or silty and the water isn’t cloudy. You don’t have to have a shower afterwards because you feel clean.”

Mr Mercer developed the concept after going to university, aged 35, to do a landscape and garden design degree and travelling. “Some of my happiest times were swimming in rock pools in South Africa or in New Zealand, surrounded by trees, and a swimming pond is all about bringing that experience to your own home.”

You can have a pond that’s already in your garden adapted or built from scratch with the swimming part from 1.2ms to 2.4ms deep. Part of the pond will be for aquatic plants and the other for swimming, with an internal wall dividing the two, and the water needs to have a low nutrient content so no algae develops. The pond will therefore attract wildlife such as birds but you won’t end up swimming with toads or frogs. But ducks need to be discouraged, Mr Mercer said, as they’ll eat the plants and increase the nutrients.

A swimming pond. Pic: The Swimming Pond CompanyA swimming pond. Pic: The Swimming Pond Company

The water is so clear, it’s safe to even take in your mouth, said Mr Mercer, because of its filter system which also helps warm the water up to 28 degrees in the summer.

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David Beckham is building a swimming pond at his home. Pic: EDPDavid Beckham is building a swimming pond at his home. Pic: EDP
Bake Off's Prue Leith has a swimming lake. Pic: PABake Off’s Prue Leith has a swimming lake. Pic: PA

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HGV News / News And Reviews / Reference Library

Suffolk HGV driver Tom Warner receives award after A14 incident

Lorry driver Tom Warner helped a distressed man on the A14. Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN

Lorry driver Tom Warner helped a distressed man on the A14. Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN

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A Suffolk lorry driver has been given a special award by his employers after helping a man in distress during an incident on a bridge on the A14.

Lorry driver Tom Warner has been presented with a Going the Extra Mile award on behalf of Bacton Transport. From left, Tom Warner and Transport Manager Lee York. Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWNLorry driver Tom Warner has been presented with a Going the Extra Mile award on behalf of Bacton Transport. From left, Tom Warner and Transport Manager Lee York. Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN

Tom Warner, 26, a driver with Bacton Transport Services near Stowmarket, said: “I don’t feel like I have done anything special, but other people have told me that not everyone would have done it. The main thing is that the man was got down safely.”

The incident happened on the A14 at a bridge near Kettering early on Thursday, when Mr Warner and another driver, Mark Wilson, of Harleston in Norfolk, saw a man on the bridge.

Mr Wilson pulled up under the bridge and Mr Warner stopped next to him. Mr Warner said: “I said to Mark to ring the police, and that I would talk to him until they got there.”

He went on to the road bridge and spoke to the man, standing well away from him, until police arrived within a few minutes. They were then able to persuade the man to come down.

Tom Warner and Mark Wilson both parked their lorries under the bridge in the incident on the A14 near Kettering Picture: MARK WILSONTom Warner and Mark Wilson both parked their lorries under the bridge in the incident on the A14 near Kettering Picture: MARK WILSON

Mr Warner, who is originally from Ipswich but now lives in Elmswell, has been driving lorries for four years and has been with Bacton for two years.

He said: “It’s not the sort of thing you expect to happen,”, adding he was still getting his head round being given an award by his company.

Mr Wilson, a driver with Bomfords Group in Harleston, said he had stopped the traffic from going under the bridge and prevented “rubberneckers” from pulling up and getting in the way.

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“Other HGV drivers slowed the westbound traffic – this was drivers working together.”

He said he also sent a message to the lorry drivers’ Facebook group about the incident, so that others would know to avoid the bridge.

The two drivers had never met before, but both praised each other’s actions. Mr Wilson said: “Tom Warner is a fantastic driver and a credit to his industry.”

Bacton Transport Services has presented Mr Warner with a “Going the Extra Mile” certificate in recognition of his actions.

Lorry driver Tom Warner helped a distressed man on the A14. Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWNLorry driver Tom Warner helped a distressed man on the A14. Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN

Paul Willis, distribution general manager, said: “What he did was fantastic. He could have just kept on driving, but he didn’t.”

He said that in the current climate it was more important than ever for people to act in a caring way. “Going the extra mile is just what he has done.”

A spokeswoman from Northamptonshire Police, said: “The A14 was closed for around 30 minutes on Thursday, November 5 between junction 7 and 8 following concerns for the welfare of a member of the public.

“Officers attended the scene at 5.50am and the incident was dealt with by 6.20am.”

●• If you need help and support, call Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust’s First Response helpline 0808 196 3494 or the Samaritans on 116 123.

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England / Norfolk / Reference Library

Man in who died in Shipdham forklift accident named as Zachariah Richardson

The Magpas air ambulance, which was called to help Zachariah Richardson Pic: Rob Holding.

The Magpas air ambulance, which was called to help Zachariah Richardson Pic: Rob Holding.

Rob Holding

A man in his teens who died in an industrial incident involving a forklift has been named as Zachariah Nathaniel Richardson.

At an inquest opening hearing at Norfolk Coroner’s Court on Monday morning, assistant coroner Christopher Long confirmed that Mr Richardson died at the age of 18 in Thorpe Row, Shipdham, near Dereham.

Mr Long said the causes of death listed were asphyxiation; a crush injury to the chest; and a farming incident involving a forklift.

Mr Long said Mr Richardson, who worked as a yardman at a farm, was left to tidy the yard of wooden pallets using a forklift truck on the afternoon of Saturday October 24.

He added that when farm manager Evan Jenkins returned, he discovered him pinned against the wall of a barn by the forklift, which was still running.

All three emergency services and a Magpas air ambulance were called to the scene and attempts at CPR were made, but all failed.

He was confirmed dead at 5.56pm.

Mr Long said that an inquest into the death had been adjourned until January 26, 2021 and that further reports would be obtained in preparation for it.

Mr Richardson’s father, Kevin, confirmed in a written statement that his son was born on March 17 2002 and raised in Hubbert’s Bridge, a village outside Boston, Lincolnshire.

In a statement, Norfolk Constabulary said: “Police were called to a premises in Thorpe Row, Shipdham, at 5.20pm on Saturday 24 October following reports of an industrial incident…

A HSE spokesperson confirmed that “HSE is aware of the incident and is making enquiries alongside Norfolk Police”.

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News And Reviews / Reference Library / RTA Reports

Travel disruption after A140 accident and road closure

The A140 at Brome, near Diss and Eye, where an accident has partially closed the road. Picture: Adrian Pye/Geograph

The A140 at Brome, near Diss and Eye, where an accident has partially closed the road. Picture: Adrian Pye/Geograph

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Commuters are facing rush hour disruption following an accident on the A140, while another section of the road remains closed.

Motorists travelling between Norfolk and Suffolk are being warned to expect delays following an accident at Brome, near B1077 Stuston Lane.

The crash at about 6.30am on Tuesday has partially blocked the A140 causing tailbacks and queueing traffic both in both directions including back to the Scole roundabout. There is also congestion back on to the A143.

It comes as the A140 remains closed further south at Earl Stonham following a lorry overturning.

Recovery work between the A1120 to the Green Lane turn-off means the main Norwich to Ipswich road is still closed in both directions.

• See more traffic information at the Traffic Map

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News And Reviews / Reference Library / RTA Reports

Hingham Road in Great Ellingham closed after car crash with horse and horse rider

Police have closed Hingham Road in Great Ellingham after a crash invovling a car and a horse rider. Picture: Google

Police have closed Hingham Road in Great Ellingham after a crash invovling a car and a horse rider. Picture: Google

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A road has reopened following a crash involving a horse rider and a car.

A road has reopened following a crash involving a horse rider and a car.

Police were called to reports of a crash on Hingham Road in Great Ellingham, near Attleborough, after 2pm on Sunday.

The road had been shut in both directions while investigations were carried out.

Ambulance services, including the air ambulance. atteneded.

A spokesperson for Norfolk Police said the level of injury was being assessed.

It is understood the horse died as a result of the crash.

Two fire crews, from Hingham and Attleborough, were also dispatched to the incident.

A spokesperson for Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service said they assisted the ambulance.

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