Latest news with #Wroxham
BBC News
22-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
East of England's 'first osprey chicks in 250 years' hatch
Osprey chicks have hatched in the East of England for the first time in more than 250 years, according to a wildlife fish-eating birds of prey arrived at Ranworth Broad nature reserve near Wroxham in April and the first sighting of their chicks was on Norfolk Wildlife Trust described it as a "significant moment for wildlife conservation" in the visitor centre manager Teala Leeder said: "Getting my first glimpse of the chicks and confirming our greatest hope was just incredible." "It also gives visitors the chance to catch a glimpse of these impressive birds of prey and their young," she is the third consecutive year Ranworth Broad has hosted a pair of ospreys. Sightings of feeding and mating behaviour by the pair were reported by staff, which raised hopes this might be the year they would breed, the Norfolk Wildlife Trust typically lay two or three eggs, and the chicks will stay with their parents until they are ready to migrate in September, spending their winters in West Africa or Portugal. Ms Leeder said: "It's so wonderful to welcome our new arrivals and it also gives visitors the chance to catch a glimpse of these impressive birds of prey and their young."Staff have set up a telescope and wildlife camera in the visitor centre to give people good views of the osprey nest. The trust said there had been no recorded breeding osprey in the East of England for more than 250 became extinct as a breeding bird in Britain in the 1900s but a pair returned to Scotland in 1955. The trust's Broads south reserve manager Adam Houlgate said: "We are delighted to be the first site to welcome breeding osprey back to the East and are celebrating this significant moment for wildlife conservation in Norfolk."It's a fantastic feeling to know that we are taking care of a special landscape that makes a home for incredible birds like this." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
19-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Norfolk WW2 firefighter recognised with medal from King Charles III
A firefighter who served at a village station during World War Two has been recognised by King Charles Betts, who worked at Wroxham Fire Station in Norfolk, was presented with a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 97-year-old joined the village's fire station in 1942 when the county was part of the National Fire Service. Talking about the start of his career, Mr Betts said: "When I started at Wroxham during the war, we slept there in hammocks." Mr Betts, who still lives in the village, served at the service until 1963, with the fire at Horstead Mill being one of his final calls. Talking about his role during WW2, he added: "I was on the control and when the message came in that the enemy was coming, I had to ring up five fire stations to tell them. "I then had to ring them all back to tell them when they were gone."He was presented with the medal at Carrow Fire Station, in Norwich, on behalf of the King. His grandson, who researched his grandfather's career, said: "He saw the original fire station being built at Wroxham when he went up there on a holiday from the children's home where he lived. "He ended up being fostered and then adopted by the people he stayed with – and his foster-father, Mr Blake, was a leading fire officer at Wroxham."Mr Betts married his wife in 1949, and the pair had two children. Their son Christopher, who followed his father into the fire service, also served at the station. He lost his life during a fire at The Chequers Hainford pub in 1987. Scott Norman, deputy chief fire officer at Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, said: "We'd like to thank you for your service, which started during wartime, and for your commitment to the people of Wroxham and the surrounding area."The loss of your son Christopher was such a sacrifice. I hope he is smiling down on us here today." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
Bomb squad called after magnet fisher hooks 'device'
Part of a village was cordoned off after a suspected bomb was found in a river. The object was found by a person magnet fishing - which involves dangling a magnet attached to a rope into water to locate metallic finds - in the River Bure off Station Road in Hoveton, near Wroxham, on the Norfolk Broads, at about 13:40 BST on Saturday. Norfolk Police placed a 100m (340ft) cordon at the scene and closed the road. The cordon was lifted at about 16:50 after the Army's explosive ordnance disposal team from Colchester assessed the object and established it was not an unexploded ordnance device, police said. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Norfolk Police
