Review of the Year: Fenland’s biggest stories from January 2024
We take a look back at some of the biggest news stories in Fenland from January 2024…
At the very start of 2024, an 87-year-old man hit the saddle to raise cash for a hospital that saved his eyesight.
Colin Bedford took on the 100-mile cycling challenge to thank Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon which saved his eyesight after an injury playing badminton that caused his retina to tear 11 years ago.
He receives injections for his eye at the hospital and had his 100th in March.
Meanwhile, a couple who have known each other since childhood celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.
June and Claud Parish from March met at his cousin’s party when she was 11 and he was 15 but it was not until years later that the pair started courting and then married at Chatteris parish church with the friend, Bruce Cole, who had been with him at that party, as best man.
There was community support seen in January when people rallied to support a fundraising effort for an arson-hit Wisbech club.
An appeal launched following a devastating arson attack on a Wisbech club raised more than £4,400 in less than 24 hours.
The GoFundMe page was set up following the fire at the Ex-Services Club in Alexandra Road in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
The were great celebrations throughout the month including an awards ceremony for unsung heroes with St Peter’s Church Hall filled with applause and cheering.
The evening that recognised some amazing residents saw eight trophies handed out including a new one for this year – the Mayor’s Award.
Among the winners was a nine-year-old schoolgirl who garnered the most nominations of anyone on the night for her loving dedication and friendship to a classmate and his brothers.
A hero was caught on camera saving someone's life from a freezing water-filled river.
Luke Wagner, 26, was driving his HGV when he saw a silver car skid off an icy road and plunge down a bank into the water.
He brought his lorry to a stop and dashed down the embankment and helped pull the shocked driver from the Sixteen Foot near Stonea.
Got a story? Email molly.nicholas@iliffemedia.co.uk
