David Ruffley

THE mother of a murder victim has voiced her fears over a surge in violent crime in a Suffolk town.

The concern was raised just hours after a 24-year-old man was stabbed in St Andrew's Street North in Bury St Edmunds - the latest in a string of alarming incidents.

Police cordoned off the road and the victim, who is thought to have staggered 50 yards up the street before collapsing, was treated at West Suffolk Hospital before being released last night. Police are questioning two men, aged 23 and 24, in connection with the incident.

THE Government has hit back after being accused of neglecting health care in Suffolk following figures that show spending per head of population on the NHS is £161 less in the county than the national average.

It comes after Bury St Edmunds MP David Ruffley met Suffolk Primary Care Trust on Friday to receive an update on its finances and the progress it is making towards wiping out its multi-million pound debt.

PATIENTS in Suffolk are getting less than the national average cash levels from the government, figures reveal today.

Despite being around £30.9million in debt, the Suffolk Primary Care Trust (PCT) is given less per head of population for health care than other trusts.

House of Commons figures show that in 2007/08 Suffolk's NHS funding per head of the population is 88pc of the national average.

Suffolk will receive £1,227 per head compared with a national average of £1,388.

AN MP has launched a petition opposing major plans for a new 24-hour container depot near Stowmarket.

Mid Suffolk District Council is considering whether to grant outline planning permission for the distribution park next to the A1120 at Creeting St Peter.

If approved, the project would take five years to complete and include warehousing, container storage areas and rail sidings. Developers say it will create new jobs for local people.

PERSONAL debt in Suffolk is higher than ever before - and the numbers of homes being repossessed has more than doubled in the last ten years.

Financial advisors around the county are being inundated with pleas for help from debt-strapped residents who are increasingly relying on credit to fund their lifestyles.

One expert told the EADT that there had been a 'huge increase' in personal debt, while another described the figures as 'shocking.'

NEW figures show the number of people carrying knives in Suffolk is at its highest level in 10 years.

In 2005, the latest year for which figures are available, 69 people were convicted of carrying a knife in a public place in Suffolk - an increase of 123 per cent since 1997 when 31 people were convicted.

The situation came to light after David Ruffley, MP for Stowmarket Needham Market and Bury St Edmunds, questioned Vernon Coaker, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office.

A SUFFOLK MP has voiced his concerned after new figures were released in Parliament today revealing a 64 per cent rise in the number of children subject to care proceedings in the county.

David Ruffley MP for Stowmarket and Bury St. Edmunds has claimed the new figures reveal that the increase in child care proceedings in the county are 'out of step' with the rest of the region.

He said: 'This could mean that either the County Council is making a particular effort in this area or that the situation in Suffolk is worse that in neighbouring counties.

A FARMERS' union has voiced its concern at the number of agricultural workers in Suffolk that have left their posts within the last 10 years.

Last year the total agricultural labour force in the county was 10,293 compared to 11,791 in 1997 - a drop of 1,498.

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) said the number of people leaving the industry was a concern and that it was down to a number of factors.

CONCERN has been raised after it emerged the number of children involved in care proceedings rocketed by more than 60% in just one year.

The increase in care proceedings from 90 in 2005 to 148 in 2006 is 'out of step with the rest of the region' according to one MP.

The 64% increase in Suffolk compares with a rise of just 5% nationally over a four year period.

GUN crime in Suffolk is increasing at an 'alarming' rate and is double the rate of Norfolk, an MP has warned.

Fifty-eight firearms offences were recorded in the county in 2005-6 compared to 29 in Norfolk and 34 in Cambridgeshire.

The figures were obtained by Stowmarket and Bury St Edmunds MP David Ruffley who said gun crime had rocketed by more than 1,000 per cent in Suffolk since 1997 when only five incidents were recorded.

The Conservative MP has now written to Suffolk police's new Chief Constable Simon Ash asking him to explain the rise.