Today marks the beginning of my last week as a full time journalist.

Due to Nub News closing non-profit making pages,, my role as Regional Editor (Suffolk) was going to be cut with both the Hadleigh and Felixstowe Nub News websites being mothballed.

Although the opportunity to carry on running Shotley peninsula Nub News on a part-time basis was offered, I have decided to accept the package on offer and call time on my 30-year career in journalism. (More about that in another feature to come)

I'm immensely proud and pleased with what we have achieved since Nub News began in Suffolk in February 2020, and Hadleigh beginning in the September.

In the four years since, nearly 240,000 unique users (different people) have read Hadleigh Nub News providing more than 1.8million engagements. We are the go-to online news platform for Hadleigh, number one in search engines according to Google Analytics.

We use social media to spread the word and know more people come to us for news about the Hadleigh area than any other news organisation, including the EADT, Suffolk News, Ipswich Star, and the BBC.

Our readership penetration for Hadleigh reaches more than 100% month by month, and we have been superbly supported by our wide range of columnists and contributors, sadly not enough sponsors and advertisers backed us.

I would like to thank a whole range of people, from sponsors Chapman Stickels, my army of contacts, columnists, contributors, a multitude of press officers, Steve Holder and John Chenery at the football club, but most of all - you - the readers for making Hadleigh Nub News the relative success it has been.

With many people's help; councillors, ex-councillors, reviewer Robert Carr, the satirical Rowland Taylor's Ghost and his cult following. we have brought the best and worst of Hadleigh to you via our pages.

We have exposed wrong-doing at the town council for example, they have never enjoyed the honest scrutiny, nor have previous district councillors, which was reflected at last May's local elections.

But we have also shown the best of Hadleigh residents and businesses and our free to add What's On pages were always well used and read.

Who knows what the future holds but as a wise man told me recently:

"You may leave journalism - but journalism never leaves you..."

To be clear, my retirement from Nub News in no way affects my commitment as a councillor and I will continue serving on the Babergh District Council Cabinet for the foreseeable future.