VE Day: Charity serves 200 meals at Colchester event
A charity has served 200 meals at a VE Day beacon lighting event in Colchester.
The Rapid Relief Team (RRT) helped the Colchester community celebrate the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day at an event hosted at the Seven Rivers care home in Great Bromley.
The event was organised by the local parish council to commemorate the milestone anniversary and honour the sacrifices of those who served in the Second World War.
Twelve volunteers from the RRT were on site and served 200 freshly cooked burger meals to attendees.
The event was held at the Seven Rivers care home, which is a Leonard Cheshire care home.
Leonard Cheshire was one of the most decorated RAF pilots of the Second World War, and after the war went on to establish pioneering care services for people with disabilities across the UK.
All donations from the VE Day 80 event will go to the Leonard Cheshire charity to support its ongoing work to help people with disabilities achieve their goals.
Donny Hopkins, RRT local team leader, said: “We were proud to be part of this special VE Day celebration, standing alongside the Colchester community to remember the sacrifices of those who fought for our freedom in the Second World War.
“It was especially meaningful for the RRT to be able to support the legacy of Leonard Cheshire and the charity he founded to provide life-changing care and support to some of the most vulnerable in our communities.”
All train lines were blocked after the crash on Sunday afternoon, the rail operator said.
Emergency services and Network Rail response teams were called to Station Road in Bentley.
One person was assessed at the scene but no one was injured, a spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said.
The train lines reopened on Sunday evening, but disruption was expected to continue until late into the evening.
Greater Anglia posted on X saying: “Due to a collision at a level crossing between Colchester and Ipswich, all lines are blocked.
