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Five Peterborough stories you might have missed

Shariqua Ahmed & John Devine
BBC News, Peterborough
JOHN DEVINE/BBC David Edwards is smiling and leaning on a fence next to one of the sheep. He is wearing glasses and a green fleece. Behind the mesh fence there is a brown woolly sheep with a black and white face and horns standing on grass. Behind it there are several headstones. JOHN DEVINE/BBC
Verger David Edwards said his church is one of the few in the country that still use sheep to keep the grass trim

Regeneration work will begin on a well-known city street and a popular swimming pool has been given a reopening date.

Here are five stories from Peterborough you might have missed this week.

Homelessness event raises £15,000

LIGHT PROJECT PETERBOROUGH A line of sleeping bags with cardboard on top next to a bare brick wall on concrete ground. There is cardboard underneath the sleeping bags. One of the sleeping bags is made of a patchwork of crisp packets. LIGHT PROJECT PETERBOROUGH
About 70 people took part in the event at Peterborough United's ground

A homelessness event at Peterborough United's ground raised more than £15,000.

About 70 people, including former rough sleepers and firefighters, braved the rain to take part in Peterborough's Big Sleep Out.

The event at Posh's London Road stadium raised money for Light Project Peterborough and the Peterborough United Foundation.

Decades old rubbish found in layby

MARK FISHPOOL A faded can of Coca-Cola covered in a light layer of dirt and rust is held by a thick black glove above grass and scrubland where more litter can be seen on the ground. MARK FISHPOOL
A decades old can of Coca-Cola was found by a litter-picker in Peterborough

A volunteer litter-picker found a Coca-Cola can dating back more than 20 years while cleaning lay-bys along the A47.

Mark Fishpool said he wants more people to come forward to help clean up the city after spotting the can from 2004.

Woolly workers keep churchyard grass trim

JOHN DEVINE/BBC Three sheep grazing on grass surrounded by old gravestones. In the background are several rows of gravestones. JOHN DEVINE/BBC
Six sheep graze at the graveyard beside St Kyneburgha Church in Castor

A church verger said he thinks his congregation is still one of the very few in England to use sheep to keep their grass trim.

For 30 years the animals have been used to keep the grass neat at one of the graveyards at St Kyneburgha Church in Castor, near Peterborough.

"They can strip a field fairly quickly," verger David Edwards told the BBC.

Delight at plans to reopen city lido

JOHN DEVINE/BBC Clare Marshall is smiling, with her neck and head poking out of the water at Peterborough Lido. She has goggles on her forehead and is wearing a blue swim suit. In the background is railings and changing rooms. JOHN DEVINE/BBC
Clare Marshall welcomed news Peterborough's Lido will reopen in May

A council has announced the reopening date of a city lido that was threatened with closure amid budget cuts.

Peterborough Lido will reopen on 24 May, the city council has confirmed.

Clare Marshall, from Friends of Peterborough Lido, said campaigners were "delighted".

Work to start to upgrade road

SHARIQUA AHMED/BBC A line of shops on either side of Lincoln Road. There are bikes and people on the pavement. On the left is also a silver telephone box. SHARIQUA AHMED/BBC
Part of Lincoln Road in Peterborough is due to be upgraded

"Long overdue" regeneration works for a busy city centre road will start from 21 April, Peterborough City Council said.

The £3.4m project to upgrade Lincoln Road will include construction of new raised pedestrian crossing points, new cycle stands, seating and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

A week in politics

A conservation group said plans to develop thousands of homes close to a nature reserve would "undermine nature recovery in the area".

The Wildlife Trust in Cambridgeshire objected to a proposal near Castor Hanglands National Nature Reserve, in Peterborough City Council's draft local plan.

The city council said a special Joint Scrutiny Committee on Thursday, would discuss the draft plan.

Meanwhile, plans to transform Peterborough's railway station and the area around it reached a "significant milestone", according to the council.

It came as a full business case for the city's Station Quarter revamp was submitted to the government.

Finally, the council said all flats in the city would have food waste collections by March 2026.

It launched a scheme in September, which will see all flats supplied with an indoor food caddy and a roll of liners.

A week in sports

Getty Images Tayo Edun of Peterborough United jumping in the air in front of another Posh player and punching the air. He appears to be shouting in celebration. Both are wearing light blue kits. In the background fans watch on from the stands. Getty Images
Tayo Edun scored the only goal of the Cambridgeshire derby

Tayo Edun's superb free-kick earned Peterborough United a narrow derby win over Cambridge United at the Cledara Abbey Stadium last weekend.

Edun's 22-yard strike after 72 minutes left Nathan Bishop with no chance and ensured Posh did the double over the U's for the second successive year.

The goal came against the run of play, with relegation-threatened Cambridge guilty of missing a number of big chances.

In ice hockey, Peterborough Phantoms learned that they will face National League champions Leeds in the group stage of the end-of-season play-offs.

Injuries have proved problematic for the Phantoms over recent weeks, but coach Slava Koulikov said he was feeling positive ahead of the play-offs.

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