Two determined Suffolk New College students have won regional construction competitions and are now setting their sights on becoming the best in the country.
Why it matters: The dual victories in prestigious industry contests showcase the high standard of vocational training in the region and continue Suffolk New College's strong track record in national skills competitions.
Lawrence Metcalfe and Zack at Suffolk New College preparing for the national SPARKS finalSuffolk New College
The winning spark: Zack Bloomfield, 20, from Felixstowe, won the Midland regional Sparks competition, designed to find the best apprentice electrician in the country.
The A R Electrical trainee beat nine other competitors during a four-hour installation challenge in Corby earlier this month.
Bloomfield will compete in Birmingham on 2 April 2025, facing five other apprentices during a two-day challenge at the JTL Training Centre.
His tutor Lawrence Metcalfe said: "He is a great student and I'm proud of his efforts. He has every chance of winning if he shows focus."
Owen Breadman and Luke Warren get ready for the HIP finals at the end of MarchSuffolk New College
Plumbing success: Luke Warren, 21, from Ipswich, also tasted victory in Corby, winning the Heating Industry Plumbing (HIP) learner of the year regional heat.
The level 3 plumbing apprentice, who works for the Daly Group, beat nine other contestants during a five-and-a-half-hour challenge.
Warren now advances to the national finals in Staffordshire at the end of March.
His tutor Owen Breadman said: "Luke did everything pretty much perfectly. It was brilliant for Luke to win this. He is one of the top students in the country."
By the numbers: The college has a track record of success in these competitions, with student Jane Thorp previously winning the first-ever female Sparks competition and placing second in last year's national finals.
What they're saying: Bloomfield described his victory simply: "I went in, cracked on and came out on top. It was a nice feeling to win."
He received books, tools and a radio for winning his heat and added: "I'm hoping to go in there, do what I did in the regionals and win. It would be a great achievement."
Warren was equally confident: "I felt confident going into it and it was fun. I was happy. I was allowed some headphones and that helped me relax. I listened to The Kooks. Winning has given me great recognition."
Looking ahead to the finals, he said: "I hope to win it."
The bottom line: These regional victories continue Suffolk New College's tradition of excellence in national skills competitions, with both students now preparing to showcase Suffolk's apprenticeship training on the national stage.
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The National Crime Agency's crackdown on high street businesses suspected of links to organised crime has made headlines in Shrewsbury but remains conspicuously absent in Ipswich, despite remarkably similar retail patterns.
A pattern emerging elsewhere
While Ipswich residents have yet to witness raids on local businesses, a stark scene is unfolding elsewhere: officers forcing their way into brightly-coloured barber shops, vape stores, minimarts, candy stores and phone repair shops that have proliferated across town centres.
Last month, the National Crime Agency (NCA) coordinated 265 raids on such premises across England and Wales as part of Operation Machinize, targeting high street businesses suspected of being fronts for international crime gangs – but it remains unclear if Suffolk, or Ipswich, has been part of this operation.
Oliver Rouane-WilliamsIpswich.co.uk
Shrewsbury and Ipswich: towns with similar profiles
In Shrewsbury, a market town not dissimilar to Ipswich, officers detained two Kurdish asylum seekers during raids on barber shops, seizing thousands of pounds in cash and illicit vapes. The intelligence suggested these establishments were linked to money laundering, illegal immigration and drug dealing.
The parallels between Shrewsbury and Ipswich are difficult to ignore. Both are historic county towns with traditional market squares, and a mix of independent and chain retailers. Both have experienced the same influx of barber shops, vape stores, minimarts, candy stores and phone repair shops on their high street.
Yet while Shrewsbury has seen decisive action, Ipswich residents have yet to witness any comparable enforcement activity. At least not visibly. And if it has, it has yet to make any difference.
The Ipswich landscape
According to commercial property analysts Green Street, the average number of barbers per person in England and Wales has doubled in the past decade.
Walk through Ipswich town centre and the changing retail landscape is evident – multiple barber shops, vape outlets, phone repair shops and sweet shops often within yards of each other, typically with very few visible customers.
It is important to note that we are not suggesting any specific businesses in Ipswich are engaged in illegal activity. The presence of these shops alone does not indicate wrongdoing, and many could be legitimate businesses.
But questions should be asked. And questions are being asked – repeatedly – by residents.
The scale of the problem
The National Crime Agency estimates that £12 billion in illicit cash is laundered in the UK annually, with lots of it flowing through criminal front organisations on high streets.
These businesses appeared to surge as shop vacancies grew following the pandemic, creating opportunities for criminal gangs to establish themselves in plain sight.
The suspicious signs are easy to spot: businesses claiming implausible income levels, unpaid utility bills despite supposed high turnover, and the sale of illicit products like illegal vapes and tobacco.
In Greater Manchester, linked mini-marts were found to be staffed by asylum seekers, some working illegally, with hidden compartments concealing contraband.
What Operation Machinize uncovered
During Operation Machinize, authorities discovered cannabis farms, seized Class A drugs, arrested 35 people and questioned 55 suspected illegal immigrants. Three potential victims of modern slavery were identified. Bank accounts worth over £1 million were frozen and £40,000 in cash seized.
Detective Inspector Daniel Fenn, who led raids in Shrewsbury as part of the operation, said: "Members of the public are angry. They can see these fronts are there. The criminals feel they are hidden here. They think they can come to sleepy areas and won't be found."
The same could easily be said of Ipswich.
The pattern of exploitation is particularly concerning – the NCA believes some shops are used as fronts for drug-trafficking, people-smuggling, modern slavery and child sexual exploitation. In 2023, it secured the conviction of one Iranian Kurdish barber shop owner who was using his London premises as a base for smuggling 10,000 people to the UK in small boats.
Impact on legitimate businesses
Legitimate barbers are calling for a registration scheme and stricter regulation. Gareth Penn, chief executive of the Hair and Barber Council, highlighted how illegal barbers have led to fungal infections from improperly cleaned equipment.
More importantly, though, is the damage being done to genuine businesses that cannot compete with those avoiding costs and taxes, and those that cannot find suitable high street premises.
The damage is significant and potentially long-lasting.
Will Ipswich be next?
For Ipswich, the question now is whether Operation Machinize will visibly extend to Suffolk – or indeed, whether it already has without public knowledge.
Unlike local police forces, the National Crime Agency is exempt from Freedom of Information requests, making it impossible for journalists or the public to determine how many Ipswich businesses, if any, have been investigated.
This distinction is important.
While local police forces handle everyday law enforcement, the NCA was specifically created to tackle serious and organised crime that extends across police force boundaries, international borders, or requires specialist capabilities.
Their involvement signals that these high street businesses are not merely local issues but part of sophisticated criminal networks operating nationally and internationally.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis has stated that "high street crime undermines our security, our borders, and the confidence of our communities", promising "decisive action" to bring those responsible to justice.
The road ahead
There are concerns about the effectiveness of current measures. Of the 265 raids conducted, only 10 shops have been shut down permanently. Many businesses raided were back operating within minutes of officers leaving.
The challenge for authorities extends beyond individual shops to dismantling the organised crime networks behind them – networks that may have been profiting in plain sight for years on our high streets. While local police forces can target individual businesses, only the NCA has the mandate and resources to tackle the international networks behind them.
For Ipswich residents concerned about these issues, the prospect of action against suspicious businesses cannot come soon enough. However, due to the secretive nature of NCA operations, we may never know the full extent of their activities in our town – only their results, if and when they choose to make them public.
