BBC News, Peterborough
RICHARD KNIGHTS/BBCA former world boxing champion has opened a new city boxing gym, while a mural celebrating a “well-loved” strongman, lifeguard and entertainer has been completed.
Here are five stories from Peterborough you might have missed this week.
Boxing star Amir Khan opens new city centre gym
RICHARD KNIGHTS/BBCA former world boxing champion has opened a new city boxing gym aimed at helping young people get off the streets and into the ring.
Amir Khan opened the Amir Khan Boxing Academy in Queensgate Shopping Centre, in Peterborough, on Sunday.
‘I litter pick to make my village a better place’
JOHN DEVINE/BBCA 12-year-old boy has begun picking up litter in his village after seeing a “horrendous” amount of rubbish while on a dog walk.
“It just annoyed me because this is a beautiful village and there was so much rubbish, it looked horrible, disgusting,” said Ben.
Once a week, he goes out with a black bin bag in the Cambridgeshire village of Yaxley, near Peterborough, and stays out until he has filled the bag.
Dad’s illness inspires nurse to run ultramarathon
ASHER COOPERA nurse who got into running less than a year ago while her father was in intensive care has completed an ultramarathon, raising money for people going through a similar thing.
Asher Cooper, 27, works in the emergency department at Peterborough City Hospital and completed the 50k (31 miles) Boudicca Way ultramarathon in Norwich on Saturday.
After her dad fell ill in December, she has been fundraising to help a new Peterborough branch of charity ICU Steps, which supports patients and families affected by critical care.
Mural of city’s legendary strongman completed
NATHAN MURDOCH STREET ARTS HIRE PETERBOROUGHA mural celebrating a “well-loved” strongman, lifeguard and entertainer has been completed in the city that became his home.
Walter Cornelius, who fled his native Latvia in the 1940s and settled in Peterborough, was known for stunts such as pushing a pea with his nose for a mile (1.6km) and attempting to fly across the River Nene.
The artwork was painted by local artist Nathan Murdoch on the back of the former TK Maxx and Woolworths building on Wentworth Street.
CQC left ‘deeply concerned’ after home inspection
PA MediaA care home has been rated as inadequate after a watchdog said people were not always safe or treated with dignity.
St Margarets Care Home in Peterborough provides support for people living with dementia over 65. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) conducted an unannounced inspection in April.
The CQC found that the staff referred to residents as children while speaking to inspectors and the report said “this was not dignified”.
The week in politics
Cambridgeshire MPs put forward alternative proposals for local government re-organisation, which they say would protect “what makes Peterborough great”.
Original plans suggested there should be two new unitary authorities covering the whole county.
But Labour MPs Andrew Pakes and Sam Carling have made their own suggestion: a “Greater Peterborough” area, along with a “Greater Cambridge” and a “Mid Cambridgeshire” authority.
Meanwhile, young people will continue to receive cut-price bus fares after a popular scheme was extended.
Members of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) board agreed to keep Tiger passes until 31 March 2026.
They gave under-25s access to £1 bus journeys and have been used for about 1.8 million trips since May 2024, but concerns had been raised about funding them.
