The new High Sheriff of Suffolk will be "sworn-in" at a ceremony on Friday.

Edward Creasy from Burgh will formally begin his role following a small socially distanced ceremony at Ipswich Crown Court on April 9.

He follows Bridget McIntyre MBE, who has been the Queen's representative in the county for the past year.

Mr Creasy's main priority will be to support and help Suffolk, the courts, the institutions, the emergency services, and everyone who plays a part in looking after the county as it recovers and re-establishes itself after the headwinds of lockdown and social restrictions of 2020.

In addition, as a long-term member of Pilotlight, a London based charity which brings together experienced managers and small charities to help the charities become more sustainable and effective organisations, Mr Creasy will also be working during his year in office to set up a Pilotlight programme in Suffolk.

“2020 was a really difficult year, and the community of Suffolk has shown great resilience in responding and reacting to the Covid pandemic," said Mr Creasy.

"It will take time and hard work for everything to return to normal.

"I am here to help everyone who cares for this wonderful county look forward to the new situation in which we find ourselves; and I’m particularly keen to encourage people and companies throughout Suffolk to support charities.

"Philanthropy is alive and well in Suffolk, but people can help charities survive and thrive not only with their generous donations but also through sharing the experiences gained in their own careers.”

Mr Creasy was born and bred in Suffolk, having grown up in the west of the county but having spent the last 35 years living near Woodbridge.

He and his wife Penny have three adult children.

Mr Creasy has worked in the Lloyd’s of London Insurance market for 43 years, and still has two part-time jobs there.

He stopped working full-time in 2010 and since that time, has focused more heavily on charity and local work, and held non-executive positions for local companies, as well as still working in London.

He has walked and helped organise annual charity marathons in Sierra Leone over the last decade.

Mr Creasy’s leisure interests focus very much on the countryside; he is a keen walker and birdwatcher.

He and Penny are also regular visitors to the races at Newmarket and he enjoys his sport – focused on rugby and cricket, where he played (badly, he days) as an amateur in Suffolk for some 15 years.

Mr Creasy is also the owner of a Suffolk brick tower windmill, built in 1842 and decommissioned in 1925.