Polling stations are open across Suffolk on Thursday giving voters the chance to have their say on who should be the county's Police and Crime Commissioner.

And in Ipswich just over a third of the borough council is up for election with voters in every ward having the chance to have their say.

Four candidates are contesting the PCC election - a position held by Conservative Tim Passmore since it was created in 2012.

He is standing again - but could face his toughest challenge to date in the form of Labour candidate Sir Robin Wales.

Sir Robin is a former directly elected mayor of the London borough of Newham but moved to south Suffolk a few years ago.

Liberal Democrat James Sandbach is standing with the aim of abolishing the role of PCC while East Suffolk councillor Rachel Smith-Lyte is the Green Party candidate.

They are hoping to win a position that was last contested three years ago in an election delayed by a year because of the Covid pandemic.

Ipswich is the only council area in Suffolk where there are widespread local elections - at least one councillor is up for election in each of the 16 three-member wards.

In two wards there are also by-elections following the death of Labour councillor Sophie Connolly and the resignation of her colleague Daniel Maguire.

That means a total of 18 councillors will be elected.

Labour is hoping to make gains in Ipswich - in 2021 as the country emerged from the second lockdown the Conservatives did well in local elections across the country and here they won seats that have been taken by Labour in subsequent polls.

Polling stations are open from 7am until 10pm on Thursday - and voters have to bring an ID to prove who they are. This can be a passport, driving licence, or a number of other identity cards.

While many people will be visiting polling stations, a significant number of votes have already been cast because more postal votes have been issued in the wake of the pandemic and an increasing number of people find this a more convenient way of voting.

Votes for the Ipswich council elections are being counted overnight at the Corn Exchange in the town - they are expected to be announced between midnight and 2am.

Votes for the PCC elections will be counted by individual councils on Friday morning before the results are sent to a central election administration at Bury St Edmunds.

Unlike previous PCC elections, this is now a straight-forward first past the post count and the result is expected to be announced between noon and 2pm on Friday.

We shall be carrying full results of the results on Friday - with further analysis of what happened in Suffolk and around the country over the weekend.