A large police operation has been announced ahead of the first East Anglian derby since 2019 this weekend.

The game which will see Norwich City take on Ipswich Town at Portman Road is set to kick-off at 12.30pm on Saturday, December 16.

The fixture is sold out, with a crowd of just under 30,000 people due to attend.

Suffolk police have confirmed that the policing operation is far larger than those for regular weekly football matches, with officers on hand at the stadium, railway station and town centre. 

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As a key shopping weekend before Christmas, Ipswich is already expected to be busy with shopping traffic. 

Anyone driving in is warned to expect some road closures around Portman Road, with pedestrian access control at the junction of Princes Street, Grafton Way and Chancery Road.  

Greater Anglia confirmed earlier today (Tuesday, December 12) that extra trains would be running between Norwich and Ipswich both before and after the game.

An additional train will leave Norwich at 9.18am to arrive in Ipswich at 10.25am. 

After the game, an extra train will leave Ipswich Station at 3pm, arriving back in Norwich at 3.42pm. 

Buses that usually travel along Princes Street will be operating on diversionary routes.

Suffolk police have said that further announcements about road closures will be announced later this week.