RESIDENTS of an Ipswich street, blighted by the murder of five women, are today celebrating after they were awarded for rebuilding their community. London Road is now described by those living there as a “peaceful and quiet”- a stark contrast to the chaos that descended when it became the centre of the world's media following the killings.

RESIDENTS of an Ipswich street, blighted by the murder of five women, are today celebrating after they were awarded for rebuilding their community.

London Road is now described by those living there as a “peaceful and quiet”- a stark contrast to the chaos that descended when it became the centre of the world's media following the killings.

The street has remained constantly in the public eye as the address of serial killer arrest of Steve Wright, who was recently sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering Paula Clennell, Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol, Anneli Alderton, and Annette Nicholls, in late 2006.

Neighbourhoodwatch.net, run by charity UK Neighbourhood Watch Trust, was so impressed with the group's efforts to club together and shake off the street's reputation as a red light district, that it awarded it with a national monthly award.

Ron Alder, 74, chairman of London Road Neighbourhood Watch Group, which was formed just weeks before news of the first murder emerged, said: “It was a total surprise to get the award. We got it for regenerating the street because the charity said we had a bad couple of years.

“What I am most proud of is people in the street are now talking to each other. We have quiz nights, barbeques and London Road in Bloom competitions. It is a cliché to say it but community spirit has worked. This was very much an isolated street before but now lots of us know each other. It is a great pity it took those awful events to get us together but it has been something positive to come out of it.

“It is extremely quiet here now. We have lost the late night traffic from kerb crawlers, which is a great blessing. You do not see any girls or their associates either. If we keep things tidy here, it is a lovely place to live. My ambition is to get the Polish and Portuguese community on board.”

Mick Kelly, Neighbourhoodwatch.net manager, said: “We salute the neighbours of London Road for the way in which they have coped with the appalling events of the past year or more. Ron Alder and his neighbours are a shining example of what can be done to rebuild community spirit and bring normality back to an area once blighted by vice crime.”

Along with a framed certificate, the group received one of the latest Rexel Mercury personal document shredders, worth £170.

Do you know of any example of community spirit? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk