IPSWICH: An ex-truck driver from Ipswich has declared his love of his home town by venturing to five other destinations with the same name.

IPSWICH: An ex-truck driver from Ipswich has declared his love of his home town by venturing to five other destinations with the same name.

Alex Nunn, of Sidegate Lane, spent four-and-a-half months travelling around the world stopping at the various Ipswichs on his way.

The trip of a lifetime, which took 18 months to organise, started in Russia on May 17 and ended in Canada on September 31.

While travelling he visited the Ipswich in Queensland, South Dakota and Wisconsin - having already visited New Ipswich, New Hampshire and Ipswich Massachusetts years before.

The 63-year-old said: “The only Ipswich I haven't been to is the one in Jamaica.

“But everywhere that I have been the people of Ipswich have been so interested to hear about our Ipswich in Suffolk.

“Everyone always wants to know more and I even appeared in a local newspaper out in America because I was from another town of the same name.”

After being made redundant from DHL, Mr Nunn promised himself that he would travel the world by rail.

“I just decided that I had to do it, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity - but none of the Ipswichs are anything like the one in Suffolk,” he said.

The retired traveller said that his favourite destination was Hawaii but the Ipswich in Queensland had been the best.

Mr Nunn added: “Ipswich Queensland is actually a city and the town centre is quite similar to our one in Suffolk - the people there are lovely.

“The one thing that is massively different is the population. The Ipswich in South Dakota has a population of 943 - everything is so personal there.”

Having started his trip in Russia, Alex next travelled to Mongolia, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.

The latter part of his trip took him as far as Australia, Fiji, Hawaii and the USA.

FastFacts: Ipswich around the world:

Ipswich, Massachusetts - Population - 13,000 - The land on which the town was founded was originally inhabited by Indian tribes who called the area Agawam.

Ipswich, South Dakota - Population - 943 - Only 25 minutes from the third largest city in South Dakota - Aberdeen.

New Ipswich, New Hampshire - New Hampshire's first cotton mill was built here in 1804

Ipswich, Queensland - Population 155,000 - The city developed from a convict settlement established on the Bremer River in 1827 to work the rich deposits of limestone in the surrounding hills.

Ipswich, Jamaica - One of the main tourist attractions is the Ipswich Cave. The cave has three entrances - the largest is 13 metres wide and eight metres high and noted for its fine features.