A retired reporter has written his first fictional novel, inspired by his hometown in Suffolk.

Terry Reeve, who now works part-time as associate editor at the Beccles and Bungay Journal, has already published several factual books about the town of Bungay.

But he has now ventured into the world of fiction for a ‘What if?’ story about property development on green land in the town.

Terry started The Spirit of the Fen about three years ago and has been juggling writing the story with working two days a week at the Journal.

He uses the real-life Bungay Common as his inspiration for the fictional ‘Fen’ in the book and the moral maze of development on green land for the greater good of a town.

Terry, who celebrated his 65th birthday at the weekend, said: “It is very much fiction but developing green land is a very topical issue. I’m always anxious to stress that’s fiction.

“Bungay Common is owned by shareholders. I cannot imagine it would ever be developed but if some big developer came along and said ‘What about it?’, it would be difficult to turn down.

“The book is about the public reaction to that and the opposition. There’s a bit of soul-searching in the story.”

The Spirit of the Fen follows the story of Danny, a Bungay teacher who discovers that 400 acres of Suffolk countryside has been earmarked for development.

He joins forces with Jenny, a local newspaper reporter, and the pair campaign to save the beautiful countryside.

Terry has previously written history books about Bungay Town FC, Bungay Common and the town’s great fire in 1688.

He started working with Archant 46 years ago and worked for the Beccles and Bungay Journal for 11 years before finishing his career as chief reporter with the Lowestoft Journal, retiring in 2006.

He is now working on his second novel, which is a partly auto-biographical story with a Bungay connection. Spirit of the Fen is available through the link below.