New library opens

Pupils at a primary school near Dereham may have been a little surprised to see a seven-foot foam crab wandering around their school but they took it all in their stride.

Pupils at a primary school near Dereham may have been a little surprised to see a seven-foot foam crab wandering around their school but they took it all in their stride.

Clay the Cromer crab is the invention of local author Salena Dawson who had come to Scarning primary to open a new library and the larger-than-life creature gave the children no doubt as to what her stories were about.

Mrs Dawson, a lawyer in Norwich, read stories about the character to captivated children, and officially declared the long-awaited library finally open with headteacher Graham Chambers.

The space, just off the main reception, is part of a £2.5 million extension to the school which was completed last September and the library is named after Mr Chambers' predecessor Linda Fudge who sadly died three years ago.

He said: “She was a much-loved headteacher who ran the school for nine years and was heavily involved in getting the funding for the new extension and planning the building.”

Mrs Fudge, who loved reading and always wanted to be a teacher, did not get the chance to see the fruits of her labours but her husband Simon and her mother were there yesterday to see her dream library opened.

“She had a passion for the school,” said Mr Fudge. “She was there at the start of all this but she passed away before it was built.”

Roger Long, chairman of governors, said Mrs Fudge was a “tremendous ambassador” for the school. “She was so excited about the possibility of the new building and it is lovely that it can be dedicated to her,” he said.