Ipswich Parkrun pays tribute to 'well-loved' member killed in cycle crash

A dad in his 40s who died following a collision while out cycling has been described as "a gentleman, kind and considerate."

Ben Jacobs was airlifted to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge on Wednesday 17 May after being involved in a collision involving a car and another cyclist.

It happened just off the A137 on Church Road in Bentley, near Ipswich, in Suffolk. Police were called at around 7pm.

He later died in hospital.

Ben was a "core member" of Ipswich Parkrun who say they are "devastated".

The group paid tribute to him on their Facebook Page saying: "Words cannot express how devastated and upset we are to share this terrible news with all our friends and colleagues within the Ipswich Parkrun community, across parkrun in Suffolk and beyond. First and foremost Ben was a friend to us all. He was a family man, a gentleman, kind and considerate. He made time for everyone."

The team at Ipswich Parkrun say Ben was a dedicated member and often arrived early to help set up. They say he would carry out the mandatory course safety check, something he'd done 91 times, before doing another 5k lap afterwards.

Ben's first parkrun was on 8 March 2014 and since then he has completed 324 parkruns, achieving an impressive personal best of 17:46 at Kesgrave parkrun on 11 August 2018.

He joined the core team in 2018, becoming an accomplished Run Director, and has volunteered at 211 parkrun events over a nine-year period.

On Saturday 20th May, Ipswich Parkrun hosted a special run in Ben's name. More than 300 people ran, jogged or walked the course and participated in a minute's applause.

The team said there was a "unique atmosphere like we've never seen before."

In another Facebook post the group said: "What was more remarkable was that so many of Ben’s family found the strength to come along and do parkrun today - thank you for coming, all of you. We hope you can see how much Ben meant to so many people, for the person he was and what he achieved in our community."

Among those who turned up to support was Ben's boss of 27 years, Steve Harding from Touchwood. He signed up the night before and came with his family to pay tribute.

The other cyclist in the collision sustained minor injuries and was released from hospital after checks were conducted. 

Officers would still like to hear from any witnesses to the collision, and are also asking any motorists driving in the area at the time with a dashcam in their vehicle to review the footage for any material that could help.