A "cruel and sadistic" carer molested boys at a Catholic children's home and terrorised them with a punishment known as The Clappers, a court hears.

Girls growing up in parts of England have a much lower quality of life than others, according to analysis of official statistics.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

The Old Bailey has heard a "cruel and sadistic" carer molested boys at a Catholic children's home in Bedfordshire and terrorised them with a punishment known as The Clappers.

James McCann, 80, of Swaffham, Norfolk, denies violent and sexual assaults on 26 boys aged between eight and 12.

The court heard he repeatedly abused the boys at St Francis children's home in Shefford in the 1960s and '70s. It was run by the Roman Catholic diocese of Northampton and closed in 1974.

Judge Rebecca Poulet QC told jurors Mr McCann was not fit to stand trial and it was therefore their job to decide the facts alone. 

Two people including a nine-year-old boy were killed in a crash in Bassingbourn, south Cambridgeshire, on Saturday, police said.

The crash between a silver Renault Clio and a blue Volkswagen Polo happened at about 18.30 on Saturday, on the A1198.

Image source, Google

Nine-year-old Lawrence Carroll, of Tamworth Road, Hertford, was a rear-seat passenger in the Volkswagen and died in hospital yesterday.

The driver of the Renault, Claire Bakhtiar, 38, of Mill Road Mews in Salisbury, Wiltshire, also died at the scene.  

The driver of the Volkswagen, a woman in her 40s, and a 15-year-old boy who was a passenger in the car, were both taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge where they remain.

We've just been told by Cambridgeshire Police a nine-year-old boy from Hertfordshire was among two people killed in a crash at the weekend near Bassingbourn.

We'll bring you more shortly.

Vicarage Road in Watford has been closed again, this time because of a new hole which appeared this morning and was seen to be gushing water.

It was only last month a different hole caused a two-week closure of the road, which leads to the hospital and football club.

Affinity Water, external workmen are currently at the scene of the hole and - as the old joke goes - are looking into it.

BBC Weather

This afternoon will be dry everywhere, with some patchy cloud but also sunny periods. 

Becoming very warm and increasingly humid, with temperatures up to 22C (72F).

Jane Killick
BBC Three Counties Radio

Staff are due to protest outside the Lister Hospital in Stevenage this lunchtime.

It comes after NHS plans were unveiled to recruit more nursing staff by offering them higher salaries in return for not paying into the pension scheme.

Image source, Google

The North and East Hertfordshire NHS Trust, external, which runs the Lister, says many nurses like the flexibility and extra money provided by agency working, which doesn't have access to the NHS pension scheme. 

It says this NHS pilot programme will offer a similar deal giving them extra money, but with the added benefits of being a member of staff with access to training and career progression.

Union Unison says the plan is morally wrong, against the law and discourages workers from planning for their retirement.  

Police are appealing for witnesses following a fatal collision on the A134 in Norfolk, shortly after 13:00 yesterday.

A blue and white Suzuki motorbike, travelling from Thetford towards Mundford, left the road just prior to the A1065 roundabout and struck a lamp post.

The rider of the motorbike, a man in his 40s from Hertfordshire, died at the scene as a result of his injuries. 

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

With just 11 days to go until the Strictly Come Dancing live shows, Greg Rutherford says he is now purely concentrating on dance.  

Yesterday he posted a picture on Instagram, external of himself with pro dance partner Natalie Lowe at the Great North City Games in Newcastle, declaring that his athletics season was "now officially over".

"I'm purely a dancer for the next couple of months," he said.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Woburn Sands' Greg Rutherford won the long jump at the Great North City Games in Newcastle, in his first competition since winning Olympic bronze in Rio.

Rutherford, 29, triumphed with a leap of 7.66m, with Uruguay's Emiliano Lasa second and GB's Daniel Gardiner third.

After a brief discussion about long jump following his win, the BBC's Gabby Logan asked him how his training for Strictly Come Dancing was going.

He's not allowed to reveal what his first dance will be, but he told Logan it was "pretty fast and very intricate to say the least".

"It's going to be quite epic, I think," he said.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Last year's Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain, who lives in Milton Keynes, popped in to see BBC Three Counties' Justin Dealey over the weekend.

Now, I wouldn't bring in my homemade cake for a Bake Off winner to judge - and frankly neither did Justin!

Instead he brought in a slice - yes, just one slice - that his girlfriend had made.

Nadiya's verdict - a seven out of 10 - with "loads of cream to mask anything that might be under-baked".

You can watch the full video on the BBC Three Counties Facebook, external page.

Lee Agnew
BBC Three Counties Radio

A former Bedford Borough councillor is due to appear for trial today at Luton Crown Court charged with raping a woman.

Paul Prescod, 50, of Cynthia Court, Wootton, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape on or about 26 December 2013 and between 28 August and 31 December 2014.

BBC Sport

Over the weekend Aylesbury rower Pam Relph won gold in the mixed coxed fours at the Paralympics, along with team-mates Grace Clough, Dan Brown, James Fox and cox Oliver James.

They defended Great Britain's gold from London 2012, finishing ahead of the USA and Canada.

Image source, Getty Images

GB have dominated this event in recent years, taking gold at the past three World Championships - although only Relph, 26, remains from the boat that prevailed in London four years ago.

"It feels amazing. Coming through that last 250 metres I knew that we had won it," she said.

"We knew we were fitter, stronger and faster than our rivals but we still had to deliver."

Sally Riceman
BBC Three Counties Radio

I'm in Vicarage Road this morning where a hole has opened up in the road, close to where another one was repaired last month.

I can see an aperture in the road where water is pouring through and every time vehicles go over it the hole is getting bigger. 

In August, a hole closed the road causing traffic problems for the nearby hospital, but it was opened just before Watford's first home game. 

The council has told us it's aware of the latest issue and is sending a team to investigate as soon as possible.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

When last year St Albans District Council lost its last appeal against the government's decision to allow a rail freight terminal on greenbelt land near the city, it marked the end of nine-year battle to stop the development.

• The proposal for the Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) on the former Radlett Airfield in Park Street was first lodged by developer Helioslough in 2006
• The council twice refused planning permission over fears of damage to the greenbelt and ministers also blocked the proposals in 2010 after the developer appealed
• Following a second developer appeal, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles backed the development in December 2012
• The council applied for a judicial review in February 2013, but the High Court turned the request down
• Mr Pickles finally approved the scheme in July 2014 saying the benefits outweighed harm to the landscape and it was this decision the council challenged
• St Albans Council appealed again, arguing that the communities secretary illegally allowed the developers to appeal when planning permission had been refused. The High Court disagreed and dismissed the council's appeal
• The rail terminal development depends on land owned by Hertfordshire County Council being acquired by Helioslough. In June, the council was approached by developer Taylor Wimpey wanting to build a garden village on the land instead
• Helioslough is now proposing to open a country park adjoining the site to mitigate the loss of greenbelt land

Tony Fisher
BBC Three Counties Radio

The company planning to build a giant rail freight terminal near St Albans is due to submit plans for a country park adjoining the site.

Property developer Segro, which owns company Helioslough, got outline planning permission for the rail freight terminal on the former Radlett aerodrome two years ago. This week it is submitting what it is doing to meet the conditions of that permission to St Albans District Council, including creating a country park.

The development depends on obtaining land owned by Hertfordshire County Council, which it will put in a formal offer for.

However, campaigners say it won't make up for the loss of greenbelt land.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

We've had a report this morning that another hole has opened up on Vicarage Road in Watford, next to where one appeared last month.

An eyewitness has told us that water is "gushing out" of the road next to where repairs on the last hole had been completed.

A reporter is on the way to the scene and we'll let you know what's happening as soon as possible.

Kate Kinsella
BBC Look East weather

We'll be hanging on to fine weather for the next few days, with today due to be dry and warm with some cloudy and sunny periods. 

A maximum temperature of about 24C (75F).

There are more details on the BBC Weather website.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Good morning and welcome back to another week of regular live updates of the latest news, sport, weather and travel for Beds, Herts and Bucks.

This morning we'll be looking at the latest developments in a company's bid to build a rail freight terminal near St Albans. But first, we'll have a full weather forecast for the three counties.

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