Simon Oxley
BBC Three Counties Radio

A Buckinghamshire woman whose son was stabbed to death seven years ago has cast doubt on proposals to increase sentences for people caught carrying knives. 

Prison sentences could rise to two-and-a-half years from the current average of six months, under plans put forward by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Moya Griffiths, whose 20-year old son Jourdan was murdered in High Wycombe in 2009, said: "At the moment the prisons are so full, they can't enforce these guidelines... we don't have the resources to enforce the guidelines they are actually suggesting."

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Spoiler alert - don't read on if you haven't seen last night's Great British Bake Off yet.

Bedfordshire baker Candice Brown made it into the quarter finals despite a mini mousse meltdown during dessert week.

Candice, from Barton Le Clay, already had a huge workload producing her Blackberry and Raspberry Bubbles and After Dinner Mint Chocolate mousse cakes show-stopper, but the heat in the marquee was making the latter melt.

She said: "They are just sliding everywhere."

In fact, it was so hot, the episode should probably have been misspelled "desert week". I thank you...

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

The news that Woburn Sands athlete Greg Rutherford will be dancing to Everything I Do (I Do It For You) by Bryan Adams for Strictly's movie week prompted the It Takes Two team to have a bit of fun.

The song is from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner, and the sister show, on which Rutherford appeared last night, mocked up a picture of him sporting the actor's famous mullet.

Suits you, sir. Possibly.

It remains to be seen whether the hair and make-up team go with this look on Saturday.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Greg Rutherford has given a few hints of what we can expect this weekend in Strictly Come Dancing when he performs an American Smooth with his dance partner Natalie Lowe for movie week.

After admitting that last week he thought he was never going to be able to complete his Tango, the Woburn Sands athlete, who appeared on sister show It Takes Two last night, said this week it was "going better" and he'd "picked it up quicker".

He'll be dancing to Everything I Do (I Do It For You) by Bryan Adams from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Natalie said the role was "so fitting" for him, he is "beautiful at it, and he just has to trust himself".

And, brace yourselves, there'll also be three lifts which will apparently "come at you thick and fast". Best watch yourself if you've got a 3D telly.

Former Boro and Posh manager Graham Westley is favourite to be the new boss at League Two side Newport County.

Image source, Getty Images

Westley has been out of work since being sacked by Peterborough in April.

Newport County director Gavin Foxall wouldn't confirm Westley was in the running, but admitted he was well-qualified for the job after leading Stevenage into the Football League and then into League One.

Sarah Jenkins
BBC Local Live

Hertfordshire's Olympic champion, Laura Kenny (nee Trott), has been very busy since bringing home a haul of gold medals from Rio.

As well as getting married and appearing on The Jonathan Ross Show, she's also been hanging out with Elton John - no big deal.

Image source, Laura Trott Instagram

The cycling champion from Cheshunt revealed in her BBC Sport column the former Watford FC chairman invited her and her now husband, Jason Kenny (right), round for lunch.

Mrs Kenny said it was "a surreal moment", but the singer was "lovely" and "so normal".

She went on to mention Elton had a similar accent to hers - the only difference being it was "a way posher version".

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Bedfordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Kathryn Holloway, has announced the return of police officers to Flitwick, after the force was criticised for having a brand new but empty "ghost station" for about 18 months.

Image source, Bedfordshire Police

The Missing Persons and Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) units have relocated from their current base at Kempston Police Headquarters to Flitwick, where officers will man it between 08:00 and 21:00.

She said: "While obviously the public should call 999 in a life-threatening emergency and 101 for other crime concerns, the office will be a perfect place for the public to report their worries about children who they fear may be at risk of sexual exploitation.

"We will not discourage them from passing on other crime intelligence, of course."

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Police have revealed a pregnant woman was attacked in High Wycombe last week.

Image source, Google

The 20-year-old was outside a newsagents in Dashwood Avenue just before 13:00 on 27 September when she was approached by a man and three women.

One of the women threw a can of drink at her head before dragging her to the floor and kicking her in the stomach.

She was taken to Stoke Mandeville Hospital for treatment, though her unborn child hasn't been injured.

The offenders were all about 20-years-old and drove away in a black Range Rover Evoque. Police have appealed for witnesses.

UKIP calls for the HS2 high-speed rail line linking London with northern England to be scrapped, with money to be spent upgrading the network in Wales instead.

Lee Agnew
BBC Three Counties Radio

This morning Luton-based Easyjet has warned the weakened pound will cost it £90m in its current financial year - that's more than double the company's original estimate made in July, when it warned of a £40m hit.

Image source, PA

Jet fuel is priced in dollars, so the falling pound has made it more expensive for Easyjet to run aircraft.  

It expects a profit of between £490m and £495m for the financial year. That would be down 28% on the £686m it made in 2015.

Easyjet will hold talks with pilots' union Balpa on Thursday in an attempt to resolve a dispute over fatigue and avoid industrial action.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Thames Valley Police has re-appealed for a fruit picker to come forward as a potential witness after a 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of the sexual assault of an 82-year-old woman in Bletchley.

The woman was attacked on a redway next to Buckingham Road last Friday lunchtime.

Detectives say a witness who was walking a dog in the area has come forward, but they're re-appealing for a man who was seen picking blackberries to contact them.

Elizabeth Rizzini
BBC Look East weather

Today will be mostly cloudy with some sunshine, but there will also be the chance of a shower this afternoon.

The maximum temperature today will be 15C (59F).

Get the forecast for your area at BBC Weather.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Today is National Poetry Day, external, so...

Welcome to the live page for Beds, Herts and Bucks,

Where we'll bring you news, even if it sucks,

Travel, weather and sport,

Criminals who've been caught,

And Bake Off and Strictly news with luck.

So if you've got something to say,

About road crossings, sinkholes or litter,

Email us now,

And if you don't know how,

You can always try Facebook, external or Twitter, external.

A man is arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting an 82-year-old woman in Buckinghamshire.

BBC Sport picks out six of the biggest international signings made by English Premiership clubs ahead of the 2016-17 season.

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

That's it from all of us at Local Live for Beds, Herts and Bucks. 

We'll be back with regular updates from 08:00 on Thursday. 

But one of the main stories we've followed today is the announcement of the retirement of the Bedford athlete Etienne Stott. 

It was on 2 August 2012, he hit the big time, and took home a surprise gold in the London Olympics. 

You can watch that moment by clicking on this link. 

He got into canoeing by trying it out on the River Great Ouse. You can see what inspired him by watching the video below. 

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

Will Bedfordshire's Candice Brown get her "just deserts" tonight on the Great British Bake Off? 

The teacher needs to "roll with it" for Dessert Week to keep her pitch in the tent.

More on BBC One, tonight from 20:00.

A man who killed his colleague with a single punch to the jaw at a work Christmas party "just panicked", a court hears.

A plaque has been unveiled to remember a Bedfordshire teenager who died in a collision involving his mother, brother and friend in August on the A34. 

The memorial to Josh Houghton, 11, has placed at AFC Dunstable, external, where he played. 

Image source, AFC Dunstable