Shabnam Mahmood
Reporter BBC Asian Network News

A schoolgirl from Luton who memorised the entire Koran in Arabic at the age of seven has now reached the highest level of excellency in the recitation of the Muslim holy book, meaning she can now teach others.

Maariya Aslam, now aged eight, has received an "ijaza", which is a certificate which puts her in a chain of distinguished scholars who can be linked back to the Prophet Mohammed.  

The youngster, who already has a huge following on social media, is now planning a series of online tutorials.

BBC Politics

In response to Jeremy Corbyn, Prime Minister Theresa May defended the way the welfare system currently works. 

She told the Commons it's important to have a welfare system that works for the people who need it, but added those who are paying for it must feel it's "fair".

She stated "that is why we need to have work capability assessments" and "sanctions in our system".

Image source, HoC

BBC Politics

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has branded benefit cuts as "institutionalised barbarity" following the death of a former soldier from Stevenage. 

Diabetic David Clapson died from a lack of insulin, 18 days after his Jobseeker's Allowance was suspended. 

His family say he didn't have enough money to top-up his electricity card, which meant the fridge which kept his insulin chilled stopped working. 

Image source, HoC

Mr Corbyn raised the case at Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, saying the government's "sanctions regime" was "unfair", adding Mr Clapson died "without food in his home".

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

Watford Borough Council wants to build a £250m Health Campus on the site of allotments. 

The artist impression below shows what the site will look like in a few years' time.  

Image source, Watford Borough Council

The council said the hospital expansion would only be viable if the 75-acre (30-hectare) allotments plot was built on. 

In his latest BBC Sport column, Wycombe's Matt Bloomfield explains the difference between 'good and not-so-good' officials.

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

However, not everyone is disappointed by the news the Farm Terrace allotments in Watford are to be built on.

The Mayor of Watford, Dorothy Thornhill, has tweeted the hospital expansion is positive news for the town...

A final £200,000 is needed to keep a hoard of Anglo Saxon coins together, Buckinghamshire County Museum says.

A former consultant paediatrician at Stoke Mandeville Hospital tied a 14-year-old patient to a couch and raped her, a court hears.

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

Campaigners who've spent the last four years fighting to save the Farm Terrace Allotments in Watford from being built on say they're "gutted" they've lost their High Court battle. 

Sara Jane Trebar the spokesperson of Save Farm Terrace says it "feels a bit like grief."

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

Allotment holders from Watford have lost their High Court battle to save their plots. 

A judge has given a ruling this morning, after the case was heard last month. 

Image source, Save Farm Terrace Allotments

The campaigners to save Farm Terrace plots say they won't be appealing, bringing their four year fight to an end. 

The plan is to now build on the ground behind the Vicarage Road football ground, creating a Health Campus. 

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Allotment holders from Watford will find out today if they have won a High Court battle to save their plots... but it's been an ongoing row for about four years.

Here's what's happened so far in case you're only just catching up:  

Image source, PA

• The Farm Terrace allotment site has been in use since 1896
• The original Health Campus master plan drawn shows the development being built around the allotments, but then the council changed its mind and wanted to use the land
• Watford Borough Council said plans for 750 homes and commercial buildings in a proposed £250m development on the 30-hectare site behind Watford Football Club would not be viable if it could not build on the 128 plots  
• Allotment holders won an appeal against the council's plan in August 2013, but this was overturned the following December when a revised scheme was accepted by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles
• In April 2014, Save Farm Terrace Allotment , externalcampaigners won the right to challenge that ruling and later the council plan was quashed by the High Court as a judicial review found Watford Borough Council had not kept the communities secretary updated on the number of homes included in the development
• In May this year, the Secretary of State for Communities Greg Clark ruled that Farm Terrace could be developed
• On 21 October, campaigners went back to the High Court for an appeal against that decision and the judge reserved judgement - until today

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

A missing 93-year-old man from Potters Bar has been found safe and well. 

We reported earlier that Anthony Flemming had gone missing from his home in Billy Lows Lane at 13:00 on Tuesday. 

He was found at 02:00 in Northampton.

Firefighters have been called to the Denham area of Buckinghamshire, close to Uxbridge, after reports of a lorry tipping it's load. 

BBC Weather Watchers

It was a bit of a frosty start in Beds, Bucks and Herts this morning, I even had to scrape my car!

These amazing photos from Weather Watcher Mac66, show what it was like in Luton. 

It was also a pretty cold start in Westoning too. 

You can send us your photo and become a BBC Weather Watcher here.

BBC News England

Seven Vauxhall customers have contacted BBC  BBC Watchdog about their cars catching fire. Of those, three fell under recall, and four did not.

Steve Cachia, from Wolverhampton, got in touch after his 2013 Corsa D burst into flames on his driveway.

"It started off with a little flicker," Mr Cachia said. "But within six or seven minutes" the whole car was engulfed, he added.

Adrienne Boxhall said she told Vauxhall about her Corsa D fire in August 2015 but they "were not interested".

She said she "just wants answers".

Image source, Adrienne Boxhall

In a statement to the BBC, the Luton-based car manufacturer Vauxhall said: "Customer safety is of the utmost importance and we take any report of fire very seriously.  

You can see the programme tonight on BBC One at 20:00. 

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

London Luton Airport is defending the cost of a £220m rail link to the Luton Parkway station, plans for which go on public display today.

The link will mean a five minute journey to the airport from the station.

Chief operations officer at London Luton Airport Limited, Robin Porter, says the money will be borrowed from Luton Borough Council and repaid over 25 years.

"The council has got a lot of head room to go out and borrow the money, it'll actually be borrowing the money from the Public Works Loan Board, external, which is part of the government, and will be ensuring it gets a risk return so ensuring the public purse benefits from this," he said.  

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

After Milton Keynes long jumper Greg Rutherford survived the horrors of Strictly Come Dancing's Halloween Week, this weekend he's taking on another interesting challenge.

This week's dances and tunes have now been revealed and for a man who has spent most of his adult life running in a straight line, he'll be tackling the numerous head-turning spins of the Viennese Waltz.

He and partner Natalie Lowe will be performing to You Don’t Own Me by Grace.

Matthew Lockwood
BBC Three Counties Radio

The Luton and Dunstable hospital is one of the worst in the country when it comes to food hygiene, according to an investigation by the Press Association - but the hospital has said there are no immediate concerns regarding the safety of the food being served.

Image source, South Beds News Agency

The hospital was ranked joint worst in the country along with West Heath Hospital in Birmingham and The Priory Hospital in Cheshire.

In a statement, the hospital said a recent Environmental Health assessment highlighted a number of issues, external relating to the processes and documentation within the catering service, but all food prepared at the hospital is safe and of good quality.

What would happen if a tanker spilled its load of fuel across a major road in our region?

Image source, Cambs Police

That was the scenario facing our emergency services as a tanker carrying 39,000 litres of aviation fuel overturned and collided with a van in a training exercise on Tuesday.

The "fake" A1 incident was created at Alconbury and involved 35 police forces, the US Airforce, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk fire services and the ambulance service. 

Image source, Cambs Police

During the exercise both the van and lorry driver had to be treated for their injuries and officers had to evacuate children from a nearby school.

Stuart Appleton, who organised the event, said it was created to test an "inter-agency response to a major incident".