Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Less than 24 hours after pledging to improve its service, there's more disruption to Govia Thameslink train services this morning.

Image source, PA

The operator says, external services between Bedford, London and Brighton will be reduced for the rest of the day, due to a shortage of train crew.

Officials met with Hertfordshire county councillors yesterday, and promised services would improve in 2017.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Good morning and welcome to another day of regular live updates of news, sport, weather, travel and more for Beds, Herts and Bucks.  

We'll start by bringing you news of a 10-year-old boy who has gone missing in Hemel Hempstead plus - there are more problems on the Thameslink line this morning, less than 24 hours after the operator pledged to Hertfordshire County Council that it would improve its service.

If you'd like to get in touch, you can email us, tweet us, external or contact us via Facebook, external.  

Elizabeth Rizzini
BBC Look East weather

Another very mild day, although it'll be much cloudier than yesterday, and some of us will see some rain this afternoon.

The south-westerly wind will pick up during the day, and there'll be a top temperature of around 12C (54F).

Watch my full forecast here:

Coventry City end a run of four straight defeats with a 1-0 Checkatrade Trophy second-round win over Crawley.

Australia international Kurtley Beale is close to his Wasps debut after seven months out, says director of rugby Dai Young.

Playgrounds in Hertfordshire could be turfed over after a district council said each one costs it £2,000 a year to maintain.

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

That's it from all the team here at Local Live for Beds, Herts and Bucks. 

We'll be back with more regular updates for news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00.

If there's any breaking news, it will appear here. 

You can scroll through the page to see the main stories we've reported on today; which include Govia apologising for on-going train delays and saying things will change. 

As well as Hemel Hempstead siblings being reunited after a 10-year split.  

BBC Weather Watchers

There's been extensive low cloud across the Three Counties, as our fantastic BBC Weather Watcher pictures show. 

Redkite saw the sunset over the Chilterns. 

Honeybee thinks she saw a fallstreak cloud. 

Carlas garden saw some fantastic cloud formations. 

And this view from the London Gliding Club was pretty amazing in Dunstable. 

Follow live text commentary from the Premier League as Man City host Watford at the Etihad Stadium.

Jane Killick
BBC Three Counties Radio

An e-fit image has been released by police after a 16-year-old was sexually assaulted. 

It happened at about 19:10 on 4 November when the teenager was crossing the road at the roundabout junction with Albatross Way and Mosquito Way in Hatfield. 

He's described as white, in his mid-20s, between 5ft 9in and 5ft 10in tall and slim. He was wearing a red baseball cap.

Image source, Hertfordshire Police

Kate Bradbrook
BBC Look East

I've been getting comments all afternoon after Stuart Cheshire, from Govia, apologised to councillors this morning and said at a meeting he hoped that ongoing delays and cancellations will be be sorted by Easter. 

Sadly, not everyone believes him, as Andy Not Amy says: "They told the press and MPs it would be sorted by April 2015."

Mark Mansfield sent me a tweet saying: "They said this last year and nothing changed, in fact probably got worse."

"March in which year?! Hopefully not another false dawn" was the response from Steven Bailey, wile Andy Stubbs responded with: "They were aware of the driver shortage when they bid for the franchise in 2013."  

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

For the past five years, shop fronts along Bedford High Street have been slowly transformed. 

In total, 16th, 18th and 19th Century properties have been restored, updated and repaired with the funds coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund ‘Townscape Heritage Initiative’ grant, Bedford Borough Council and Bedford BID. 

Below are just two examples of the changes made, external. 

Image source, Bedford Borough Council

Image source, Bedford Borough Council

To mark the completion of the scheme a special celebratory event has taken place this afternoon at the Higgins Museum in the town. 

Two photos have been released by Bedfordshire Police, external of a potential witness they would like to speak to following a fatal road accident in Stagsden in October. 

They believe the woman stopped to help at the scene of the incident on 8 October on the A422, at the junction with Bedford Road. 

Sadly, the driver of a silver Mercedes, Trevor Hooley, 74, died just a few days later after colliding with a silver Skoda Fabia and a grey Mazda 6. 

Image source, Bedfordshire Police

Jane Killick
BBC Three Counties Radio

Milton Keynes Hospital is urging people with the winter vomiting bug to stay away, external. 

It says lots of people with symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting have been turning up at A&E, which could be dangerous if it spreads to the elderly and sick. 

People are being advised to keep warm and hydrated and stay away from social gatherings until free of symptoms for 48 hours.

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

After months of noise nuisance, excessive numbers of visitors, intimidation and drug problems, three closure orders have been issued against council properties in the Milton Keynes area.  

From now on only one tenant will be allowed to stay at the flats in Granby Court and Serpentine Court, Bletchley and no visitors will be allowed. 

The action was taken by Milton Keynes Council and Thames Valley Police. 

Image source, Milton Keynes Council

Nigel Long, the cabinet member responsible for housing, said he hoped the action "will send a powerful message to the community that we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour.

“Unfortunately many victims were too afraid to come forward as witnesses; however we would like to thank those that bravely took a stand against anti-social behaviour."

Kate Bradbrook
BBC Look East

This morning councillors from Hertfordshire County Council held Govia Thameslink to account after a series of delays and cancellations on the service. 

It's fair to say councillors are annoyed about the situation and want things to change. 

Stuart Cheshire, Govia's passenger service director, apologised to passengers, telling the meeting: "It's been a bad year. Passengers are not getting the service they deserve and we need to improve."

He explained some of the new trains were unreliable, causing a shortage of drivers through their having to be re-trained, and said he hoped these problems would be sorted by Easter.

The council says Govia will come back in the spring to give another update.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

This man still gives me the willies from his role as serial killer Richard Hillman in ITV’s Coronation Street... so I preferred to remember Brian Capron as that nice Mr Hopwood in Grange Hill.

I visited his dressing room at the Grove Theatre in Dunstable when he is playing evil Abanazer in Aladdin (boo, hiss).

Capron, who played the Coronation Street character from 2001 to 2003, took on many other TV and theatre roles after leaving the soap but told me he is grateful to the killer character after deciding to give panto a go about five years ago.

"Having played Richard Hillman I could just step in as the baddie," he said, "and of course the baddie is the best part to play anyway."

He’s now been rehearsing in Dunstable for about 10 days and it seems the people of the town have not forgotten his infamous killer role either.

"Lots of people say ‘oh you’re that murderer aren’t you’?" he said.

"Funnily enough, we had Lesley Grantham [EastEnders Dirty Den] over doing a bit of directing and me and him were walking through Asda the other day and a guy said ‘hey what’s this, a baddies convention?!'"

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Large colourful sets and familiar looking people have been arriving at the Grove Theatre in Dunstable as this year's panto prepares to open. 

Unable to resist, I popped next door (we're neighbours to the theatre) to see how rehearsals were going.

CBBC's Ed Petrie, star of the children's channel's All Over the Place, external has spent a lot of this year in Asia and now finds himself playing Wishee Washee in Aladdin - which of course is set in Asia - but, he says, he's brought "absolutely none" of that experience to the part!

"With all the references to Coronation Street you would have no idea we are supposed to be in China at all really," said Petrie, who is starring alongside Brian Capron, Coronation Street's legendary villain Richard Hillman.

He also told me he is enjoying being in Dunstable.

"Everyone you meet from Dunstable has been going 'uugh you're going to be in Dunstable this Christmas, poor you' but I've been quite enjoying it," he said.

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

Not only were Stevenage fans treated to a 2-0 away win at Newport last night, they were also given a free hot drink. 

To cope with the 160-mile (257km) journey from Stevenage to Newport in Wales, the club put some money behind the tea bar. 

Praise has been heaped on the club with many saying it was a "brilliant gesture". 

BBC Business News

In case you're wondering where the £90m fine on Pfizer and Flynn Pharma will go, BBC business journalist James Graham has this update.

The Competition and Markets Authority says the fine goes to the Treasury, not the NHS, although the decision does open the door for the NHS to seek damages. It did this against Gaviscon-maker Reckitt Benckiser about five years ago.

But the drug companies don’t have to pay anything unless their appeal is decided.

Image source, Gett