Alex Dolan
BBC Look East weather

A mainly dry evening with the chance of a few light showers across the southern part of the region.

Isolated showers will die away, leaving clear skies overnight with some mist patches developing.

Lows of 11C (52F).

Thursday will stay dry with sunny spells, feeling warm with a top temperature of 23C (73F) inland, but fresher on the coast.

Get the full forecast where you live from BBC Weather.

Tony Fisher
BBC Three Counties Radio

The body of a man who had been walking home after watching the FA Cup Final was found at the bottom of a hole in a road in Luton, it has emerged.

It's thought that father-of-two, Matt Wilmot, 40, who lived in Devon Road, had been walking home from Dunstable where he been on Saturday afternoon. Mystery surrounds exactly what happened next.

Image source, Tania Banks

Affinity Water confirmed that the body of a man was found at the bottom of one of its excavations in Devon Road.

A spokesman said: "The man was not killed as a result of falling into the excavation."

Bedfordshire Police said officers were called at about 07:15 on Sunday to "reports of the concern for the welfare of a man in Devon Road".

A spokesman said: "Emergency services attended but a man was pronounced dead at the scene.

"At this time the death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be passed to the coroner."

Mr Wilmot's partner of 24 years, Tania Banks, said: "I just can't believe that he's gone and the circumstances [in which] he's gone.

"We're just angry at the situation... and how something like this could happen."

Image source, Tania Banks

Image source, Tania Banks

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Earlier we told you how a "dangerous" prisoner believed to be armed with a razor blade and whose offences were committed in Luton has escaped from a hospital in Wiltshire.

Image source, Wiltshire Police

Bedfordshire Police has now confirmed Michal Kisiel may be heading to Luton.

Kisiel, 30, left Salisbury District Hospital at 19:00 yesterday after receiving treatment for a head wound.

One line of inquiry officers are pursuing is that the escape may have been pre-planned and he had assistance.

Kisiel was sentenced to more than five years in prison in April last year for falsely imprisoning a mother and daughter in Luton.

Here are a few other things making the news in Beds, Herts and Bucks:

• The Red Arrows will perform at the annual Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Armed Forces Day next month, the Bucks Free Press, external reports
• The Watford Observer, external says dangerous electrical faults have postponed the launch of a new splash park at the King George Recreation Ground in Bushey
• In Bishop’s Stortford, a young girl with movement disorder has had her wish for a specially adapted trike granted by a children's charity, reports the Herts Mercury, external

John Still makes his first signing as Luton boss, bringing in Maidenhead United striker Alex Wall on loan.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

This morning we had news of an extinct deer being born at Whipsnade Zoo - this afternoon we can bring you details of an endangered giraffe born earlier this month at Woburn Safari Park.

Image source, Woburn Safari Park

The male Rothschild’s giraffe, which arrived on 14 May in the park's new giraffe house, has been named Arrow after the Rothschild family's coat of arms.

Rothschild’s giraffes are classified as Endangered by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) and are amongst the rarest mammals in the world. It's thought there are less than 1,600 remaining in the wild, which are restricted to a few isolated populations in Kenya and Uganda.

A recent genetic study revealed there are four distinct species of giraffe, external - the Northern, Southern, Masai and Reticulated giraffe.

There are 15 Rothschild’s (also known as Nubian) giraffes at Woburn Safari Park, part of the Northern giraffe species.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

A fund to raise money for the family of a boy who died after getting into difficulties in a lake in Cheshunt last week has raised more than £4,000.

Image source, South Beds News Agency

The 16-year-old, named locally as Robbie Lea, got into trouble while swimming in a former quarry at Lee Valley Park on Thursday evening.

The fund, which had an original target of £1,000, was set up by Through the Fight - a community interest company which aims to help people in "difficult situations" through charitable donations.

Founder Shane Yerrell said: "I did not know Robbie or his family, but was saddened by the story and wanted to show support for his family.

"You didn't have to know someone to want to help."

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

The police officer injured along with his dog while chasing a suspect in Stevenage has returned to the streets with a new dog - Hero-Diesel.

PC Dave Wardell and his German shepherd Finn were attacked last October while responding to a report of a robbery.

The seven-year-old dog, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire dog unit, was stabbed with a 30cm (12in) hunting knife in the head and chest and underwent four hours of emergency surgery to save his life. The officer's hand was stabbed and he was treated in hospital and released.

Apart from two days over Christmas when Finn returned to the beat, PC Wardell had not been back on the streets. PD Finn, now aged eight, retired from active duty at the end of March and enjoyed putting his paws up on the coast, external.

Before Tuesday's shift PC Wardell said: "It's going to be very strange returning to the street without Finn by my side".

Afterwards he reported that it had been a "quiet first shift for Hero" which was "probably ideal".

Earlier this month, a 16-year-old boy from London, who cannot be named because of his age, was found guilty of actual bodily harm against PC Wardell and criminal damage in relation to PD Finn.

The teenager will be sentenced in June.

A coroner is to write to Bedfordshire police expressing doubts about the killer acting alone.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Following the opening of the revamped Wardown Park Museum in April, the director of arts and museums at Luton Culture, Karen Perkins, has been talking to the Heritage Lottery Fund, external about what heritage means to her.

In a question and answer feature on its website, she told them that "heritage helps us connect with each other".

"Our similarities and differences are the things which make life fascinating and at times challenging, but through understanding and sharing our heritage I think we can become a more tolerant society," she said.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

A 71-year-old man who was involved in a serious collision in Hatfield last week has died.

Anthony Coppack, who lived in Hatfield, was driving his black Audi TT when it was involved in a collision with a black Seat Ibiza in Roehyde Way just after 10:00 on 24 May.

He was taken to hospital but later died.

Hertfordshire Police said it was still working to establish the circumstances of the collision and has called for witnesses to come forward.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

East Herts Rural Police are getting a bit of feline help this morning as the station cat is helping the sergeant with his duties.

If it was a dog I could say it was helping to find new leads in order to collar some criminals but it's a cat so I won't.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

A deer from an "extinct" species has taken its first wobbly steps under the watchful eye of its mum at Whipsnade Zoo.

Image source, Whipsnade Zoo

Image source, Whipsnade Zoo

The Père David’s fawn - a species classified as "extinct in the wild" - weighed 11kg (24lbs) at birth, and was one of four fawns born at the zoo in May.

The rare deer species, which was declared extinct in 2008, by the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species, is endemic to the grasslands of China.

The species was first described in 1866 and fortunately, by the time it became extinct in China, a number of animals were sent to zoos in Europe, including in the UK, as back-up populations.

Zookeeper Graeme Williamson said: “The birth of an animal which is classified as extinct in the wild is clearly a special occasion and shows just how ZSL Whipsnade Zoo is helping to conserve species that might otherwise be lost forever.

“The fawn is doing really well and making the exact progress we would expect; she is quite literally coming on leaps and bounds and running around with the rest of the herd in their huge paddock."

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

An elderly woman has been duped out of £50 by a man who knocked on her door in Reeves Avenue in Luton.

Image source, Google

The man, dressed all in navy blue and wearing a high-visibility vest, called at the woman's house between 13:00 and 13:45 on 24 May.

He claimed to be with some tradespeople who were fitting windows at a neighbouring property and told her she needed work done on her roof.

He initially said he would charge her £180, but then demanded £280 after inspecting the roof. The victim disagreed, but the offender pressured her for money and she felt obliged to hand over £50. He then left.

The workmen at the neighbouring property confirmed the offender did not work with them, and they had not seen him before.

PC Michael Gibbs said: "Thankfully she only gave him £50 rather than the £280 he demanded, but we want to find this person, who is tarnishing the reputation of many reputable and trustworthy tradespeople, so he can’t target anyone else."

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

A "dangerous" prisoner believed to be armed with a razor blade and whose offences were committed in Luton has escaped from a hospital in Wiltshire.

Image source, Wiltshire Police

Michal Kisiel, 30, left Salisbury District Hospital at 19:00 yesterday after receiving treatment for a head wound.

Wiltshire Police said the inmate is believed to be in possession of a blade and the public are urged not to approach him.

Kisiel was sentenced to more than five years in prison in April last year for falsely imprisoning a mother and daughter in Luton. During his trial the court heard he kept them prisoner in their home, brandished two knives and taped the daughter to a chair. He threatened to kill them and they believed they were about to die.

Insp Pete Sparrow said Kisiel was found on his cell floor with a head injury and medical advice was that he needed to go to hospital.

"Whilst there he managed to overpower his prison guards and escaped," he said. "He's not a local person, he's originally from Poland and his offences were in Luton.

"He's left without money or a mobile phone, he's just escaped with the clothes he was wearing."

He is described as white, 5ft 6in tall with blonde hair and of medium build, with tattoos on his neck. He was wearing grey tracksuit bottoms and a black T-shirt with blue trainers.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Bedfordshire Police has issued a statement in response to the verdicts in an inquest into a double death in Luton, after it was revealed the force is under investigation over how it handled the case.

Image source, South Beds News Agency

Ampthill Coroner's Court heard how the body of Adim Baba, 49, was found in wheelie bin outside a flat in Essex Close in October 2016.

His flatmate, Tabussum Winning, 34, was found dead at her home in the same road seven days before - shortly after giving birth. It is thought she killed Mr Baba with a hammer before dumping his body in the bin.

The coroner recorded a verdict of unlawful killing for Mr Baba and an open verdict in relation to the death of Ms Winning.

The force is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) over how the initial investigation was handled and the time that it took to find Mr Baba’s body, following the discovery of Ms Winning’s body.

A police spokesman said: "This was an incredibly tragic case and our thoughts remain with family, friends and all those affected.

"Following detailed inquiries we concluded that Tabussum Winning had murdered Adim Baba and disposed of his body, before committing suicide.

"While we believe that no other people were involved in either death, we will be reviewing our evidence in light of the coroner’s ruling and comments."

The force said it would be "inappropriate to comment further" while the IPCC was investigating but did state that while it was "unfortunate" that Mr Baba's body was not discovered until a week after Ms Winning's body was found, the "reality" was that he was already dead.

"An earlier discovery would sadly not have made any difference to the tragic outcome of this case," the spokesman said.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

A motorcyclist who died following a crash in Amersham last week has been named as PC Simon Caddy, who was off duty at the time.

Image source, Thames Valley Police

His family say the 29-year-old had a "unique ability to spread joy and humour to all he came into contact with".

Anyone who may have seen the collision between a motorbike and a car on the A413 at about 19:30 on 26 May is asked to contact Thames Valley Police.

The force said PC Caddy joined the force in 2007 as an Amersham-based PCSO. In 2008 he became a student police officer and subsequently worked as a response officer and a neighbourhood officer. His role, since 2015, was as a roads policing officer.

Supt Simon Dodds said: "We have tragically lost a member of the police family who worked tirelessly for the communities he served.

"Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this incredibly difficult time and they are being supported by a specially-trained family liaison officer."

Nicola Haseler
BBC Three Counties

An independent investigation into the way police handled an inquiry into the death of two people in Luton is under way following an inquest.

Image source, South Beds News Agency

Ampthill Coroner's Court heard how the body of Adim Baba, 49, was found in wheelie bin outside a flat in Essex Close in October 2016.

His flatmate, Tabussum Winning, 34, was found dead at her home in the same road seven days before - shortly after giving birth.

The inquest heard how Ms Winning apparently killed Mr Baba with a hammer before dumping his body in the bin. She was seen on CCTV footage pushing an empty bin towards their flat but coroner Ian Pears questioned whether a woman who had just had a Caesarean section would be able to move the body of a 6ft 1in man.

A police investigation found no other fingerprints or DNA on the weapon or Mr Baba's body, other than those of Ms Winning.

The coroner posed the question why go to the bother of dumping a body if you planned to kill yourself.

Mr Pears said he could not be sure she acted alone and concluded Mr Baba was unlawfully killed and returned an open verdict in the case of Ms Winning.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is now looking at how the initial investigation was handled by Bedfordshire Police.

The force initially treated the case as a double murder and arrested a man.

But in January, Bedfordshire Police said the man would "face no further action" and stated it was not looking for anybody else in connection with the two deaths.

Mr Pears said he would be writing to Bedfordshire Police asking why it did not pick up on the death of Mr Baba until a week after Mrs Winning's body was discovered.

The force said while it believed no other people were involved in either death it would be "reviewing our evidence in light of the coroner's ruling".

Georgina Burnett
BBC Weather

After a cooler start it should warm up during the day.

It'll be bright rather than blazing sunshine, although there should be some breaks in the cloud to give us some sunny spells.

There are a few showers around, although they're fairly isolated and should be quite light, so many of us across the region will have a dry day, with a top temperature of 21C (70F).

Watch my full forecast here:

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Good morning and welcome to live updates about all that's happening in the three counties. We'll be here from now until 18:00 bringing you the very latest news, sport, weather and travel.

It's looking a bit grey this morning but I'm reliably informed that the cloud is going to break to bring a bit more sunshine later - a full regional forecast is coming up.

The sky may be grey but it hasn't dulled the spring colours as this BBC Weather Watcher picture from Simon in King's Langley shows.

Meanwhile, you can contact us at any time via email, Facebook, external or Twitter, external.