Matthew Lockwood
BBC Three Counties Radio

An investigation has been launched after it was claimed a school bus jumped a level crossing in Bedfordshire.

Image source, Network Rail

The crossing on Marston Road in Lidlington has not been working on three consecutive afternoons this week after it developed a fault, preventing its barrier from closing.

A man died in January when the car he was in was hit by a London Midland train at the same crossing.

Network Rail said that while it was dealing with a fault on Monday, drivers ignored its advice to turn around and the police had to close the road.

Then on Tuesday, the barriers weren't working properly again but despite this a school bus drove over the crossing. The lights warning drivers not to cross were operating, it said.

Central Bedfordshire Council has confirmed it is "looking into" the incident.

Bedfordshire Police said: "All road users are urged to use extra caution and not to cross the crossing while the warning lights are flashing."

A Network Rail spokesman said it was "looking at the possibility of closing this crossing and putting a road bridge in place as part of the East West Rail Phase 2 project which will be going out to public consultation at the end of June".

Bethan Bell
BBC News Online

As the survivors of Grenfell Tower will be finding out, rebuilding your life when you've lost everything takes a while. After the initial shock wears off, and you're left with nothing - literally nothing - what do you do?

There are both practical and emotional hurdles to overcome - as one Buckinghamshire woman has told the BBC.

Last month, when Maria De Vita heard glass smashing at her home in Princes Risborough she thought it was someone outside doing a spot of late-night recycling. She later discovered it was one of next door's windows exploding in a fire in which her neighbour died.

Ms De Vita woke her two young daughters and they left the house with nothing. The girls even had to go to school the next day dressed only in their pyjamas.

"The school was so kind, they gave them some spare bits of uniform," says Ms De Vita, who did not have any contents insurance.

"Everything has gone. Just gone. We'll have to start from the beginning again."

Read more from Ms De Vita.

Louise Hubball
BBC Look East

Plans to build a £200m rail system between Luton Airport and the Thameslink line at Luton Airport Parkway have been unanimously backed by councillors.

It will replace the current shuttle bus road journeys to and from the airport.

Image source, Luton Borough Council

The new 2.2km rail link will aim to cut that journey to just five minutes, and is due to be completed by the end of 2020.

Fully automated and running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it means passengers will be able to get from the airport to London in less than half an hour.

Image source, London Luton Airport

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Police have praised two members of the public for stopping to pull two people from a burning car on the M1 in Hertfordshire yesterday afternoon.

In a tweet, external, officers said their "heroic and selfless action" had "undoubtedly saved lives".

The fire followed a collision between the car and a lorry on the northbound carriageway near Hemel Hempstead, between J6A and J7, just before 16:00.

Image source, BCH Road Policing

Elizabeth Rizzini
BBC Look East weather

If it's been too hot for you, then good news at last. The heatwave will end today.

Most places will stay dry and bright, but there could be a few thunderstorms around - heavy at times.

Temperatures peaking at 23C (73F).

BBC Weather has a more localised forecast for where you live.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

Good morning and welcome to live updates about all that's happening in Beds, Herts and Bucks. We'll be here from now until 19:00 bringing you the very latest news, sport, weather and travel.

Today, to mark St Alban's Day (yes - it is appropriate to put an apostrophe in this case) - we'll start with a picture of the cathedral built on the spot where he was buried in the city which bears his name.

Alban is the man commemorated as the first Christian martyr in Britain - if you want to find out more about his story you can go to the cathedral's website, external.

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

A man died at the same crossing in January when the car he was in was hit by a train.

That's the end of our live updates from Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire today.

Any breaking news will be published on here overnight.

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

BBC Weather

We've got another very warm sunny evening ahead.

Staying dry for most this evening and overnight but with a risk of thunderstorms developing later.

Where they do occur there is potential for heavy downpours bringing sudden localised flooding and disruption to power supplies from lightning strikes.

Lows of 18C (64F).

Tomorrow will see more risk of a thundery shower first thing but it will become drier and brighter and feel much fresher. Highs of 25C (77F).

BBC Weather has more local forecasts.

Helen Burchell
BBC News

An Olympic athlete took to social media to jokingly say she'd been "banned" from entering the mum's race at Her son's nursery school.

Gail Emms, who won silver in the mixed doubles badminton at the Athens games in 2004, tweeted she had not been allowed to take part in a race at the school in Milton Keynes.

Emms, 39, told us she's always being asked, "What do you do now you're not an Olympian?".

"I thought I'd have a bit of a joke about it, like my one chance to shine again would be in the mum's race at the school sports day, but I wasn't actually going to take part."

As part of the joke, she tweeted a picture of her GB Olympic kit before the race, saying she could "just about squeeze into it".

Image source, bbc

She wrote that other mums had signed a petition to ban her from taking part in the mum's race, but said: "I know I'm not the only competitive mum in the world, but no, no-one's ever tried to ban me from entering.

"I know I might be able to kick ass, but what if I fell flat on my face - I'd never live it down!"

Image source, Gail Emms

Luckily for Emms, her son Ollie, four, did take part, saving the family's sporting honour and winning both the sprint and the obstacle course race.

"Yes, he won, so he's allowed to stay in the family," she told the BBC.

"I'm very proud, but I'm afraid I did somewhat gee him up beforehand by paying the theme tune from the film Rocky to him all the way to the start-line."

Dani Bailey
BBC Local Live

Bears and monkeys at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire have been given some icy treats at temperatures soar.

Female European brown bears, Wellington and Winslow, were given iced fruit and peanut lollies by their keepers, while the six chimpanzees were given frozen fruit cordial lollies.

"When it gets warm, just like humans, the animals here at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo like to chill out too," said zookeeper Clare White.

Watford are in talks with Derby County about an £8m deal for England Under-21 midfielder Will Hughes.

A £5 million plan to cut traffic noise for people living along an 11.5 mile (18.5km) section of the M40 in Buckinghamshire and South Oxfordshire has gone on show.

Image source, Roy Hughes

Highways England wants to install new noise reducing barriers at eight locations along the motorway between Loudwater at junction 3 and Stokenchurch at junction 5.

The proposals available to view online, external, and a public event will be held on 30 June in High Wycombe.

Construction is due to start in the autumn.

The noise reduction barriers are set to be installed at the following locations:

• Stokenchurch
• Wheeler End/Lane End
• Booker Cressex
• Daws Lea
• Flackwell Heath
• Loudwater
• Wooburn Moor (north and south)

Dani Bailey
BBC Local Live

Earlier we mentioned it's #FixtureReleaseDay, but did you know it's also #WorldGiraffeDay?

To celebrate, here's a video of the herd of giraffes who call Whipsnade Zoo home.

Kate Bradbrook
BBC Look East

Who would've guessed the world's hottest chilli is grown in Bedfordshire?

The Love My Chillies farm is based in Blunham, and produces the "Carolina Reaper", which certainly has a kick to it.

BBC News Travel

The M1 southbound at J11 has re-opened following an incident in which a man died.

There are still long delays from J12.

Sarah Jenkins
BBC Local Live

A man who died in a collision on the M1 earlier today is believed to have run up the exit slip road on the M1 southbound at J11 and on to the motorway, police said.

He was struck by a black Range Rover after running across all four lanes.

Emergency services attended the incident but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin have been informed.

Sgt Doug Fishwick, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire Roads Policing Unit, said: "This was a tragic incident and our thoughts are with the family of the man who died."

Jason Waterman, AKA Jugs and Jumbo, told police in Gibraltar he had seen himself on Crimewatch.

Our colleagues at BBC Three Counties radio have a camera on the giraffe enclosure at Woburn Safari Park.

Here are their pictures:

BBC Weather

This afternoon will be hot and humid again with plenty of warm sunshine.

The highest temperatures will be in Watford and other places near to London.

It will be even hotter than yesterday, probably the hottest summer solstice ever recorded.

Maximum Temperature: 31C (88F).

For the full forecast where you are visit BBC Weather.