Updates on Friday, 30 June 2017
Arsonists destroy outdoor classroom
MP want Tesco staff to know about job loses ASAP
Porters to wear dresses at protest of suspension
Two cottages severely damaged in 'deliberate' fire
Alex Pope
BBC Local Live
So another week has come and gone, so that means Local Live for Beds, Herts and Bucks has also finished for this week.
Don't worry, we'll be back at 08:00 on Monday with yet more news, sport, travel and weather.
I hope you have a great weekend. I'm off to AmpRocks, external with 6,500 other people.
Here's a special preview of the DJ decks from the main stage. It's gonna get loud!
See you again soon.
A bit of a splash will be made in Watford tomorrow when the brand new £2.8m Cassiobury Park hub and paddling pools officially open to the public.
The park with 30 state-of-the-art splash pads, water jets and fountains, is next to two new paddling pools.
Image source, Watford Borough CouncilIt looks like it's already been tried out and is proving popular...
Image source, Watford Borough CouncilThere are raised "push buttons" for children to control the water flow and flat surfaces for children with disabilities to enjoy a paddle.
Image source, Watford Borough CouncilThe work is part of a £6.6m regeneration of Cassiobury Park, funded by Watford Borough Council and a National Lottery grant of about £5m.
It's due to open at 11:00.
League Two side Luton Town sign midfielder Andrew Shinnie on a season-long loan from Birmingham City.
Read MoreAlex Pope
BBC Local Live
A fundraising page has already been set up to raise funds to rebuild a special school classroom and donkey stable damaged by fire last night.
An appeal has started to try and collect £37,000 to replace the razed outdoor classroom and build a new shelter that housed donkeys Edwards and Issac.
Image source, Matthew ColleyMatthew Colley, the animal care manager at the school who set up the campaign, says the donkeys "are loved by the children at St Luke's, some of whom have complex needs".
"The outdoor classroom was purpose built to be accessible to the children in wheelchairs who benefit greatly from learning outside the classroom."
Dan Holley
BBC Look East weather
Cloudy with outbreaks of showery rain but becoming drier later with a few clear intervals.
Temperatures will only fall to 12C (54F) in a strengthening northwesterly wind but Saturday may start cloudy.
Any patchy rain will soon clear to leave a mostly dry day with sunny spells and areas of cloud but just the small chance of an isolated light shower.
Maximum Temperature 23C (73F).
More details from BBC Weather.
Andy Holmes
BBC Three Counties Radio political reporter
The mayor of St Albans and his wife are "retracing our footsteps" to try and find a missing mayoral chain.
The piece of official regalia, worn by the mayor's consort, hasn't been seen for several days.
Iqbal Zia says: "We don’t know exactly when this chain went missing, nor the circumstances of its disappearance. Indeed, we are still hoping that it will turn up.
"We don't know if it has been taken, or whether it has been misplaced.
"We had an incident at our house on Wednesday when our alarm was triggered and the police were called to the property.
"At the time, it didn't look like anything was out of place, but we can't help wondering now whether the chain was taken then. We simply don't know."
Image source, St Albans City and District CouncilThe piece dates from 1907 and consists of an 18-carat gold shield-shaped body, mounted with the enamelled Arms of the City.
An inscription on the back reads "presented to the corporation of St Albans for the use of the mayoress by Mrs W. S. Green, 1936".
Alex Pope
BBC Local Live
A Northampton man who used to run wrestling events in Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes, has been jailed after grooming a 12-year-old fan.
Steven Biggs, 40, of Northumbria Gardens, Northampton, used to run Total Action Wrestling.
He was told by a judge at Luton Crown Court he had been "manipulative and devious" towards the girl, who was infatuated with him and two other wrestlers.
Biggs pleaded not guilty to attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.
He was found guilty by a jury on Thursday and jailed for 18 months today. He was also given a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, stating he can't have unsupervised contact with girls aged under 16.
The mother of the girl, who's now 14, said in a statement her daughter's childhood had been stolen and irreparable damage had been done to her.
David Lumb
BBC News Online
Residents of Haddenham in Buckinghamshire are being forced to find alternative places to bury their loved ones after a local graveyard ran out of room.
The churchyard at St Mary's closed in February.
A new housing estate is being built with a new burial site, but that might take several years to complete.
Freda Dorrell, a resident in the village, said the current situation was "unacceptable".
She said people were "not happy" as alternatives plots had to be found further away, and she knew of one person who was cremated instead of being buried as they originally wished.
She said the new site was there but not yet ready, adding: "Somebody needs to get their act together and get things moving."
Margot Hodson (pictured), the vicar of St Mary's, told us: "I was personally devastated that we couldn't keep open until we found another option."
The company behind the new development, Dandara, said it bought the land with planning permission for housing, public open space and a burial ground, and had been working with the parish council on the proposed cemetery "for some time".
"We are aware of the acute need for burial facilities in Haddenham and whilst we are not legally obligated to deliver the burial ground until the end of the development, we will look at opportunities to bring this forward," a spokesman said.
This is all that's left of a recently built outdoor classroom at a special school in Redbourn, external, after arsonists set fire to it.
The barn structure in the grounds of St Luke's School on Crouch Hall Lane was burned down overnight.
Image source, Hertfordshire PoliceTwo donkeys that were stabled close by were found unharmed this morning by police wandering on Redbourn Lane, between the Redbourn roundabout and Harpenden Golf Club.
Image source, Hertfordshire PolicePC Richard Donbavand, from Hertfordshire Police, said: "This incident has deprived the school of their outdoor classroom, which will cost a significant amount of money to replace."
MK Dons midfielder Giorgio Rasulo signs a new one-year contract with the League One club.
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Kate Bradbrook
BBC Look East
This scene is going to look rather different from about 17:30 tonight.
About 6,500 festival goers will descend on Ampthill for AmpRocks to see Human League, Busted and Cast perform.
The first round of tickets sold-out in 38 minutes and here are some interesting facts about the annual event.
Patrick Byrne
BBC News
A woman has gone missing with her two children after taking them from their legal guardian without permission.
Cheryl Wilkins, 31, is with Dylan Wilkins-Barnes, four, and Leo Wilkins, two, probably travelling on public transport, police said.
Image source, Essex PoliceCheryl is white, 5ft 2ins tall, of slim build, with short brown hair and is believed to be wearing a long brown coat, light-coloured jeans and white trainers.
Dylan is white, 2ft 6ins tall, of slim build with brown collar-length hair. It is believed he may be wearing a grey coat and dark-coloured jogging bottoms.
Leo is white, 2ft 3ins tall, of slim build with brown shoulder length hair and is believed to be wearing a blue coat and dark-coloured jogging bottoms.
Image source, Essex PoliceThey were last seen on Canvey Island but Cheryl has links to St Albans, Hertfordshire, and South Ockendon.
"I need the public's help to find Cheryl, Dylan and Leo as soon as possible," Chief Insp Scott Cannon said.
"There is no indication that any harm has come to them but I am concerned for their welfare and I want to help them."
Alex Pope
BBC Local Live
The MP for Welwyn Hatfield is calling on Hertfordshire-based Tesco to tell workers as soon as possible who is losing their job.
About 1,200 losses were announced this week, which amounts to a quarter of its workforce in Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield.
Conservative MP Grant Shapps believes it will be "later August" before people know about their future, and he wants the company to "keep people posted, up to speed" and have those meetings "quickly".
Image source, Getty ImagesTesco says the job losses are "a significant next step to continue the turnaround of the business".
"We have made good progress so far in our turnaround but we have more to do," a spokesman said.
"We will work with colleagues to support them as we go through this important transition."
Alex Pope
BBC Local Live
A group of male porters will wear dresses the next time temperatures soar, in protest against the suspension of a porter at Watford General Hospital.
Michael Wood rolled up his trousers during hot weather last week but was suspended by his employer Medirest.
Image source, PAFifteen of his fellow porters met with the GMB union on Wednesday night to make the protest plans.
Mick Dooley, a regional officer from GMB, said the decision to take the action was "unanimous", adding "we have got to do what we have got to do".
The company released a statement, saying: "The health and safety of our colleagues is always our number one priority.
"We maintain an open dialogue with our people on such issues and due to the nature of their job and health and safety requirements, it is important that porters wear appropriate uniform at all times."
Stuart Bailey
BBC News
Luton Borough Council defended plans by the owners of The Mall shopping centre at an event yesterday after it faced criticism for opposing the move of the town's football stadium to Power Court.
As we reported earlier this week, Capital and Regional wants to use the site to build a mixed development (pictured below) of retail, catering, homes and offices, all set around a central public park.
Its proposals would see the new football stadium built in Stockwood Park, which goes against a separate plan backed by Luton Town Football Club and 2020 Developments.
Image source, Capital and RegionalSome councillors are among those urging Capital and Regional to drop their opposition to the football ground at Power Court.
But speaking after a meeting of the town's business leaders on Thursday, council chief executive Trevor Holden said two schemes were better than none for a site that had been mothballed for a long time.
"The football club and Capital and Regional were both at the event. They were both talking about what their aspiration to grow the town would be and it was a cordial event," said Mr Holden.
"There's a process to go through and I'm really hopeful we'll get through that process in the autumn of this year, then, whatever the result, we'll move on and grow."
Stuart Bailey
BBC News
Two derelict cottages near Stockwood Park in Luton have been severely damaged by fire.
It started at about 18:30 last night at the semi-detached properties on Newlands Road.
A thick plume of smoke could be seen from the nearby M1.
Image source, Graham CustanceBedfordshire Fire Service said it had a number of calls from the public about "youths in the area" and that the cause of the fire was deliberate.
A spokesman said: "Firefighters used extension ladders and thermal imaging cameras to assist their search of the property to ensure there were no casualties and none were found."
The fire had been put out by 19:30.
Elizabeth Rizzini
BBC Look East weather
Plenty of cloud around today but there will be some brighter spells.
There will be some sunshine here and there but also some showers developing through the afternoon.
The vast majority of us will stay dry until the evening.
Winds are light and it's a touch warmer than yesterday.
Top temperatures between 18C (64F) and 21C (70C).
Stuart Bailey
BBC News
Hello and welcome to Friday's live updates for Herts, Beds and Bucks.
We'll be here from now until 18:00 with the latest news, sport, weather and travel.
I've heard a rumour that it should feel less like November and more like summer this weekend. Fingers crossed. We'll get a full weather forecast shortly.
Alex Pope
BBC Local Live
That's it from all of us here on the Local Live news feed for Beds, Herts and Bucks.
We'll be back from 08:00 on Friday morning with yet more news, sport, travel and weather.
If you missed anything throughout the day, you can scroll through the page to see what we've covered.
League Two side Stevenage sign Middlesbrough goalkeeper Joe Fryer on a season-long loan deal.
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