Ollie Bayliss
BBC Three Counties Radio

Could we have next year's Britain's Got Talent winner on our hands?

One Buckinghamshire man is planning to enter next year's competition with his trained "magic" chickens.

Patrick Myles, who lives in Downley near High Wycombe, has taught his pet chickens to do various tricks and is hoping to wow judges.

Simon Oxley
BBC Three Counties Radio

More than £12m of Arts Council funding has been announced for projects and organisations across Beds, Herts and Bucks over the next four years.

These include Watford's Palace Theatre, the Luton Carnival and the Bucks County Museum.

Image source, Getty Images

Bedfordshire has been allocated £2.1m, with almost £1m going to the Wardown House Museum and Gallery, £600,000 to the Luton Carnival and an extra £500,000 to help transform the Hat Factory in Luton.

Hertfordshire will receive a total of £6m, with £3m for the Palace Theatre in Watford.

A total of £3.8m has been earmarked for Buckinghamshire. The Stables in Wavendon will receive £1.5m and £800,000 will be split between Bucks County Museum and the MK Arts Centre.

Two Bedfordshire police officers who restrained a suspected suicide bomber are among more than 70 officers nominated in the annual Police Bravery Awards, external.

Acting Sgt Adam Lambert (below left) and PC Derek Burgess (below centre) tackled a female carrying a rucksack who had been overheard saying she was going to kill everybody in The Mall shopping centre in Luton.

The officers put public safety before their own but received a "torrent of abuse and verbal hostility" from passers-by who had gathered around them, Bedfordshire Police said.

A search later revealed the woman may have been suffering from mental ill health and had no weapons or devices on her.

Image source, Police Federation

Bedfordshire Police chief constable Jon Boutcher (above right) said: "In today's age of heightened threat from terrorism, this incident was rightly handled as a high-risk, fast response in which officers and our partners alike recognised the potential danger to lives in a crowded shopping centre.

"The officers involved deserve significant praise and commending for their proportionate, professional and humane response, and I thank them for selflessly entering potentially dangerous situations for the protection of others."

The awards, hosted by the Police Federation, take place next month.

It was 50 years ago today that the world's first ATM was unveiled at a Barclays branch in Enfield.

Following its London launch, the ATM was introduced in Luton soon afterwards in the summer of 1967.

The first cash machine came about after some hurried signing of contracts, over a pink gin, between Barclays and Scottish inventor John Shepherd-Barron, who died in 2010.

"It struck me there must be a way I could get my own money, anywhere in the world or the UK," he told the BBC in 2007. "I hit upon the idea of a chocolate bar dispenser, but replacing chocolate with cash."

There are now about 70,000 cash machines across the UK, and 176 million cards in the UK that can be used to withdraw cash at them.

If you want to put your knowledge of ATMs to the test, you can take our cash machine quiz here.

BBC News Travel

There are delays of up to 15 minutes between Milton Keynes Central and Watford Junction due to animals on the line.

A deer was spotted near the track earlier this morning, therefore trains are travelling at reduced speeds.

Disruption is expected to last until 10:15.

Justin Dealey
BBC Three Counties Radio

People living in a Bedfordshire new town aimed at commuters have again accused developers of not delivering the railway station they promised.

At a drop-in session with developers Gallagher Estates, Wixams residents were told that their proposed station might be built in the next village at Elstow.

Planning permission for the proposed Wixams train station has already lapsed due to a lack of funding.

Bedford Borough Council says even if the funding is found nothing will happen until details of the Oxford to Cambridge rail project have been confirmed.

Aileen has lived on the Wixams estate for seven years. She says the promise of a train station was "one of the pulls" that brought her to the area.

"I'm really disappointed. Having to go all the way into Bedford is not ideal," she said.

"I know it's not far, but when you relocate out of Luton to come here, it's really disappointing."

Aileen's message to the developers is "sort it out, you're letting a lot of people down".

A spokesman for Gallagher Estates said: "We are committed to providing £13m towards the creation of a new station, which is now expected to cost around £30m.

"Applications for grants - backed by Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council and Network Rail - to fund that gap have not, to date, been successful.

"The local authorities and the developer will continue to explore how the full cost of the station might be funded."

It's a rather cloudy start with rain moving in.

There will be one or two showers around and they are going to continue throughout the morning.

In the afternoon, the heavier rain arrives, coming up from the south and the west.

Highs of 18C (64F).

Sarah Jenkins
BBC Local Live

Good morning and welcome back to Local Live across Beds, Herts and Bucks.

Until 18:00 we'll bring you the latest news, sport, weather and travel for your local area.

The full weather forecast will be with you shortly, but it looks as though there may be some rain across the three counties.

As always, if you want to get in touch you can by email, Facebook, external or Twitter, external.

The slowest speeds in the UK are experienced in three Scottish local authority areas, Which? says.

Non-league player Aidan Chaves was arrested after reports a player produced a weapon after being spat at.

Rapper Dappy, whose real name is Costas Contostavlos, wept in the dock as a suspended sentenced was handed out.

That's it for our live coverage for today - thanks for joining us. We'll be back again from 08:00 tomorrow.

Scroll back through today's feed for anything you may have missed. Any breaking news from around Beds, Herts and Bucks will still appear here overnight.

Have a great evening.

Dan Holley
BBC Look East weather

Most places will stay dry tonight as temperatures dip to 10C (50F) in a light easterly breeze.

Tomorrow will start mainly bright but much of the day will be cloudy with showery outbreaks of rain developing.

Some heavy bursts are expected later, with perhaps a rumble of thunder. It will feel humid in a mostly light easterly breeze.

Maximum temperature: 21C (70F).

More details from BBC Weather.

Capital and Regional has just got back to us with its views following Friday's crunch meeting over the future of Power Court in Luton.

The firm came under pressure from Luton Town, developer 2020 and those holding office to abandon its plans for Power Court, so a new football ground could be built there. However, Capital and Regional - the owners of the Mall shopping centre - has its own vision for the site and wants a stadium built elsewhere in the town.

Ken Ford, project director for Luton, said: "I was glad of the opportunity to meet with the fans and residents face-to-face, listen to their views, offer our alternative vision for the town centre and clarify our position on the consequences as we see them of 2020's two linked planning applications.

"There are undoubtedly areas where we can find agreement with 2020 Developments and Luton Borough Council and I am glad to continue to meet with them at any time.

"We do share a common cause in trying to agree a plan that both secures the long-term prosperity of the town centre and rehouses the football club. Fundamental for us is finding a less damaging way of funding the stadium that everyone wants."

Yeovil Town sign Luton Town midfielder Jake Gray for an undisclosed fee on a two-year deal.

Helen Burchell
BBC News

Former N-Dubz rapper Dappy has been given a suspended jail sentence after arming himself with a butcher's knife during a row with his partner.

Costas Contostavlos, 30, admitted having a bladed article in a public place outside the home he shared with Imani Campbell in Hatfield on 10 May.

An earlier plea of not guilty to common assault on Ms Campbell was accepted by the prosecution at Luton Crown Court.

Contostavlos was given nine months in jail, suspended for two years.

A man who stabbed his "controlling" father-in-law to death claims his victim had the face of a devil.

Nic Rigby
BBC News

We've been following stories on rival plans for the Power Court site in Luton and thought we'd give you a more detailed look at what's being proposed.

Image source, 2020 Development

Luton Town FC and 2020 Developments have put forward plans for an "impressive and iconic stadium design" (above), with more public space to complement the Grade I-listed St Mary's church.

As well as a new football ground, it's proposed there will be about 500 flats in five blocks and bars, restaurants, shops and a small cinema.

The development will also include an 1,800-capacity live venue and a hotel.

Image source, Capital and Regional

Meanwhile, Capital and Regional, which runs the Mall shopping centre, wants a mixed development (pictured above) of retail, catering, homes and offices, all set around a central public park.

The developers would open up the River Lea through the Power Court site, making the river an attractive feature of the town centre. The proposals would see the new football stadium in Stockwood Park.

Ken Ford, executive director at Capital and Regional, said: "The town centre can provide the heart and soul of Luton for all of its residents, both those who currently use the town centre regularly and those who might have preferred to travel to London or Milton Keynes.

"The town centre has capacity to attract those people back, daytime and evening, seven days a week. Power Court on its own can't do that, but it is an important site that can be integrated with the core of the town centre."

An inmate is jailed for life for an attack that left a man in a 'vegetative state' before he died.

Simon Oxley
BBC Three Counties Radio

I'm sure Ken Ford, the executive director of Mall owners Capital and Regional, was well aware of the strength of support for Luton Town's new stadium plans (pictured), but Friday night's public meeting will have left him in no doubt.

Club officials, fans, councillors and MPs all voiced their support for the stadium to be at Power Court in the town centre and all voiced their disapproval at C and R's counter planning application, which is seen as little more than a delaying tactic.

Image source, 2020 Developments

Some fans talked about boycotting the Mall. Others seemed unwilling to adversely affect the livelihoods of fellow Lutonians.

Plus talk of 40,000 boycotting - based on Luton's 2009 Wembley following - does not quite ring true, as Luton fans come from a wide area not just the Mall's catchment, but any action would surely focus minds.

In nearly 30 years of covering the Hatters' plans for relocation, this one ticks more boxes than any before.

Image source, Google

The club own the land, have the financial means to deliver their plans, have the support of all the fans, the support of the politicians, and find themselves trying to be part of a wider regeneration of the town and the increasingly important airport.

And yet it still seems there is a long way to go.

Fans are frustrated having last week seen another major development - the £200m rail link to the airport - given the green light.

The feeling of the meeting though was that the process would certainly be speeded up if C and R dropped their opposition. The ball is now back in Mr Ford's court.