BBC Local Live: Beds, Herts and Bucks

Summary

Updates on Friday, 14 July 2017
Easyjet readies post-Brexit EU-based airline
Council opposes fire service to come under control of PCC
Hemel Hempstead residents crowdfund for 74-year-old's garden
MK Dons 'beat other clubs' to secure Landell on loan
Valtteri Bottas fastest in first practice, Lewis Hamilton second

Live Reporting

Alex Pope

Police report banned driver in Hitchin carpublished at 11:30 British Summer Time 10 July 2017
Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live
Road police in Hitchin came up trumps this morning when they seized an uninsured car whose driver was disqualified until 2018, probably - although I'm only guessing here - due to the 42 points on their current licence...
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Winning title an uphill struggle, says Hamiltonpublished at 10:43 British Summer Time 10 July 2017
BBC Sport
Lewis Hamilton admits he faces an uphill struggle to win a fourth world title this year after finishing fourth in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.
He is 20 points behind Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who finished second behind Hamilton's team-mate at Brackley-based Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas.
The Stevenage driver said: "I don't have a crystal ball but it doesn't look great.
Image source, Rex Features
"There is a long way to go. The bigger the gap gets, the more the pressure builds."
However, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said Bottas' victory had done Hamilton a favour because it took points away from Vettel.
- Title challenge not going great - Hamilton
- 'You don't use your car as a weapon'
Girl hit by off-road bike 'accident waiting to happen'published at 10:37 British Summer Time 10 July 2017
Stuart Bailey
BBC News
Bedfordshire Police has defended its long-running campaign against the illegal use of off-road motorbikes after a young girl was recently struck by one.
She was treated in hospital for minor injuries after the incident in The Green, Houghton Regis, last Saturday at about 17:15.
One woman who lives nearby told the BBC off-road bikers had been a nuisance in the area for at least four years and the situation wasn't getting better.
She said: "This was an accident waiting to happen and it's only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed."
Image caption,
The BBC has covered problem bikers in Houghton Regis for years - including this pair caught on camera last year
Image caption,
These bikers were also caught by one of our reporters in 2016
Bedfordshire Police said in the past 18 months since an operation began to tackle the issue, 70 bikes had been seized and destroyed and 15 people had been arrested.
Insp Jim Goldsmith said: "In May this year we launched our new off-road bikes, which are being ridden by members of the special constabulary.
"They're being used in the evenings and weekends to get to the areas where these bikers are, to identify them and capture images on camera so we can then find them, seize their bikes and bring them to justice."
Image source, Bedfordshire Police
Properties searched in slavery and money laundering investigationpublished at 08:30 British Summer Time 10 July 2017
Stuart Bailey
BBC News
About 40 police officers have searched two properties in High Wycombe this morning in connection with modern slavery and money laundering offences.
The warrants were executed on Micklefield Road at 06:00.
Thames Valley Police said it would be giving further details on this later today.
We'll let you know of any updates.
Image source, Thames Valley Police
Weather: Thundery downpours laterpublished at 08:12 British Summer Time 10 July 2017
Georgina Burnett
BBC Weather
A dry and sunny start to the day but that could change later.
The Met Office has a yellow warning of thundery showers from 10:00 to 18:00, with localised flooding.
Temperatures peaking at 24C (75F).
BBC Weather has a more detailed forecast for where you live.
Good morningpublished at 08:00 British Summer Time 10 July 2017
Stuart Bailey
BBC News
Hello and welcome to another week of live updates for Herts, Beds and Bucks on Monday, 10 July.
We'll be here until 18:00 with the latest news, sport, weather and travel.
First up, there'll be a full weather forecast shortly.
You can contact us at any time via email, Facebook, external or Twitter, external.
Blind student on 'smartphone zombies'published at 00:16 British Summer Time 10 July 2017
Matt Odgers on navigating city streets and how fitness changed his life.
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'Devil vision' killer cleared of murderpublished at 18:54 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Killer Sammi Ozone is told to expect a "sentence of some length" for the death of his father-in-law.
Read More