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Katy Lewis
BBC News Online

Image source, Google

The manager of an Essex care home has called for sites across England to organise a regulatory body to uphold standards in care and help with communication.

Director of care at the Westcliff Lodge Care Home in Westcliff-on-Sea, Jenny Smith, has revealed that almost 30% of residents there have died during the coronavirus pandemic.

She told the BBC it's been the worst three weeks in her 30 years at the site.

She said the move to create an organisation - like ones in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland - could save lives in the future.

"If we'd had a place at the table and could have been influencing the apportioning of resources at a much earlier stage, I think we may have been listened to," she said.

"When you consider we're approximately a 900,000 workforce, I really think it's been long overdue anyway, but I'm hoping if some good comes out of this crisis it will be that that question is given some very serious attention."

Image source, Facebook

A police force is hoping a question and answer session on social media for children will help to relieve some anxiety.

Northamptonshire Police, external is behind a Facebook Live session that will take place on Thursday at 16:30.

It has already held several sessions, that thousands of people have joined, it said.

Supt Sarah Johnson said: "Our live Facebook Q&As have proven popular with the local community and I think that’s because they’re unscripted - people can pose questions live, we don't know what questions are coming, and I think that brings a level of authenticity to the process which the public in Northamptonshire have appreciated.

"We want to be accessible, approachable and willing to give the public the interaction they deserve and these sessions have been a great way for is to do that."

If you can not join live, you are asked to submit any questions to the police via email, external.

The BBC is coming together to create a mosaic to present to fundraising hero Captain Tom Moore, who has his 100th birthday tomorrow.

BBC Local Radio presenters and staff are all due to take a photo of themselves saluting Capt Moore, who's raised close to £30m for the NHS by walking around the garden of his home in Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire.

And the BBC is also asking for your help by uploading your own salute photos here for use in the final artwork. The deadline is 23:59 this evening.

The final mosaic will be shared online.

Peterborough's homecare team is appealing for volunteers.

The City Council says its service is under "extreme strain" as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

People interested in offering help can find out more here., external

• The Eastern Daily Press report, external that groups of people gathering in a supermarket car park and at a basketball court have had warnings from police
• Meanwhile, North Norfolk News has video, external of the "deserted" Broads as lockdown continues
• And the Great Yarmouth Mercury, external says police officers in the county have been spat at or coughed on multiple times since the coronavirus lockdown began

Steven Clegg was arrested following reports he was causing a nuisance in a shop.

Plenty of us have had birthdays or other family celebrations affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

But spare a thought for those who are marking the 100-year milestone.

Doris Holden from the Essex village of North Weald is one of them - but her neighbours were determined to still mark her celebrations with a singalong, balloons and banners...

Happy birthday, Doris!

• The East Anglian Daily Times, external reports that a Halesworth man has been asked to stop playing music requests for his neighbours during lockdown following complaints from some of them
• Elsewhere, the Ipswich Star reports, external that recycling centres in Suffolk could reopen next month - but would do so under strict new rules
• And the Star also has news, external of how train operator Greater Anglia is reaching out to the region’s rail enthusiasts

More than 50 musicians have joined forces to perform the theme tune of the hit US TV classic Hawaii Five-0 as part of a virtual orchestra during the coronavirus pandemic.

The creative effort, pulled together by the county council's Cambridgeshire Music Education Hub, external, saw submissions from across the county and as far afield as Los Angeles.

You can watch their performance below, or by clicking here., external

• A company has installed a vending machine at Stevenage’s Lister Hospital to provide free treats to staff battling coronavirus, the Comet, external reports
• The MK Citizen, external reports that a baking-crazy seven-year-old boy has raised £417 for NHS heroes by selling off his creations
• Age Concern Luton and CHUMS are bearing the brunt of the coronavirus and both have launched appeals for more funding and donations from the public, Luton Today, external reports

Katy Lewis
BBC News Online

A lottery winner, whose father died after contracting coronavirus, has mowed an NHS logo and rainbow into his lawn in tribute to those who helped care for his dad.

Image source, PA Media

Barry Maddox and Sue Richards, of Billericay in Essex, won £3m on a National Lottery scratch card in 2016.

Mr Maddox's father, Frankie, died five weeks ago after testing positive for Covid-19 which prompted his son to create the giant lawn art.

"At 85, dad was still a larger-than-life character, full of life and humour," he said.

"Losing him has left a huge hole in our lives but we know that he'd want us to keep enjoying life and to always be grateful for what we've got.

"This bit of lawn mowing is our way of saying thank you to the NHS for all they have done for our family, and for so many other families... and in some ways, I also hope it's something for dad to look down at us and have a chuckle."

• The Northampton Chronicle and Echo, external report that completion of the A43 Moulton bypass is back on target for the end of May - despite hold-ups due to the Covid-19 crisis
• The Chron also reports, external that the husband of a coronavirus survivor has donated £600 to a Northampton restaurant that is supplying hospital staff with free food
• And the Northamptonshire Telegraph, external has spoken to a fitness fanatic who is attempting to raise money for the NHS by running through every street in Kettering

The university's end-of-term balls have been cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Northamptonshire County Council has been given an extra £13.4m by the government to deal with the immediate impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

On 1 April it was announced that local authorities across the county would receive a £17.6m boost as part of a £1.6bn handout from the government.

In total, Northamptonshire's councils will receive an extra £20.14m – with the remaining £6.7m going to district and borough councils, and divided-up based on their population and the latest assessment on the challenges they are facing during the crisis.

The UK's second "garden city" celebrates its centenary on 29 April, but events have been cancelled.

• Cambridgeshire Live reports, external that a "large" group of people were seen flouting lockdown guidelines by sunbathing, having a barbecue and swimming at a lake
• The Wisbech Standard, external has spoken to a KFC worker who has had "NHS" with a heart shaved into her head, raising £300 for hospital workers
• And Peterborough Today, external reported on the city's beer festival being called off amid the pandemic

Katy Lewis
BBC News Online

Volunteers for Watford General Hospital, external have been making "shared hearts" for dying patients at its Vicarage Road site.

One is given to the patient with the other sent to their family to ensure no-one is "alone" at a difficult time.

Vicar and broadcaster Reverend Richard Coles has tweeted that people have not maintained a social distanced queue at his local supermarket because of the rain, while he has been comforting those who have lost loved ones to coronavirus.

Coles, formerly in The Communards and now vicar of Finedon in Northamptonshire and presenter of BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live, previously said "this is the loveliest and nastiest April I can remember".

Andy Holmes
BBC Three Counties Radio political reporter

Councils across Beds, Herts and Bucks have received details of their latest round of emergency funding from the government to help deal with the pandemic.

In the second £1.6bn handout, Luton Council, which has said the shutdown at Luton Airport will leave them with a £45m shortfall, will get a further £5.8m, which is a slight increase.

Hertfordshire County Council is getting less this time around and the government has said this payment is not ring-fenced for adult social care like the first round of funding, so the council could spend it on whatever it wants.

After the first allocation, there were concerns from district councils that they had missed out, having arguably lost more since the start of the pandemic because they get a lot of funds from car park charges and revenue from leisure centres that are currently closed.

This time, the districts have got a much larger share, some having gone from thousands to more than £1m.

• Bedford Borough: £4.7m - up £600,000
• Broxbourne Borough: £958,000 - up £917,000
• Bucks Unitary Authority*: £14.9m - up £4.5m
• Central Beds: £7.9m - up £2.4m
• Dacorum District: £1.5m - up £1,447,000
• East Herts District: £1.4m - up £1,353,000
• Herts County Council: £21.7m - down £4.4m
• Hertsmere Borough: £1m - up £953,000
• Luton Borough: £5.8m - up £400,000
• Milton Keynes Borough: £7.4m - up £1.4m
• North Herts District: £1.3m - up £1,252,000
• St Albans City and District: £1.4m - up £1,356,000
• Stevenage Borough: £871,000 - up £826,000
• Three Rivers District: £920,000 - up £885,000
• Watford Borough: £959,000 - up £909,000
• Welwyn Hatfield Borough: £1.2m - £1,149,000

* the Bucks Unitary Authority, external replaced Bucks County Council, Aylesbury Vale DC, Chiltern DC, South Bucks DC and Wycombe DC on 1 April.