Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

The first big round of applause on the night went to Julie Howell, from the Green Party, when she stated she was against the introduction of the mayor. 

She said that it was a "chronic waste of public money". 

On the matter of fairness she stated that she had "never seen such a big divide".

"I've been here between people that seem to have it all and people that seem to have very little," she said.

She said building "communities" and places close to where people work was the answer and not creating "dormitory towns". 

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

One of the main areas for concern in the debate was the big difference between Peterborough and the rest of Cambridgeshire. 

The first question was how the mayor will make sure there is consistency and fairness across the board. 

Peter Dawe, the Independent candidate, said Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were "very different" and the wealth needed to be "spread and shared out". He said he would do this by introducing a "fairness commission".

James Palmer, the Conservative candidate, said he was "committed" to bringing wealth from Cambridge to the North of Cambridgeshire, and that meant "bringing fairness to Peterborough and the rest of the county."  

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

On 4 May six regions in England will hold elections for newly created combined authority mayors.

These new mayors' remits will cover multiple local authorities, in mostly urban areas.

Their main responsibility will be to decide their region's economic strategy, and many will have powers covering other areas such as transport and housing. However, their exact powers will vary according to the terms of the agreements each region has made with the government.

The new mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will have a budget of £800m over five years.

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

Three main subjects were covered in last night's Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election debate - housing, transport and business.

The questions were put to the seven candidates, who are:

Paul Bullen, for UKIP, who's currently on Cambridgeshire County Council.   

Rod Cantrill, the Liberal Democrat candidate, and councillor on Cambridge City Council.   

Image source, Cambridge City Council

This is Peter Dawe, who is an Independent candidate and lives in Ely.

Next up is Stephen Goldspink, for the English Democrats, who lives in the Fens.   

Julie Howell, the only woman on the panel, is from the Green Party. She lives in Peterborough. 

James Palmer, who's the leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, is representing the Conservative party.

And Kevin Price, who is the deputy leader of Cambridge City Council, is representing Labour.

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

Good morning and welcome back to the Local Live news feed for Cambridgeshire. 

Today our stream is going to look a little different, as we are dedicating much of our coverage to a debate that took place last night on the mayoral election which is taking place for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough on 4 May. 

For an hour the BBC presenter Janine Machin questioned the seven candidates on a whole host of areas, and we'll be reporting on what was said.

You can, of course, get in touch with us at any time via Twitter, external, using the #cpmayor hashtag, via email or Facebook, external.

The trust which runs mental health services in Norfolk and Suffolk apologises after patient's death.

English Premier League ice hockey clubs should apply to join the lower National League, the governing body's boss says.

Alex Rhodes
BBC Lincolnshire Live

That's all from me today but news, sport, weather and travel updates will continue through the evening.

I'll be back at 08:00 on Thursday - until then I'll leave you with five things we've learned today:

• The Grantham and Stamford MP Nick Boles says he's beaten cancer and he's ready to contest the seat in the upcoming general election
• Engineering giant Siemens has announced they're spending £35 million on a new operation centre in Lincoln 
• A public inquiry into a possible flood barrier for Boston has started today 
• A Sleaford woman has had her Christmas cards delivered... well over a year after she posted them 
• Nudge the zebra shark at Skegness Aquarium is about to turn five-years-old and is looking for love on "Fin-der" 

He'll have some stiff competition though...

Have a good evening.

That's it for another day of live updates from across the county, but scroll down to catch up on the day's stories. 

If you want to get in touch we love to hear from you. Drop us a line via Twitter,, external Facebook , externalor email - or simply use the "Get Involved" button at the top of this page.

We'll be back from 08:00 tomorrow to bring you all the news and views from the BBC's Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayoral Debate.

In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the sunshine today and if we have any breaking stories overnight, they'll be published here.

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/Alan's Almanac

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

Paralympic cyclist Jody Cundy is making something of a collection of medals.

Today the Rio star picked up his OBE at Buckingham Palace. He was named in the New Year's Honours' List after scooping two gold medals in the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

The Wisbech-born cyclist, 38, can now put it with the MBE he was awarded after the Beijing Paralympics in 2008. 

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

An on-call firefighter, referred to by colleagues as "dad", has retired after 40 years' service.

Roy Nicholas joined the fire service, external at the age of 25 and has been on 24-hour on-call cover at Gamlingay station ever since. 

He says it's been a difficult decision to stand down and describes himself as "the oldest person there - and the youngest" - because of his sense of humour.

Image source, CFRS

"I have a lot of friends at the station, I have seen a lot of people come and go and a lot of the youngsters call me dad," he said.  

"I am the sort of person who can’t sit about the whole time doing nothing and I just felt having the fire service has kept me going and on top of that I have really enjoyed helping people in distress."

On-call firefighters aren't based at the stations but carry a pager and respond when fire emergencies happen. 

They have other full-time jobs and earn an annual fire service wage for their evening, weekend and holiday commitments. 

Seven candidates vie to become the first mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

Image source, Cambridgeshire Police

A man has been jailed for three years for subjecting his former partner to "prolonged periods of violence and psychological abuse".

Leon Barratt, 24, of The Lawns, Wisbech, began the abuse in 2014 and it continued for three years. 

Police said that on one occasion, Barratt forced his victim off the road - and another time strangled her until she almost blacked out.

He was charged with controlling and coercive behaviour, malicious communications, driving without due care and attention, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance and a public order offence.

He pleaded guilty to all - and was sentenced at Peterborough Crown Court, external.

Det Con Steve Ward said: "Barratt subjected his former partner to a prolonged period of abuse, at times leaving her fearing for her life.

"Thankfully she took the brave decision to get support and report the abuse she suffered and I hope her story reaches out to other people experiencing similar abuse."

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

A little while ago we told you about the firefighters joining the runners taking on the London Marathon on Sunday. 

A police officer has told how pulling on his trainers helped him combat depression after his diagnosis in 2015. 

PC Iain Perry, based at Sawston, external, is raising money for Mind, the mental health charity.   

Image source, Cambridgeshire Police

He's set himself the challenge of running three marathons in a month – he's already completed Manchester and Brighton - and London, external is next.

Iain joined the Metropolitan Police in 1989 in the footsteps of his older brother, Michael. In 1993, just before PC Perry's wedding day, his brother was killed in a crash.

"During my darker periods, my running was my escape," he said. "I wanted to combine something that helps me with raising money to help other people in my situation.

"There’s often a lot of stigma associated with mental health and if my experiences can encourage someone else to get support then it’s worth sharing."

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

A Cambridgeshire firefighter, external will run the London Marathon on Sunday in memory of his uncle - who served with the fire service for 30 years.

On-call firefighter Tom Bingley, 27, from Thorney, is raising money for the British Heart Foundation.

His uncle Malcolm Bean died after a cardiac arrest at his home last January at the age of 57. He'd been an on-call firefighter himself based in Whittlesey. 

Image source, CFRS

Tom isn't the only firefighter pounding the capital's streets, external for charity this weekend. 

Graham George, from Huntingdon’s white watch, is one of only 13 firefighters to be chosen to run on behalf of The Fire Fighters Charity. 

And station commander Paul Oliver, based with the on-call support team at Huntingdon Station, will also be taking part.

Barbara Stimpson
BBC Radio Lincolnshire

Here's some of the top stories from around the county this lunchtime:

• Grantham and Stamford MP Nick Boles is cancer-free and preparing to contest the seat once again in the upcoming election 
• The CPS says their investigation into election expenses will still go ahead on schedule - Lincolnshire Police were one of the forces who submitted files to them
• Nudge the Skegness shark is looking for love    

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

Police in Peterborough are investigating a wall of racist graffiti that's appeared in the city. 

The entire side of the Currys PC World building in the Boulevard Retail Park, on Mashew Avenue, has been daubed with what officers are calling "prejudiced graffiti".

This is only a little bit of it - the rest is too offensive to publish.

Image source, Terry Harris

Image source, Terry Harris

Police, external would like anyone with information to get in touch, quoting incident number CF0211530417. Or call 101.

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

More now on Papworth Hospital's move - and it's going to get busy around the Cambridge Biomedical Campus over the next 12 months.

A long-term travel plan aims to cut congestion around Addenbrooke's, despite massive growth at the hospital. It's out for consultation.

There are currently about 16,000 people working on the Biomedical Campus. 

By the time the heart and lung unit moves from Papworth next April - and AstraZeneca's research HQ is established - that will increase to 19,000. 

By 2032, that number could reach 25,000.

Image source, Sebastian Ballard

Cambridge University Hospitals said: "The draft travel plan aims to tackle the transport challenges we face as the campus expands into a world-class centre for research, science and healthcare. 

"The thoughts and views of local residents are valuable to this process and we look forward to hearing what they say." 

Nanette Aldous
BBC Radio Norfolk

Twelve people are to lose their jobs at a distribution centre in King's Lynn as a result of the fashion retailer Jaeger going into administration. 

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

The clothing firm went into administration last week and 20 stores on the high street are set to close.

Acoss the UK, 165 people working in Jaeger's  shops will lose their jobs according to AlixPartners which is overseeing the closures. 

"Following consultation with all appropriate stakeholders it has become apparent that the operating costs of a number of stores are financially unviable given the company's difficulties. 

"We can confirm that all employees at these stores will be paid for the duration of the process," the firm said. 

In the east the brand has a store in Cambridge where it employs 11 staff.