BBC Local Live: Essex on Wednesday, 11 May 2016

Summary

M11 closed after 40 tonnes of wood catch fire on lorry
Police continue to question a man over a fatal fire in Westcliff-on-Sea
Man left with life-changing injuries after being 'shot while sat in a van' in Stanford-le-Hope
More than 600 people from Essex are on the run after skipping bail
Updates on Wednesday, 11 May 2016

Live Reporting

Jack Warren

Essex Police: Do not block M11 hard shoulderpublished at 14:10 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
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M11 still closed after lorry catches fire and spills dieselpublished at 14:06 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
The northbound M11 remains closed after a lorry pulling 40 tonnes of wood caught fire between Bishops Stortford and Saffron Walden earlier.
Image source, Essex Fire and Rescue Service
Station officer Paul Curtis, of Saffron Walden Fire Station, said: "The quick actions of the driver prevented the fire from spreading further, which also prevented a lengthy motorway closure."
Stanford-le-Hope shooting cordon remains in placepublished at 13:57 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
Chris Flynn
BBC Essex
A cordon remains in place in Stanford-le-Hope this lunchtime after a man was shot in his van here yesterday.
The victim suffered life-changing injuries after he was shot in London Road at about 19:00.
No arrests have been made.
On-the-run conman from Colchester traced to Spainpublished at 13:36 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
Craig Lewis
BBC News
A serial conman wanted by police in Essex and Norfolk for a £21,000 fraud in the UK is being held in a Spanish jail.
Norman Fowler went missing in 2014 after being sentenced to nine months in jail at Norwich Crown Court.
The 38-year-old, from Colchester, later moved to Alicante, where he is being held in custody while on remand for unrelated gun licensing matters.
Money raised 'to thank' James Fairweather tip-off womanpublished at 13:19 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
Jodie Smith
BBC News
A crowdfunding page has been set up to raise money for a woman who missed out on a £20,000 reward, despite tipping off police about a double murderer.
Image source, Michelle Sadler/Facebook
Michelle Sadler was told she was not eligible to receive Crimestoppers money after she told police James Fairweather was hiding in bushes in Colchester.
As first reported in the Colchester Gazette, external, Crimestoppers said rewards were only given to people who rang its number rather than the police. Fairweather was given two life sentences for the murders in April.
Megan Rowley, who set up the JustGiving page, said she wanted to "give people the chance to thank" Mrs Sadler.
In the news: Lorry fire closes northbound M11... Money raised 'to thank' James Fairweather tip-off womanpublished at 13:06 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
Sonia Watson
BBC Essex
Here are the latest stories for Essex this lunchtime:
- The northbound M11 at Bishops Stortford is currently blocked due to a lorry fire and diesel spillage
- A crowdfunding page has been set up to raise money for a woman who missed out on a £20,000 reward for a tip off about a double murderer
- Plans to create a new M11 junction at Harlow have been unveiled today
Diesel spill after lorry fire causes further delays on northbound M11published at 12:52 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
Essex Police says it is assisting Highways England in dealing with a diesel spillage on the northbound M11.
Image source, Essex Police
The road is currently blocked northbound, between J8 at Bishops Stortford and J9 for Saffron Walden.
Essex 'most wanted' skipped bail in Novemberpublished at 12:41 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
One of Essex Police’s "most wanted" skipped court bail in November.
Image source, Essex Police
Tony Price, 23, whose last known address was in Maldon, features on the force’s ‘Wanted’ page, external.
He is among 646 people on the run having failed to appear at court in the Essex area.
Rodney Bass: New M11 junction at Harlow essentialpublished at 12:32 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
Plans to build a new M11 junction at Harlow are "essential" to provide homes and jobs, according to the councillor responsible for infrastructure at Essex County Council.
Image source, Essex County Council
Plans for junction 7a were unveiled by the authority this morning.
Do you live in Harlow? What do you make of plans to create an extra M11 junction in your town?
Send us an email, tweet, external or visit our Facebook page, external.
Nick Alston describes PCC job as a 'privilege'published at 12:08 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
Nick Alston, the outgoing police and crime commissioner for Essex, has described his time in the role as a "privilege".
He will be replaced by fellow Conservative Roger Hirst, who was elected last week.
Mr Alston appeared on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.
Travel: Lorry fire causes delays on northbound M11published at 11:50
A lorry fire is causing delays on the northbound M11 between J8 at Bishops Stortford and J9 for Saffron Walden.
The road is currently blocked.
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Plans to create new Harlow M11 junction unveiledpublished at 11:37 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
Plans to create a new M11 junction at Harlow have been unveiled today.
Image source, Essex County Council
Essex County Council is planning to create junction 7a in a bid to improve congestion and access to the west Essex town.
The consultation will run until 6 July. If you'd like to see the proposals, they will be on display, external at a series of public exhibitions along the Gilden Way/Sheering Road route.
Cricket: Aaron Beard on coming through the ranks to Essexpublished at 11:24 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
Ben Fryer
BBC Essex sport
Essex's Aaron Beard says coming through the ranks in club cricket has been a major part in his career.
Image source, Getty Images
The teenager made his first-class debut for Essex this week, taking five wickets in the tour match against Sri Lanka.
Beard, who started playing at Writtle before joining Chelmsford, said: "It's a great place to be with a great bunch of lads who help you all the time."
'Happy retirement'... Police chief pays tribute to Essex PCC on his last daypublished at 11:02 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
Today is Nick Alston's last day as the police and crime commissioner for Essex, and the chief constable of the force has taken to social media to pay tribute to him.
Image source, Twitter/@CCEssexPolice
Stephen Kavanagh tweeted, external Mr Alston "held me to account during the most difficult time for policing in generations".
Adding, he "has put in place better solutions that have helped victims".
Mr Alston will be replaced by newly-elected Conservative Roger Hirst following last week's election.
Police still searching suspect who skipped bail in 1998published at 10:24 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
Essex Police is still searching for a suspected criminal who skipped bail in 1998.
The details were revealed as part of a series of Freedom of Information requests, which found there were more than 600 outstanding warrants in Essex.
The warrant from 1998 related to a burglary offence.
Double-murder accused Brett Rogers claims 'mystery man' responsible for killingspublished at 10:00 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
A man accused of the murder of his mother and her friend has claimed they were fatally stabbed by a mystery stranger while he was at the shops.
Brett Rogers, 23, from Stansted Mountfitchet, denies murdering Gillian Phillips, 54, and David Oakes, 60, at Ms Phillips's home in the village.
He told Chelmsford Crown Court the pair were attacked while he was at the supermarket for five minutes last July. The trial continues today.
More than 600 people from Essex on the run after skipping bailpublished at 09:41 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
More than 600 people from Essex who skipped bail while facing, or having been convicted of, charges including arson and sexual assault are on the run, a BBC investigation has found.
They are among over 13,000 suspected and convicted criminals subject to outstanding arrest warrants in England.
In total, 646 warrants are outstanding in the county, while 1,340 out of 1,574 issued were successfully executed last year.
Man continues to be questioned over Westcliff fatal flat firepublished at 09:19 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
Police are continuing to question a man on suspicion of murder after a fatal fire in Westcliff-on-Sea, which claimed the lives of a woman and her unborn baby.
The blaze happened on the ninth floor at a block of flats in Balmoral Road on Saturday evening. Officers are trying to establish if the fire was a targeted attack.
Det Ch Insp Marina Ericson said: "This is an important development in our inquiries but this is very much a continuing investigation."
Police appeal for witnesses in Stanford-le-Hope shootingpublished at 09:08 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
Police are appealing for anybody who witnessed a shooting in Stanford-le-Hope last night to come forward.
A man in his 50s suffered life-changing injuries when he was shot while sitting in his van in London Road, at about 19:00. The road remains cordoned off.
Det Insp Al Pitcher said: "At this time of night there would have been a lot of people, including motorists heading home, in this area and we would appeal for anyone who saw what happened to get in touch."
Stanford-le-Hope road cordoned off after shootingpublished at 08:52 British Summer Time 11 May 2016
Jack Warren
BBC Local Live
London Road in Stanford-le-Hope remains closed this morning after a shooting last night.
Image source, Owen Ward
Essex Police says the motive for the attack, which happened at about 19:00, has not been established, but there appears to be "no threat" to the wider public.
It's thought the road will be closed all morning while forensic investigations continue.