A Polish police officer is to work directly with the Essex force as "direct support on the ground" following the murder of a Polish national in Essex. 

Arek Jozwik, 39, died after being attacked in Harlow on 27 August. A week later two Polish men were assaulted in the town. 

Today Essex Police confirmed the Polish officer would be stationed in Harlow to work with a community policing team in the town.

The officer will be in Harlow for a week and will be in uniform but will have no policing powers.

"The officer's job will be to support our engagement with the Polish community in Harlow," the force said.

Six teenagers have been arrested and released on police bail in connection with the murder.

Mariam Issimdar
BBC Local Live

The Cecil Jones Academy in Southend has re-opened on time, despite having 18 classrooms badly damaged in a fire two weeks ago.

It started during repair work to the roof. The theatre, offices and a dance studio have all been turned into temporary classrooms. Schools in the area have been helping out, providing teaching resources. 

Sheets of plywood now protect the precious sprung floor of the dance room. 

Executive principal Bev Williams said she never doubted it would re-open on time.

She said after making sure everyone was safe, her only thoughts were, "we are going to open and how are we going to do it?"

Rebuilding the school could take up to a year to complete. 

Lakeside Hammers, external will be without their heat leader Andreas Jonnson for the remainder of the speedway season. 

That's after he broke his collarbone, ribs and a thumb in a crash while riding for his Swedish team.  

Mariam Issimdar
BBC Local Live

Nine people, including three from Roydon, near Harlow, have been charged in connection with a protest at London City Airport yesterday, which saw some flights diverted to Southend Airport.

Image source, @UKBLM

More than 130 flights were disrupted by a demonstration organised by the Black Lives Matter group.

The accused will appear before magistrates next week to face charges including aggravated trespass and being unlawfully airside within a restricted area of an aerodrome.

The Essex duo of Dan Lawrence and Jamie Porter have signed extensions to their contracts at the County Ground. 

Batsman Lawrence has scored nearly 800 runs this season and will remain with Essex until at least 2018. 

Bowler Porter has taken 50 championship wickets and has agreed a deal until 2019. 

Braintree Town agree to release goalkeeper Jamie Butler from his contract just 72 days after he signed for the club.

The opening ceremony of the Paralympics will be staged in Rio this evening. 

Image source, British Triathalon

Seven Essex athletes are competing at the games, including para-triathlete George Peasgood, from Saffron Walden.. 

His father David, who is flying to Rio tomorrow, said: I'm a mixture of pride and anxiousness - all sorts of emotions going through.

"George doesn't get that nervous; he's very calm. Not so his Mum and Dad, who'll be watching him."

Here's a short video of a UK landmark - visible in parts of Essex - being demolished a short while ago.

The chimney was once part of a former power station on the Isle of Grain in Kent and is the tallest concrete structure ever to be demolished in Britain.    

Essex duo Jamie Porter and Dan Lawrence extend their contracts, keeping them with the club to 2019 and 2018 respectively.

Mariam Issimdar
BBC Local Live

Demolition experts have destroyed the UK's tallest concrete structure, the chimney of defunct Grain A Power Station.

Image source, BBC/SKY

The major Kent landmark, visible from much of the south Essex coastline, was blown up at 11:00. 

Image source, BBC/SKY

Peter Auger from Rainham, who helped build it, said: "When I sat and thought about it I realised how big and vast the job was and I'm quite sad about it."

Image source, BBC/SKY

The power station officially closed in December 2012 after owners E.ON decided it was not economically viable. 

Southend United, external defender Jason Demetriou played the full 90 minutes as Cyprus lost their World Cup qualifier 3-0 at home to Belgium.

Image source, Getty Images

Colchester United's, external Craig Slater travelled with the Scottish Under-21s but sat on the bench and watched his side lose 4-0 in Ukraine.

The U's Arsenal loan signing, Glen Kamara, wasn't involved for Finland's 1-0 home defeat to Germany.

Alex Dunlop
BBC Look East

An inquest into the deaths of a Suffolk couple who disappeared in May has been opened and adjourned

Peter and Sylvia Stuart were reported missing by their daughter Christy Paxman on 3 June.

Suffolk Coroner Dr Peter Dean, was told that she had last seen her parents at their home at the Annexe, Brick Kiln Cottage, Mill Lane, Weybread, early in the evening of the previous Saturday, 28 May.

Ali Quazimaj, 43, from Tilbury, Essex, is expected to stand trial for their murder in January.

Brenner Woolley
BBC Radio Suffolk sport

Swimmer Ryan Crouch, who is from Manningtree and trains in Ipswich, is targeting a medal at the Rio Paralympics, which get under way tonight.

Image source, Getty Images

The 22-year-old swam brilliantly in qualifying. He said: "I broke the British record on that swim, only for it to be broken in the heat after by a rival swimmer" 

"He's currently going into Rio faster than me, which I think is good for me as that takes the pressure off myself.

"The only pressure I've got is my own that I put on myself and that's motivating me very day to get up and get faster."

Alex Dunlop
BBC Look East

I'm at the IP-Centre in Ipswich to hear the opening of the inquest into the deaths of Suffolk couple Peter and Sylvia Stuart this morning. 

The body of 75-year-old Mr Stuart, was found near their home in Weybread in June, but the body of his 69-year-old wife has never been found. 

Police believe Mrs Stuart was killed as well. 

The inquest will be heard by Suffolk Coroner Dr Peter Dean.

Ali Quazimaj, 43, from Tilbury, Essex, has denied the murder of the couple and is expected to stand trial in January.

The tallest concrete structure ever to be demolished in Britain will be blown up today and you'll be able to see it from parts of Essex.

Image source, Geograph/Robert Lamb

The chimney at the former Grain Power Station, on the Isle of Grain in Kent is 244m (800ft) tall. 

That's taller than 55 double-decker buses stacked on top of each other and two-and-a-half times the height of Big Ben.

People will be gathering on the Southend side of the Thames to watch as it falls. 

Image source, Jayne Nichols

Among them will be Jayne Nichols, 56, from Rayleigh. She calls it "Dad's tower"  because her late father Len (pictured above right) helped to build it.

She said she had heard stories of how dangerous it was to work on. "It's quite a monster. It's quite a landmark in our family. It's Dad's chimney so today is quite a sad day, really," she said.

Former chief of the Navy Admiral Lord West says plans to sell off 13 training sites, including Middlewick Ranges in Colchester, shows that defence in this country is "appallingly underfunded". 

The Ministry of Defence announced yesterday that it was looking to make £225m from the sale of the sites which it can then put back into the armed forces. 

But  Admiral Lord West said: "It makes sense of course to rationalise as your organisation, of course, has got smaller. 

"An underlying problem we have with the defence of the nation at the moment is that it is appallingly underfunded. From 2010 up until now effectively our military was cut by 30%. That's by a third and that is extraordinary."

A woman is due to appear at Colchester Magistrates' Court today following a flat fire in the town in which an elderly man died. 

Essex Police launched a murder inquiry following the fire at the property in Rochdale Way on Sunday morning. 

Fred Payne, 78, died after breathing in smoke during the blaze. 

Yesterday detectives charged Lisa Connelly, 42, also of Rochdale Way, with murder and arson with intent to endanger life.

Mariam Issimdar
BBC Local Live

The Chief Constable of Essex Police, Stephen Kavanagh, says he's committed to bringing those responsible for the murder of a Polish national to justice. 

Image source, BBC Essex

As well as the murder investigation, the force is looking into separate attacks which saw two Polish men severely beaten up following the vigil for Arek Jozwik. 

Mr Kavanagh says such crimes are not acceptable and the force is treating the attacks as a hate crime. 

BBC Weather

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The Conservative MP for Harlow, Robert Halfon, has been describing the aftermath of the murder of the Polish national Arek Jozwik in the town. 

Mr Halfon, who's also an education minister, has recorded a series of audio and video diaries exclusively for BBC Essex about the last 10 days in his constituency. 

In them he describes the impact of the death on his work, including a conversation with the Polish ambassador.

You can see the rest of the videos on the BBC Essex Twitter , externalpage.