Mariam Issimdar
BBC Local Live

Hello. We're all set here to bring you the latest news, sport, weather and travel affecting the county. 

We start with more reaction to the murder of the Polish national Arek Jozwik in Harlow.

The town's MP Robert Halfon has recorded an audio and video diary on how the crime has affected his constituency over the last 10 days. More on that shortly.

Keep us posted with your news and pictures in the usual way. 

A Polish man who died after being attacked in Essex is believed to have been knocked to the floor by a single punch, police say.

A woman is charged with murdering a pensioner who was trapped in a fire at his flat.

That's it for our live coverage for today. Among the stories we brought you was the news that 42-year-old woman Lisa Connelly has been charged with the murder of pensioner Fred Payne in a flat fire in Colchester.

We also brought you newly-released CCTV pictures of people seen in the area of a fatal attack on a Polish man in Harlow, and told you the MoD is planning to close Middlewick Ranges in Colchester.

You can scroll back down the feed to catch up on any of these stories.

If any news breaks overnight you can read it here. We'll be back in the morning with live updates from 08:00. Have a good evening.

Police investigating the murder of a Polish man in Harlow have released CCTV pictures of people who were passing by the area at the time he was attacked.

Arek Jozwik, 39, died from head injuries on Monday 29 August. Police said CCTV showed he'd been punched once in the face during an argument involving his friends and a group of youths outside takeaways in The Stow on the Saturday night.

Detectives said they want to speak to anyone who might have seen what happened before, during or after the altercation.

Image source, Essex Police

Nic Rigby
BBC News

Colchester MP Will Quince, whose son was stillborn, is calling on the government to introduce statutory leave for bereaved parents.

Conservative Mr Quince introduced his Parental Bereavement Leave (Statutory Entitlement) Bill via the 10-minute rule procedure in the House of Commons.

Parents whose children die have no right to paid leave - it's only available to parents who lose their babies.

Mr Quince told MPs that his son was stillborn in October 2014, entitling him to two weeks off. 

"I know how valuable it was to spend precious time with my wife coming to terms with what had just happened," said Mr Quince.

"I cannot begin to understand what it would feel like to lose a child at seven months, two, five, 10, 15 years old. The grief must be unbearable. 

"Why should they not have the same protection in law as those who lose a baby through stillbirth, or in the first few days and months of life?"

Nic Rigby
BBC News

Tributes have been paid to a Colchester pensioner who died in a flat fire over the weekend. 

The death of 78-year-old Fred Payne, of Rochdale Way, prompted a murder investigation on Sunday. 

Former neighbour Jade Woodyard told the BBC: "He (Mr Payne) was a lovely old man. He kept himself to himself. He told stories about his time in the war.

"He just wanted everyone to be happy. He was such a gentleman."

Lisa Connelly, 42, has been charged with his murder and arson with intent to endanger life and is due to appear before magistrates tomorrow.

Julie Reinger
BBC Look East weather

This evening will be dry with some sunny spells. 

It will then be another cloudy, muggy night with areas of mist and fog. Temperatures are unlikely to fall below 16C (61F).

Image source, BBC Weather

Any mist and fog should gradually clear tomorrow with a better chance of the cloud breaking to allow some spells of sunshine, especially in the afternoon. 

Saying humid with highs of about 25C (77F). 

BBC Weather has more local forecasts. 

Nic Rigby
BBC News

Several flights were diverted to Southend Airport following the closure of London City Airport protesters gained access to the runway.

Image source, @ukblm

Nine protesters were arrested after chaining themselves together on the runway 

Black Lives Matter UK said the action was taken in order to "highlight the UK's environmental impact on the lives of black people locally and globally".  

A woman is due to appear in court tomorrow having been charged with the murder of 78-year-old Fred Payne in Colchester.

Mr Payne died in a fire at his flat in Rochdale Way in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Lisa Connelly, 42, unemployed, of Rochdale Way, has also been charged with arson with intent to endanger life.

Police said they believed Mr Payne might have relatives living in Essex but have so far been unable to trace his next of kin.

A 45-year-old man from Colchester who was also arrested on suspicion of murder has been bailed.

A Braintree car wash boss who was jailed for 11 years for raping a young woman today failed in a Court of Appeal bid to clear his name.

Kujtin Rexhaj, 45, was accused of subjecting the woman to five sex attacks, threatening her with a knife he kept beside his bed.

Rexhaj denied any wrongdoing, but was found guilty of three rapes and two sexual assaults at Chelmsford Crown Court last November.

Today, he took his case to the Court of Appeal in London in a bid to overturn his convictions. His lawyers argued before three of the country's top judges that the jury's guilty verdicts were "perverse".

But Mrs Justice May rejected the appeal bid, which she said was "unarguable".

A 42-year-old woman has been charged with murder and arson with intent to endanger life after a pensioner died in a fire at his flat in Colchester.

Police say Lisa Connelly will appear before magistrates tomorrow.

More to follow.

Nic Rigby
BBC News

Two chihuahua dogs - one missing a foot and one virtually blind - have been abandoned by the side of the road in Essex.

Image source, RSPCA

The three-year-old bitch and her six-week-old puppy were found beside the A127 in Basildon on 31 August. An RSPCA dog warden was called and attended to collect the pair.

The mother, now named Peggy, is missing her back left foot - an injury which has now healed - so is likely to need treatment or possibly a prosthetic limb. 

The puppy, Pip Squeak, is virtually blind and has a swelling on her head believed to have been caused by Hydrocephalus - a build-up of fluid on the brain.  

The pair, both cream and white in colour, are being taken in by the RSPCA’s Essex South, Southend and District branch for care and treatment.

RSPCA inspector Marie Hammerton said: "We'd like to hear from anyone with any information about how these poor little dogs came to be abandoned by the side of a busy road."

Nic Rigby
BBC News

The Foreign Office has praised the UK's Polish community after Foreign Minister Boris Johnson met ministers from Poland in response to a fatal attack on a Polish citizen in Harlow.

Image source, Getty Images

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski and Home Affairs Minister Mariusz Błaszczak flew to London and talked to ministers yesterday.  

The Foreign Office said in a statement: “The Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson offered his condolences for the tragic death of Arkadiusz Jozwik. There is an ongoing investigation into this crime and as such it would be inappropriate for further comment on this specific case.

"The foreign secretary reassured Minister Waszczykowski and Minister Błaszczak that violence against anyone in this country is a crime and will be treated seriously. The Polish community here in the UK provides a huge contribution to our country and will continue to be welcome.”

Two men arrested over the death of a teenage girl following a house party in South Ockenden last week have now been released on police bail. 

It is thought that Sherie-Lea James, who was 15, died after taking a drug.

Nic Rigby
BBC News

Police from Poland are meeting their Essex counterparts this afternoon following the death of a Polish man in Harlow.

Image source, SWNS

Arek Jozwik died after an attack on 27 August. Two more Poles were attacked on Sunday, just hours after a march and vigil to honour Mr Jozwik.    

A man has been rescued from a flat fire in West Mersea. 

The blaze happened in Harrison Court late last night. 

Essex firefighters say it appears to have started in the kitchen where a chip pan had been left unattended. 

The victim was treated by paramedics. 

Peter Swan
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire sport

Tomorrow the Paralympics 2016 will open with a grand ceremony in Rio.

Many of our local competitors are winding down their final preparations at the Belo Horizonte holding camp.

Paratriathlete Clare Cunningham, from Cambridge, has been tweeting about her last few training sessions before her event, the women's PT4 triathlon, which begins at 14:00 on Sunday.

Clare was previously a gold medallist at the Barcelona games in 1992 as a swimmer.

Meanwhile, sprinter Laura Sugar's old university chums have been sending her their best wishes on social media.  

She will run in the T44 100m and 200m, with the preliminary heats taking place just before midnight on Thursday.

Laura's from Saffron Walden and was a double bronze medallist at the 2014 IPC European Athletics Championships.

You can follow all the action from Rio here, external.

Nic Rigby
BBC News

The plans by the government to close Middlewick Ranges in Colchester are part of the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) review of the land it owns.

Image source, Google

The rifle range dates from World War One and includes areas still used for live firing as well as other training.

The MoD said the ranges included "a mixture of woodland, arable cropping and grassland, incorporating Donyland Woods".

Some of the land is designated as part of the Roman River Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Defence Minister Mark Lancaster said in a written statement: "The MoD is nearing the completion of an ambitious estate optimisation strategy programme which will provide a plan for a smaller, but significantly better defence estate to meet the needs of the armed forces."

Nic Rigby
BBC News

The Ministry of Defence has announced the closure of 13 sites including Middlewick Ranges, a training ground in Colchester. The announcement was made by Defence Minister Mark Lancaster in a written statement.

We'll bring you more on this shortly

Image source, Glyn Baker/Geograph