Earlier, we told you how an elderly couple were found dead at a bungalow in Leigh-on-Sea.

The East of England Ambulance Service, external has said a hazardous response vehicle was sent to the scene at Eastwood Road after the alarm was raised at about 18:25 on Tuesday.

It said its investigation was continuing.

Police were called with "concerns for the welfare" of the man and woman and found their bodies at the property.

Stansted Airport has clocked up more than 24 million passengers in a year for the second time in its history.

Image source, Stansted Airport

The total number of people passing through the airport, external in the 12 months until September was 6,000 passengers short of the previous record, in October 2007.

Stansted said that last month nearly 2.2 million passengers used the airport, and 88.5% of seats were full on every flight.

Chief executive Andrew Cowan called the 24 million total a "significant milestone" for the airport.

We told you earlier how the mother of a builder killed on a construction site last week praised her son for his ability to "always make people laugh".

David Green, 32, had four children and his mother Pauline has told BBC Essex of her heartbreak over his unfinished house plans for his young family.

Ian Puckey
BBC Essex Political Producer

A jury has been played the 999 call made by a Colchester pensioner who was stabbed in his back garden last year.

John Sales, 70, was heard saying "please hurry up - I'm dying" in the recording played at Chelmsford Crown Court, external this morning.

He was left with life-changing injuries following the attack on Hythe Hill on 10 November.

The court has already heard an allegation that Mr Sales's stepson, Flash Day, 45, hired a hitman to kill him so he could inherit £200,000 tied up in the value of his house.  

Mr Day, of Rose Allen Avenue, Colchester, denies conspiracy to commit murder. His friend, Scott Moffat, of Colchester Road, Manningtree, and a teenage girl who cannot be named for legal reasons also deny the charge.

Ryan Hynes, 21, of Long Road, Lawford, admitted the attempted murder of Mr Sales on the first day of the trial. 

Image source, England Athletics

In the week of World Mental Health Day, England Athletics, external and the charity Mind, external are encouraging people to #runandtalk, external to improve their mental wellbeing.  

People are being urged to run one mile or further and to chat with friends, family, colleagues or other runners.

Find out more about the event and how you can get involved here.

You can find out more about getting into running with our special guide.

Police are investigating the deaths of an elderly couple found in a bungalow in Leigh-on-Sea.

Image source, Google

Officers discovered the bodies of a man and woman after being called to Eastwood Road at about 18:25 on Tuesday, with "concerns for the welfare" of the pair.

The deaths are being treated as "unexplained".

A pedestrian has been left with serious injuries after being hit by a car in Basildon this morning.

Image source, Google

The 60-year-old woman was struck by a silver Vauxhall Insignia in Ashdon Way, near Station Road, at about 07:00.

She was taken to Basildon Hospital with serious leg and arm injuries, but police said her condition was not believed to be life-threatening or life-changing.

Essex Police, external is appealing for any witnesses to get in contact.

A long-standing councillor is stepping down after nearly 20 years on Essex County Council, external.

Image source, Essex County Council

Rodney Bass, 71, will give up his role as cabinet member for infrastructure ahead of his retirement next May.

Mr Bass has served as a county councillor since 1997 and a councillor for almost 50 years. On Tuesday he was nominated for a lifetime achievement title at the National Council Achievement Awards.

Council leader David Finch praised Mr Bass's "tenacity, attention to detail and knowledge" and said he had "overseen one of the council’s toughest and often controversial portfolios".

Police are asking for help in tracing a man from Saffron Walden, who disappeared from his home yesterday.

Image source, Essex Police

Steven Smith, 48, was reported missing just after 15:40, and officers say they are concerned for his welfare.

He is described as white, 5ft 11in (1.8m) tall, with short greying hair.  

The mother of a builder who died on a building site last week has paid tribute to her son, saying his friends and family "absolutely love him".

Image source, David Green family

It's believed David Green, a father-of-four, died after a construction vehicle overturned at a site in Lawford, near Manningtree, on 3 October.

His mother, Pauline, said: "He would fill the room basically and he would instigate anything that he could to get people to have a good time, to have a drink, to have a laugh.

"It was like that all the time. There was never a time that if there was a group of people in a room (where) he wouldn't be making them laugh."

BBC Weather

Today is going to be rather cloudy with scattered showers, some briefly heavy, especially in the north of the region where they will be most frequent. 

A few sunny spells are likely at times, especially further south. Moderate easterly winds, and a maximum temperature of 13C (55F).

Watch my full forecast below...

There's more on the BBC Weather website.

Kate Williams
BBC Local Live

Well good morning, and welcome to Wednesday. 

We'll be here bringing you live updates throughout the day for Essex, including all the news, sport, weather and travel. 

News-wise we'll shortly bring you a tribute to an Essex father of four who died on a building site last week, prompting an investigation from health and safety officials. 

There's also a rumour of rain, so next up, here's the forecast...

Information on 2,345 British paedophile suspects supplied by Canadian police was "poorly handled" by the body set up to protect children, a report finds

Mariam Issimdar
BBC News

That's it for today. It's been a busy old day. 

Our main news stories included:

• A gang of four men on mopeds smashed their way into a jeweller's in Brentwood stealing thousands of pounds worth of goods,
• A court is told a stepson hatched a murder plot to get a £200,000 inheritance.
• Two people have been arrested in connection with a murder and a shooting.
• Camelot has sent butlers on Colchester's buses to try and find the owner of an £8.1m lottery ticket.
• And Basildon's synth-pop pioneers Depeche Mode have announced a 32-date European tour.

The team are back tomorrow from 08:00 but any news that breaks overnight will appear, so do check the website for updates throughout the evening.

Have a good night.

Alex Dolan
BBC Look East weather

A mostly fine and dry end to the day with some isolated showers. Overnight a mixture of cloud and clear spells. Potentially getting quite chilly where the skies stay clear with lows of 3C (37F).

A chilly start to the day tomorrow followed by sunny spells and scattered showers and highs of 14C (57F).

There are more details on the BBC Weather website.

Sally Chidzoy
BBC Look East home affairs correspondent

From the day the BBC broke news of the scandal, it was evident there were failures in the system at CEOP which, at the time, had just been taken over by the National Crime Agency. 

CEOP staff complained about huge pressures, funding worries and too few computers, or computers that didn’t run well.  

This tragic episode left police in Toronto bewildered. They worked hard on Project Spade - which led to the conviction of Myles Bradbury and revealed details of Southend deputy head teacher Martin Goldberg - and had an excellent working relationship with CEOP before it was taken over by the NCA.  

At the time Bradbury was detected, they said they used to be able to "just pick up the phone" to officers they knew at CEOP and warn them about paedophile suspects. 

But that changed. When they tried to call CEOP to find out what they were doing with Project Spade intelligence in London, they said they couldn’t get through. No one took their call.   

Mariam Issimdar
BBC News

The bodies of eight hares have been found dumped on a roadside in Maldon.

Image source, RSPCA

The hares were discovered on Saturday. RSPCA inspectors suspect the animals were the victims of coursers.

Hare coursing using dogs to chase and kill hares and has been illegal since 2005. 

RSPCA Insp Marie Hammerton said: “One of the callers who contacted us said there were bite marks all over the bodies and they looked as though they’d been ripped apart by dogs. 

“Anyone partaking in this heinous ‘sport’ is breaking the law and could be prosecuted.”

Sally Chidzoy
BBC Look East home affairs correspondent

Despite the IPCC probe, external into failings at a national child protection centre, today we still don't know exactly why Addenbrooke's Hospital paedophile doctor Myles Bradbury’s name and those of 2,334 other British paedophile suspects handed to CEOP in London by police in Toronto sat gathering dust for 16 months.

Image source, Other

It’s now official that they were disorganised, but the devil is in the detail.

Why did no one take "ownership" of the intelligence? Who should have done that? Why was there a "lack of general understanding" in an organisation that had long been praised for its work on tracking paedophiles? Was funding an issue that led to the backlog of cases that led to this failure? 

Had CEOP got a grip, Bradbury would not have had the opportunity to go on and abuse another eight boys "in his care". 

Multiply that abuse by the number of suspects who remained unchallenged and undetected during that time and beyond (a number of police forces also failed to act promptly on the delayed information once they’d received it), then the number of children at risk would have been considerable. 

It’s a “the blame too wide and too thin to nail one person” type of case, says one observer.

Sally Chidzoy
BBC Look East home affairs correspondent

As we've been reporting today, the long-awaited police watchdog report has found failings in how British authorities handled information passed to them by Canadian police about suspected paedophiles.

But the Independent Police Complaints Commission, external (IPCC) report on the shortcomings at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) has not been released because they’re “operationally sensitive”. 

Instead, the findings were reduced to a news release, external - and the lack of transparency upsets relatives of patients of paedophile Addenbrooke's Hospital consultant Myles Bradbury, who lived in Herringswell in Suffolk.

Claire Yeoman, whose three-year-old son Declan was Bradbury's patient but not identified as a victim, said: "No one seems to have taken responsibility for any of the actions that have caused so much grief.

"I’m very, very disappointed, angry and hurt about it."

Ms Yeoman's son was treated by Bradbury for 18 months before he died of leukaemia in November 2012.

Nick Alliker
BBC Essex

Basildon's Zak Surety is out of Snooker's English Open after losing his first round match 4-1 to Fraser Patrick in Manchester. 

The Essex duo of Ali Carter and Ronnie O'Sullivan play later this evening.