What do you do with your giant pumpkin after it breaks the record for being the heaviest in the UK?

Turn it into a boat... of course.

Tendring is the fifth highest area in England for type 2 diabetes prescriptions, new NHS figures show.

Image source, Science Photo Library

The data also reveals that prescriptions for the condition have risen by a third across the country in the last five years from 26 million to 35 million a year. 

Diabetes UK said it was a good sign that the disease was being diagnosed.  

New Braintree manager Hakan Hayrettin sees his side get thrashed by Lincoln City at Sincil Bank.

The mother of a man murdered by a Yorkshire Ripper-obsessed teenager tells how she lost her job during the trial.

A new record was set over the weekend for the UK's heaviest pumpkin grown outdoors, which was cultivated from a seed costing £1,250.

Matthew Oliver said he was "over the moon" after his pumpkin weighed-in at 95st (605kg) at the Pumpkin festival in Southampton.

He now holds the UK record for the biggest pumpkin grown outdoors.

Chris Flynn
BBC Essex

A Colchester bar and restaurant owner is asking people to be on the lookout for a 4ft (1.2m) fork that has been stolen.

Image source, Church Street Tavern

The wooden ornament, which was hanging on the wall with an accompanying spoon, was taken on Saturday night from the Church Street Tavern.

Piers Baker said the set had been in the family since 1976: “Lots of little things go on that we try and turn a blind eye to but I just feel annoyed that people feel that they can steal from us.”

A new £20m medicine school is to be built in Chelmsford to help address the "urgent" need for more doctors.

Image source, Anglia Ruskin

Anglia Ruskin says the new facility, a first of its kind in the county, is scheduled to open in September 2018 and will include state-of-the-art facilities. 

Dr Ruth Jackson, pro vice chancellor for the School of Medicine Development, said: “The county has few undergraduate students who live and train here, and that is what we want to change."

Essex Police are investigating reports that three women were assaulted at the Sugar Hut in Brentwood over the weekend. 

Image source, Google

It's said to have taken place on the first floor of the nightclub, made nationally famous by its appearances in The Only Way Is Essex, at about 01:30 on Sunday morning. 

No arrests have been made yet.

Gareth Bale and Lionel Messi's signed shirts helped to raise more than £30,000 for an Essex estate agent who had both legs amputated.

Shaun Whiter was helping his friend Joey Abbs to change a tyre near Newmarket, Suffolk, when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver in July.

Messi's shirt fetched £2,100 while Bale's brought in £1,600 during a fundraising auction at Cambridge United at the weekend.

The 27-year-old thanked the professional footballers for their help and said he hoped the auction would "create awareness of disability in the area".

Jan Adamec, 40, of Shetland Road in Haverhill, was jailed for more than three years last month after admitting two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.  

Remember we told you on Friday that an Essex gardener was going to find out if his giant pumpkin was a record breaker? 

Well, good news. Matthew Oliver's massive gourd weighed a whopping 95st (605kg) which is now the UK's biggest pumpkin grown outdoors. 

The horticulturists, who grew the gourd from a seed bought by Ipswich-based merchants Thompson & Morgan for £1,250, said he was "over the moon" with the outcome. 

Kate Kinsella
BBC Look East weather

A chilly start to the working week.

Heavy thundery showers on their way, pushing through from the north, with the chance of hail as the temperature peaks at 13(C) 55(F).

Watch my full regional forecast:

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Jack Warren
BBC Local Live

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Rochdale move into the League One play-off places with a comfortable home victory over Southend.

York boss Jackie McNamara is left to decide his future after his side concede a late penalty in their draw at Braintree.

Honours even in League Two between Colchester United and Newport County at the Community Stadium.

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