Andrew Woodger
BBC News

A reminder that we're holding a competition to guess the length of the Children in Need ribbon we've wrapped around the BBC Essex building on New London Road in Chelmsford...

The competition closes at 14:00 - don't ring the 0300 0200 522 number after that.

We'll let you know the answer later.....

There are concerns that a new cap on benefits will see more people being forced out of London's rented housing market into Essex, putting more pressure on services here.

Image source, Google

Tendring District Council, external says many of those coming to live in our county will be miles away from their family and friends, and a lot have mental health issues. 

A benefit cap came into force earlier this month - some claim it effectively forces people out of London as they're unable to pay the higher rental costs.

Philippa Taylor
BBC Local Live

Good morning and thanks for joining us for our final Essex Live of the week.

As you'll probably have noticed, it's Children in Need today, so we look forward to seeing some of your photographs, particularly if you're raising money by doing something unusual or extraordinary.

You can send us an email, or post a message on our Facebook page, external.

We'll keep an eye across the county's news too, but we'll begin with a look at the day's weather prospects.

Georgina Burnett
BBC Weather

Largely dry through the day with only isolated showers and sunny spells.

Watch my full regional forecast:

However, it'll feel colder than yesterday in light south westerly winds. 

Maximum temperature: 6C (43F). There's more at BBC Weather.

Music stars and politicians join forces to record a charity single in memory of the late MP Jo Cox.

A man took part in a burglary after being "threatened with a sawn-off shotgun" but he was outside when the homeowner was shot, a court hears.

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

That's it from the Essex Live team today so goodbye and have a good evening. 

We'll be back from 08:00 tomorrow, bringing you the news, sport, travel and weather updates as they happen.

We hope you enjoyed Laurence Cawley's live coverage from Colchester Magistrates' Courts which gave an insight into the workings of the justice system.

We also covered these stories:

• Children's health services contract worth £36m awarded to Virgin and Barnardos
• Suspected conman in court on £21,000 fraud charges 
• Campaigning priest lives with grief over death of niece in 2006

And if you have any photographs you'd like to share, or if there's anything happening that you'd like us to know about, you can contact us via email, Facebook, external or Twitter, external.

BBC Weather

Brrr! Most places will feel much colder and there's the risk of frost and icy patches as clear spells develop overnight. 

Southern counties may also get the odd shower. Temperatures dropping to 0C (32F).

Tomorrow will start frosty in places but it will be a mainly dry and bright day. Cold though with temperatures of 7C (45F). 

BBC Weather has more local forecasts.  

There's a possibility that patients will in future be asked to move, either from Suffolk to north Essex, or vice versa, as they look for the "best clinical outcomes for patients", says Nick Hulme, chief executive of both Ipswich and Colchester Hospitals.

He's leading the Sustainability and Transformation Plan, external which has been published today.

He added: "I have to say there won't be any significant change without the correct consultation with stakeholders, with the public, with patients. 

"But if we're in a situation where we can demonstrate to the public that if you travel another 20 miles either up or down the A12, then your clinical outcome will be better, or you'll get quicker access to diagnostics or care, and we're clear about that message, then I think most patients, with the right transport links, and the right support, would accept that travelling a bit further, but for better clinical outcomes would probably be in their best interests."

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

A police station is up for sale as Essex's police and crime commissioner and Essex Police try to reduce the numbers of properties owned. 

Officers and staff at Saffron Walden will move into shared accommodation with Uttlesford District Council at The Lodge on London Road by early 2017.

Image source, Google

The force is cutting its property estate, which costs £10m a year to run, from 80 to approximately 30 buildings as money is needed for fighting crime more effectively. 

Ch Insp Craig Carrington said: "Regrettably Saffron Walden was unexpectedly closed in 2015 following a chemical leak. 

"However this issue and previous rat and wasp infestations demonstrate exactly why this ageing building is no longer fit for the needs of a modern police force."

Steve Martin
BBC Radio Suffolk

Health services in Suffolk are facing a financial crisis, according to a sustainability and transformation report, external just published. 

Health bosses say major changes must be made to keep services running.

Image source, Getty Images

The report, compiled by the NHS, GPs and local government, says the NHS in Suffolk and north Essex faces an overspend of £248m unless it makes radical changes. 

It says it's already struggling to raise care standards in the face of growing demand, with cancer, dementia and mental health care just some of the areas where improvement is needed. 

The solution, says the report, is for the NHS to work more closely with other health care providers and local councils to cut costs and improve efficiency. 

That might includes some treatments at hospital being stopped or moved to other locations. 

And the report says there needs to be more emphasis on trying to keep people healthy in the first place

Laurence Cawley
BBC News

Having spent the past few weeks getting my head around five years worth of national court data, actually spending a day in one court has been peculiarly grounding. 

Yes, there are delays, and we can see at the national level that cases are taking longer to complete. 

What the data does not show, but what I have seen in abundance today, is the professionalism of our court workers and the determination of magistrates to get justice delivered. 

Justice cannot always be quick - when magistrates are deciding on a person's liberty, we want it to be considered carefully. 

Delays can be in the interests of justice. It is the avoidable delays that we want to minimise. 

And nobody wants to minimise them more than the people who work on the front line of our justice system.

Nikki Fox
BBC Look East

Wellbeing and family support services for pregnant women and children up to the age of 19 in Essex are to be run by a joint partnership of Virgin Care, external and Barnardos, external from April 2017.

Image source, David Cheskin / PA

Essex County Council, external has awarded a £36m three-year contract to the organisations. 

They will provide health services for children of all ages plus a family nurse partnership from 12 family hubs (one per district), supported by a further 25 sites and a number of local outreach units. 

The family hubs will co-ordinate a much wider range of services for families with children from pre-birth to up to 25-years-old for children and young people with additional needs, the county council said.

“We look forward to working with our great partners, including Barnardo’s, and alongside the many outstanding local professionals to deliver a high quality service that has been shaped by the people who use it,” Virgin Care said. 

Craig Lewis
BBC News

A suspected conman accused of defrauding nine people out of more than £21,000 has appeared in court.

Norman Fowler, 38, is accused of fraudulently offering to sell items, including camera equipment and Rolex watches.

Image source, Essex Police

Mr Fowler, formerly from Colchester, did not enter a plea at Colchester Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

He was not granted bail as the magistrates ruled he was "likely to abscond".

Among the items allegedly offered for sale on Gumtree and eBay between January and July 2013 were several cameras, including one worth more than £5,000, and watches worth more than £10,000.

The case was adjourned until 14 December at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Stuart Woodward
BBC Essex

A Methodist minister whose niece was killed on a pelican crossing in Rochford in 2006 has said it was a "totally avoidable" incident.

The 78-year-old driver died before the case could come to court, but it was later revealed he had only partial sight. 

The Reverend Brenda Gutberlet, of Canvey Island, claims the "collision that killed Natalie Wade, 28, and disabled her mother was avoidable". 

Ms Gutberlet is now campaigning for eye tests for drivers over 60 years of age. 

Since Natalie died it has "been our great grief to see a whole litany of other drivers who have killed other people's family members while we wait for the tardy Department for Transport to act and update the law," she said. 

BBC Sport

Time trial cyclist Alex Dowsett, who was born in Maldon, is to attempt to regain the UCI hour record from fellow British cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins.

Image source, Alex Dowsett

Wiggins' ride of 54.526km in June 2015 at the Lee Valley VeloPark overhauled previous record holder Dowsett's ride of 52.937km a month earlier. 

Commonwealth time-trial champion Dowsett, 26, hopes to regain the record in early 2017 in Manchester.

Image source, Getty Images

Dowsett said in June that his own attempt was a "very conservative race and I could have gone faster". 

Wiggins became only the sixth rider to win the Tour de France and claim the hour record when he set the new mark in London.

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

A man's been charged with attempted murder after attacks in Westcliff-on-Sea. One of two victims suffered injuries which were thought to be potentially life threatening.

Image source, Google

Police were called to a property in Burdett Avenue in Westcliff just after midnight on 10 November and a man in his 30s was taken to hospital with stab wounds, considered to be potentially life threatening at that time, 

A second man, in his 50s, suffered a cut wrist. 

Detectives have charged a 25-year-old homeless man with attempted murder and he's been remanded in custody by magistrates in Southend. 

Laurence Cawley
BBC News

And that's it from the courts in Colchester. 

The usher has kindly allowed me to remain in an empty court to type these words. 

Of course, while the courtroom might now be empty, the usher reminded me that people in the back office were now busily working on tomorrow's cases.