Cocaine worth an estimated £50m has been found concealed inside a cargo of tinned tuna at the London Gateway Port, Border Force says.

Image source, Border Force

It's understood the Class A drugs, weighing approximately 500kg (1100lb), were being shipped from Ecuador to Belgium, but were discovered at the port at Stanford-le-Hope on Monday.

Officials say the seized drugs would have had a wholesale value to organised crime of around £16.5m, but when adulterated and sold to drug-users they could have been worth more than £50m.

Good morning and happy Black Friday.

Our top story - Border Force officials have seized cocaine with an estimated street value of £50m in Stanford-le-Hope.

Image source, Border Force

We'll bring you more details shortly.   

Listen to live BBC local radio commentary from Saturday's action in the National League and FA Trophy.

That's it from the BBC Local Live: Essex team, but we'll be back in the morning from 08:00.

If you're just joining us, a look at some of the stories we've brought you during the day:

• A fire service worker has been sacked for making derogatory comments about a pregnant woman who got stuck in floodwater
•  A man whose house is hit by a deluge of road spray when cars drive through puddles on the road outside, said it is "like a log flume" at an adventure park
• Three Essex skiers from the same school have slalomed their way to national selection

Have a great evening, we look forward to your company again tomorrow.

Alex Dolan
BBC Look East weather

A cloudy evening, but staying dry across the BBC East region.

Clear spells will develop later. It'll feel chilly, with a touch of ground frost in sheltered spots as temperatures fall to a minimum 2C (35F).

Image source, BBC Weather

A fine day tomorrow with sunny spells, but it'll turn cloudy later with a maximum temperature of 10C (50F).

BBC Weather has more details for where you are.

The chairman of the Essex Fire Brigades' Union (FBU) says local workers shouldn't be judging those people that they're called to help.

Earlier today, it was revealed that a non-uniformed agency worker employed by the Essex Fire and Rescue Service had been sacked, after posting derogatory comments on social media about a pregnant woman who needed rescuing from a flooded ford at Buttsbury Wash near Ingatestone.

Ricardo La Torre, from the Essex FBU, said: "People get themselves into situations they can't get out of.

"Sometimes it's completely by accident, sometimes it may be an error of judgement, and I'm not for a second saying this was, but even if it was, what we need is a properly-resourced fire service to go and rescue people in their time of need, regardless of how they got into that situation."

Southend Hospital, external has stepped down from "internal critical incident" status, but a statement says it remains on "black alert" status.

The facility was forced to cancel a number of non-urgent operations earlier this week, due to the pressure on its services.

Kate Scotter
BBC News

A senior researcher at the University of Essex said a study has found there has not been a significant rise in children's fitness since the London Olympics. 

Image source, Getty Images

The researchers, led by the University of Essex's Dr Gavin Sandercock, carried out a before-and-after study among pupils at six schools within a 50km radius of the Olympic park in east London.

Their research, published in the BMJ Open journal, found that 53% of children said London 2012 inspired them to try new sports, and 45% of the sample were more physically active.

But they found peak fitness was significantly lower after the Games than it had been before.

Dr Gavin Sandercock, who is based at the Wivenhoe campus, said: "Intentions are one thing, but we still don't know if anyone actually went out and did more exercise after the Games than they did before.

"We definitely can't tell if children increased their activity levels enough to make them fitter or healthier."

Kate Scotter
BBC News

Three young Essex skiers have slalomed their way to national selection.

Image source, Snowsport England

Chelmsford's Emily Rose Mcleish, 13; Allegra Martin, 12, from Maldon; and Izzy Lander, 14, will compete for the England Alpine Squad for the forthcoming 2016/17 season.

All three girls attend the New Hall School in Chelmsford.

They're competing at junior events.  

Tim Fawke, Snowsport England, external chief executive and British Ski and Snowboard board director, said: "All three athletes have followed the talent pathway from their early years of ski racing and are well on track to achieve their potential.”

Colchester United captain Luke Prosser will be out for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery.

Kate Scotter
BBC News

We've been telling you about a micro pig that was found rummaging among rubbish in Holland-on-Sea.

Image source, Tendring District Council

When recycling officer Adam McGoldrick took him back to Tending District Council, external's office in Weeley, he was recognised by a colleague as the micro pig from Monty's Equestrian Centre, external in Nansen Road in Holland-on-Sea.

After a quick call to the centre, he was identified as Pig Floyd, who has the run of the stables at the site.

Paige Major, from the centre, said: "I went out to feed him around 08:30 and we didn’t realise he had got out until we got the call from the council a couple of hours later.

“We think he must have got through a hole in the fence. It’s great to have him back safe and well.

"He’s had quite an adventure.”

Pig Floyd was given to the centre by a family from Harwich. 

Kate Scotter
BBC News

We love our animal stories here on BBC Local Live: Essex.

And look at this little critter who was found in Holland-on-Sea:

Image source, Tendring District Council

Recycling officer Adam McGoldrick spotted him rummaging among a pile of black bin bags in Slade Road.

Mr McGoldrick, who works for Tendring District Council, was on his rounds when he found the micro pig.

He said: “It was more than a bit of a surprise and I wasn’t sure what to do at first – we often have seagulls or other birds ripping at the bags, but never a pig,” he said.

Keep posted to find out what happened to the little pig.

There are 187 investigations into potential police failures in dealing with child sexual abuse cases in England and Wales, figures show.

Kate Scotter
BBC News

A teenager arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of an Essex man has been bailed.

Image source, Anthony Chooah

Vilson Meshi’s body was found in the back of his grey Audi in Pincey Mead, Pitsea, at about 17:00 on 27 February. 

There was fire damage inside the car and the 30-year-old’s death is being treated by police as murder.   

A post-mortem examination showed he died from breathing in smoke.

Officers arrested a 15-year-old from Enfield yesterday. The boy has now been bailed pending further inquiries until 30 November.

An 18-year-old girl from Pitsea and a 15-year-old boy from London, who were previously arrested on suspicion of murder, have both been rebailed until 30 November pending further inquiries.

East Anglian Daily Times

Here is today's Essex edition of the East Anglian Daily Times, external:

Image source, EADT

A fire service employee is sacked for posting a derogatory comment on social media about a motorist who got stuck in flood water.

Kate Scotter
BBC News

A man whose house is hit by a deluge of road spray when cars drive through puddles, said it is "like a log flume" at an adventure park.

Image source, David Ford

David Ford moved into his house in Virley, near Tolleshunt Knights and Abberton Reservoir, last December.

He said after it rains, a large puddle is left outside the house. When traffic goes through the water, it then sprays over into his house, leaving puddles in his garage.

Mr Ford said there must be a fault with the road. 

"It's like a log flume spraying water all over the sides. I'm left with puddles of water on the garage floor, it is going to cause damage," he said.

A spokesman for Essex Highways said the drains were cleaned on 18 October and were working properly. 

It said it is investing in an additional gully cleansing machine to target flooding issues caused by blockages on highways.

Kate Scotter
BBC News

In another flooding story, David Ford has been telling us of how his house in Virley, near Mersea Island, is repeatedly hit by road spray:

Kate Scotter
BBC News

A fire service worker who lost his job for making derogatory comments about a pregnant mum who got stuck in floodwater was agency staff, the fire brigade said.

As we've been reporting this morning, the worker was dismissed after he made an "offensive" comment on the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service Facebook page, external.

Sherry Doran, from Suffolk, had got stuck in 4ft (1.2m) of water at Buttsbury Wash, near Ingatestone, on Sunday evening when it was dark.

She said she did not know the ford was there and would not have driven through it knowingly.

The Essex fire brigade said: "As and when needed, our service employs contractual workers through external agencies.

"We recently took immediate action against an agency worker who displayed behaviours against our service values."The use of derogatory language against members of our public is something we will not tolerate."

The daughter of bouncer Gary Chick continues the fight to find her father's killers, 20 years after his death.