Daniel Pressland told St Albans Crown Court he was given the paintings by the artist for "helping him out".

Five people have been convicted in connection with the murder of the "gentle giant" in Harwich.

Kate Scotter
BBC News

We hope you've been enjoying our live updates on this lovely spring day. We'll be back again from 08:00 tomorrow. 

Before we head off into the sun, here's a quick re-cap of some of the stories we've been covering:

• Three men who left a Stanford-Le-Hope man for dead are jailed
• A man and a woman are found guilty of killing a Harwich man
• Radio 1 DJ Scott Mill's show is under fire for "Essex girls" joke

We'll leave you with this photo of Sylvia the Silkie chicken at Mountfitchet Castle in Stansted - looks like she's been trying to join in the Easter fun, but actually she's mistaken one of the Easter Egg Hunt eggs for a real one...

Image source, Mountfitchet Castle

Returning to the convictions of Scott Swift and Rebecca Ryan for the murder of her ex-partner Michael Beckwith in Harwich...

Essex Police described how Ryan, of Weeley, lured Mr Beckwith to an area known as Radar Tower on 31 July.

He was then attacked by two masked men holding metal bars, one of whom was Swift, of Dovercourt.

The other person was Joseph Smith of Harwich, who admitted manslaughter, but was found not guilty of murder.

Image source, Essex Police

Police said they were able to interview the victim (pictured), but he died two days later from a pulmonary embolism.

Det Insp Al Pitcher said: "Ryan had callously planned with her ex-boyfriend Scott Swift to cause Michael serious harm, deliberately trapping him in a secluded area where Swift and Joseph Smith laid in wait, hiding in the undergrowth.

"Michael pleaded with them that he did not want any trouble. But they shrugged and then repeatedly beat him about the head, torso and legs with metal bars. "Ryan then left enough time for Swift and Smith to escape before calling the police and claimed it was a random attack."

A statement from Mr Beckwith's family said: "He was a gentle giant.

"His death has left a gaping hole in our family but also with those who knew Michael and those he cared for within his role as a healthcare assistant."Michael was not just a carer at work, he also was the main carer for his mother Iris."We as a family believe that the death of Michael had affected Iris so much that before the trial she too passed away after suffering a heart attack."

Sentencing is due to take place on 21 April at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Julie Reinger
BBC Look East weather

It will be a dry start to the night with clear spells and some patchy mist. 

Cloud will thicken from the west later, eventually bringing some patchy rain.

Temperatures initially falling to around 5C (41F), but rising later in the night.

Tuesday is likely to be a cloudy day with some further outbreaks of mainly light and patchy rain. 

The winds will eventually turn more northerly and temperatures reaching about 13C (55F).  

BBC Weather  has more details for where you live.    

A window cleaner accused of stealing paintings worth half a million pounds from a Hertford artist told a court he was given scores of brush and ink works by the late painter, who had thrown them into a bin. 

Daniel Pressland said some works by Alan Davie (pictured below) were sold at auction after he died in 2014.

Image source, South Beds News Agency

The St Albans Crown Court jury was told Mr Pressland was caught by police driving away from the house on 5 April 2015 with three paintings in the back of a van, in total worth £190,000.

The prosecution alleges 31 works were stolen in total between 2014 and 2015.

Mr Pressland, of Outward Common in Billericay, Essex, has admitted one count of burglary concerning the paintings found in the van.

However, he denies two further offences of burglary, two of converting criminal property and two of transferring criminal property.

Co-defendant Gavin Challis, 42, of North Street, Nazeing, Essex, has denied possessing criminal property after two paintings by Mr Davie were found at his home.

The case continues.

The two men poured boiling water from a kettle over the heads of a couple in their 60s.

Two listeners complained about sexist jokes made by a guest during a show broadcast for Comic Relief.

As we've been reporting, BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills' show has come under fire over jokes about Essex girls.

Ofcom is considering whether standards were breached during a fundraiser for Comic Relief .

But what is the true meaning of an Essex girl?

Our reporter Jodie Halford  set about finding out in a feature last month :

• Dr Terri Simpkin, a lecturer in leadership and corporate education at Anglia Ruskin University, said the term Essex girl was first recorded in 1892 but its modern connotations date from the late 1980s
• So-called Essex girls "weren't wilting wallflowers - they were more overt as sexual beings, they took control of their own sexuality," said Dr Simpkin  
• The Oxford English Dictionary refers to Essex girl as "unintelligent, promiscuous, and materialistic", while Collins adds "devoid of taste" to the mix 
• Southend-on-Sea playwright and columnist Sadie Hasler said: "Travelling into London, people are always surprised to learn I have a brain"   
• Bloggers Juliet Thomas and Natasha Sawkins, from Motherhub, campaigned to have the definition removed from the dictionaries
• Emmerdale actress Zoe Henry believes Essex girls are "strong, successful and independent" 

A shooting which saw the victim left for dead "could have been a murder investigation", police have said.

As we've been reporting, Kacey Adams, Daniel Wallace and Edward Dooley have been jailed for the incident in Stanford-Le-Hope in May.

Image source, Essex Police

The male victim, who was in his van, survived the single shotgun blast, but was left with what police called life-changing injuries to his face and a lung, and lost the sight in one eye.He was shot by the passenger of a Mercedes, which had pulled up alongside the victim’s van as he waited at the junction of London Road and Stanford Road at about 18:55 on 10 May.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard the attack was ordered by Dooley, 25, of St Edwards Way, Romford, after he was severely injured by a member of the victim’s family in November 2015. 

Dooley instructed Adams, 34, to carry out the "tit-for-tat" shooting as retribution. Adams then instructed others, including Wallace, 33, to assist him.

Adams and Wallace were convicted of conspiracy to murder plus aggravated burglary and causing grievous bodily harm in relation to an incident in Kent. They were jailed for life.

Dooley was jailed for 16 years for conspiracy to murder.

Det Ch Insp Stuart Smith, from Essex Police, said: "This was a horrendous crime that left the victim with severe, life-changing injuries.

"It is incredible that he survived such an attack and this could easily have become a murder investigation."

Two "barbaric" burglars who tied up a married couple and poured boiling water over their heads have each been handed life sentences in prison.

Image source, Essex Police

Kacey Adams, 34 (left), and 33-year-old Daniel Wallace (centre), smashed their way into the home of 66-year-old John Buswell as he watched TV and his wife Janis, 64, knitted clothes for her expected great-grandchild. Their bungalow is in Halstead, near Sevenoaks in Kent.

Each defendant was given three life sentences, with a minimum jail term of 12-and-a-half years for conspiracy to murder, and seven-and-a-half years for both aggravated burglary and causing grievous bodily harm with intent. All sentences will be served concurrently. 

Judge Charles Gratwicke, sentencing at Chelmsford Crown Court, described both men as "highly dangerous, ruthless professional criminals , prepared to use serious violence" to further their aims. 

They were also sentenced, along with a third defendant, for a tit-for-tat drive-by shooting in Stanford-Le-Hope in which their victim was left for dead.

They were convicted of conspiracy to murder along with 25-year-old Edward Dooley, of St Edwards Way, Romford. 

Judge Gratwicke said Dooley (pictured on the right) was "not involved in the actual shooting" but was an organiser.

He jailed Dooley for 16 years, of which he must serve half before he is considered for release on licence. 

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

Over £430,000 has been secured by Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils to help local communities develop housing to suit the communities in their area. 

The money will help local organisations carry out research to discover the type of homes that will be needed in future as well as to gain planning permission for developments.

Image source, PA

The money is seen as the first instalment of a five-year funding programme from the Department for Communities and Local Government, external . 

The Lavenham Community Land Trust, external is cited as an example of a group that has used this type of funding to pay for a planning permission application in partnership with Hastoe Housing Association, external . 

Tom Barker, Babergh and Mid Suffolk, external District Councils' assistant director, said: "With a growing and aging population our housing needs are changing.

"This funding will help communities to identify potential housing in their area, putting more power in the hands of the people who know our towns and villages best.

"We will be discussing this new funding and how to utilise it with our town and parish councils over the coming months."

The four people convicted of offences following the murder of Michael Beckwith in Harwich in July are due to be sentenced on 21 April.

The judge at Chelmsford Crown Court remanded them in custody until then.

Image source, Essex Police

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

Anglian Water has announced almost £0.5bn of investment for the coming financial year. 

Projects worth £425m will start during the next 12 months and are part of the water company's five-year plan. 

Image source, Getty Images

They include spending £17m on tackling leakage, £48m on maintaining and renewing the water pipe network and £1m on an initiative based at Newmarket that will look to pioneer new technology before it is rolled out to the firm's network. 

Jane Taylor, head of customer services at Anglian Water, external , claimed: "Bills are still lower than they were four years ago thanks to the price reductions we promised back then. 

"To strike the right balance we're continuing to keep costs as low as possible long term while still investing heavily in the things customers care about most." 

The company provides water and sewage services in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. 

A man and a woman have been found guilty of murdering a man in Harwich.

Michael Beckwith, 44, died from his injuries following the assault in Barrack Lane in the town last July.   

The jury at Chelmsford Crown Court found Scott Swift, 27, of Station Road in Dovercourt, and Rebecca Ryan, 22, of Hilltop Rise, Weeley, guilty of murder.

Tristan Biddlecombe, 24, and his wife Enderlein, 20, both of East Street, Harwich, were found guilty of assisting an offender by washing clothes and providing a false alibi, but not guilty of burning clothes. 

Joseph Smith, 18, had admitted manslaughter earlier in the trial. He was standing trial for murder, but the jury found him not guilty on that charge.

BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills' show is being investigated by the broadcasting watchdog over jokes about Essex girls.

Image source, Getty Images

The show has sparked complaints that the quips, aired last month, were sexist and derogatory.

The jokes were broadcast as Mills (pictured above) and fellow presenter Chris Stark took part in a 24-hour fundraiser for Comic Relief.  

They were read out by The Only Way Is Essex participant Bobby Norris (pictured below) and included:

• What's the first thing an Essex girl does in the morning? Goes home
• Why does an Essex girl wear knickers? To keep her ankles warm
• What does an Essex girl say after her doctor tells her she is pregnant? Is it mine?

During the broadcast, Mills said: "I'd like to point out, before anyone complains, this is a person from Essex, living in Essex on a show (Towie) about Essex." 

He added: "I'm enjoying this so much." 

Ofcom said it was investigating whether the programme "breached rules on generally accepted standards".

The BBC has been approached for a comment. 

Image source, Getty Images

Simon Dedman
BBC Essex political reporter

The jury in the trial of five people charged in connection with the murder of a man in Harwich is still considering its verdict.

Michael Beckwith (pictured), 44, died from his injuries following the assault in Barrack Lane in the town last July. 

Scott Swift, 27, of Station Road in Dovercourt; and Rebecca Ryan, 22, of Hilltop Rise, Weeley, deny murder.

Image source, Essex Police

A third defendant, 18-year-old Joseph Smith, admitted manslaughter earlier in the trial, but denies murder.

Tristan Biddlecombe, 24, and his wife Enderlein, 20, both of East Street, Harwich are accused of assisting an offender and deny the charges against them. 

The jury at Chelmsford Crown Court was sent out on Friday lunchtime.

Jodie Halford
BBC News

Greater Anglia has released images of the designs for its new trains which will be introduced across the East Anglian network in 2019/20.

The carriages will all be kitted out with wifi, plugs and USB points, air conditioning and new-style seats.

The train operator wants passengers to give their feedback on what they think about the design and layout, in which £1.4bn is being invested.

You can see the full selection of images on the Greater Anglia website, external , but here are a few to give you a quick flavour of the changes:

Image source, Greater Anglia

Image source, Greater Anglia

Image source, Greater Anglia

A new initiative by Essex County Council is aiming to educate mums-to-be and their families on the dangers of smoking while pregnant.