Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

There's major disruption to Greater Anglia train services through the county during the peak tonight - with many trains cancelled and delayed because of problems at Bethnal Green North:

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

As we told you earlier, this is the state thieves left a vintage Chevrolet in after using it in a ram raid attack in Wickham Bishops on 14 July.

Owner Adrian Bruns - who bought the 1988 Chevy in 2002 - said he felt "just sickness" when he discovered it had been stolen from outside his home in Great Totham.

Image source, Adrian Bruns

He spoke to neighbours and looked around the area for any hint to where it was when a neighbour asked if he knew about the nearby ram raid.

"I went up to the shop in Wickham Bishops and on my way saw a fire engine parked near the school - I didn't put two and two together," he said.

After piecing together the events, he discovered his burnt-out car had been taken to a recovery firm in Braintree. He saw photos - but hasn't been reunited yet.

"I keep asking why? Why did they do it?

"Everyone has troubles in life - but this car - it saved me. I put everything into it. There are so many memories."

Image source, Adrian Bruns

Essex Police confirmed the car had been used in the ram raid.

"It was reported that four white men exited the vehicle and unsuccessfully attempted to steal an ATM machine by tying rope to the vehicle and the machine," the force said.

"It is believed the vehicle had been travelling in convoy with a white Renault Master van."

Listen to live BBC local radio commentary as Essex face Hampshire in the T20 Blast.

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

Image source, Adrian Bruns

This is what remains of a vintage Chevrolet truck that was used in a ram raid last Friday.

The vehicle was stolen by thieves who targeted the One Stop convenience store in Wickham Bishops on 14 July.

Firefighters were later called to Walden House Road in Great Totham - where the Chevy was discovered alight.

It was completely destroyed in the attack.

Owner Adrian Bruns, 59, from Little Totham, described events as "like a death in the family".

"For some people, it's just a car," he said, "but all the memories. The face of my son when he first saw it, the joy.

"I never dreamed anyone would do this."

Mr Bruns bought the Chevy in 2002. In a former life it had been used on a Pennsylvania farm before travelling across America and Canada. He began restoring it two years ago.

He described the thieves as "selfish idiots".

Image source, Adrian Bruns

James Messer described the noise of the lightning strike as "like a bomb going off".

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

The East of England Ambulance Trust has apologised to a pensioner from Great Sampford over delays to his transportation for hospital treatment.

Ronald Dean, 79, has to travel three times a week to Cambridge for kidney dialysis, but often the vehicles sent to take him don't turn up on time.

His partner, Florence Wilcox, said Mr Dean can be left waiting for an ambulance for hours - and often misses meals because he's home so late.

"He's really poorly when he comes home because he's had such a long day," she told BBC Essex.

"You shouldn't treat a human being like that - I mean Ron's not the only one left there for hours. He's got a family to come home to - some of them have nobody."

The couple have been told the problem is down to a lack of ambulances or drivers. In a statement, the East of England Ambulance Service said:

Laurence Cawley
BBC News

A woman has told how she ended up having to breast feed standing up on a train - because nobody would give up their seat.

Bryony Esther, from Leigh-on-Sea, was on a c2c service, external last Friday to see her two-year-old son at Great Ormond Street Hospital who was recovering from surgery.

She boarded with her baby Saffron in a buggy but when her daughter awoke she needed feeding.

The train operator said it hoped its customers would be "considerate".

Ms Esther said: "My baby woke up and cried and she needed nursing back to sleep.

"I hovered by the priority seat hoping to be offered one. I tried to make eye contact with the people sat in the priority seats, but they just blanked me.

"I know a lot of people have unseen disabilities so I did not feel able to ask whether they could let me sit down," she said.

"I lifted my top to feed her and then I looked up and realised there were five men watching and sniggering.

"I felt quite intimidated and uncomfortable."

A spokeswoman for c2c said: "We welcome breastfeeding on all c2c trains and would hope our customers would be considerate to their fellow travellers and give up their seat when requested.

"Unfortunately this does not appear to have happened on this occasion, and we are sorry for any inconvenience this caused."

There were more than 26,000 lightning strikes over the East of England last night, with some properties damaged by the storms.

The conditions also caused power cuts and disruption to rail services because of damage to overhead lines.

But why was there so much lightning?

"Thunderstorms are made when the air goes up quickly, and very warm air at the surface with cold air above it allowed the warm air to rise violently over a large area, creating these huge storms," said Jake Cope from the BBC Weather Centre.

"They were so long-lived because many of the thunderstorms started 'back-building'.

"This is where the wind pushing the system along bumps into air flowing out of the rear of the storm and is again forced upwards, sustaining the rear edge of the cloud."

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

Image source, Getty Images

A voluntary service group in Castle Point is to start a new family mentoring service - thanks to cash from the Big Lottery Fund.

Castle Point Association of Voluntary Services, external has been awarded a Reaching Communities Grant of £382,571.

The mentoring service will launch on 31 July and run for the next three years.

The aim will be to provide a network of support to local families with children aged from pre-birth to 19 years by allocating an experienced, support worker and trained volunteer tailored to the family's needs.

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

Two fairground workers have appeared in court charged with the manslaughter of a seven-year-old girl in Harlow last year.

Summer Grant, from Norwich, died when a bouncy castle she was playing on was swept across a park in Harlow, Essex, in March 2016.

Shelby Thurston, 25, and 28-year-old William Thurston, of Whitecross Road, Wilburton, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court charged with manslaughter.

The pair, who are described in court papers as self-employed, are also charged with a health and safety offence.

No pleas were taken during the two-minute hearing and the pair were bailed to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on 16 August.

A new "teacher's pet" is brought in to provide calm for anxious pupils.

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

Railway worker James Messer says he's "lucky to be alive" after this lightning strike on his house at Bradwell in Essex.

Firefighters tackled a blaze in the roof space of the building, the fire service has confirmed.

It broke out just before 04:00 and spread to a neighbouring rood space on The Street.

An investigation is under way.

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

Here's some slow-motion footage of the lightning strikes over Chelmsford last night - thanks to Shantelle Robinson for her extraordinary pictures:

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

Warning - this video contains flashing images.

Just a couple more weather posts before we move one - look at these spectacular lightning shots captured over Thurrock last night:

BBC Weather Watchers

Our talented band of Weather Watchers have come into their own with some extraordinary images from last night's storms.

Here's just a taster of a busy night in the sky - in case you slept through it!

Weather Watcher Vladydady snapped this streak over homes in Southend:

Image source, BBC Weather Watcher/vladydady

This was Cressing, near Braintree, through the eye of Weather Watcher ilmor:

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/ilmor

And Weather Watcher jordyvz caught this beautiful cloud formation and lightning over Braintree:

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/jordyvz

Mariam Issimdar
BBC News

Two people are due in court in connection with the death of a seven-year-old girl at a fun fair.

Summer Grant, from Norwich, died in March 2016 after strong winds blew away a bouncy castle on which she was playing at a fairground in Harlow town park, Essex.

She suffered serious injuries and was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital, but died a few hours later.

Shelby and William Thurston, both fairground employees, aged 25 and 28 from Wilburton in Cambridgeshire, are charged with manslaughter by gross negligence.

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

Just to update you - the lines between Bishop's Stortford and Stansted are up and running again but subject to some disruption.

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

It was a dramatic night in the skies with thunder, lightning and very heavy, fast rain.

Check out this footage posted by BBC Essex of the storms over the county last night.

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

There's been a number of power cuts across Essex overnight following the storms.

Rail services between Bishop's Stortford and Stansted have also been affected after the weather caused overhead line damage.

Saffron Walden County High school is closed after last night's rain flooded the classrooms.

The school says trips will be going ahead as planned.

Orla Moore
BBC Local Live

It's like a scene from a ghastly horror flick.

Physical geography student - BBC Weather Watcher - and stormchaser Shantelle Robinson, from Clacton, caught this fork lightning in the sky over Chelmsford during last night's storm.

If you got a great storm picture tweet us @BBCEssex, external.