Barbara Stimpson
BBC Radio Lincolnshire News

The top stories from our Lincolnshire newsroom so far today include:

• Lincolnshire Police apologise after report reveals vulnerable people are being forced to hand over their benefits and steal food to survive
• Lincoln's MP Karen Lee speaks out about car park price hikes at Lincolnshire's hospitals which are due to be introduced on Friday
• "No cause for alarm" as bomb disposal experts carry out a controlled explosion at the headquarters of Lincolnshire Police

Maggie Curtis
News Editor, BBC Radio Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire Safeguarding Adults Board says it's received harrowing accounts of how people with mental health issues and learning disabilities and people who abuse drugs are being targeted by criminals in the county who are demanding cash.

Image source, PA

This has been happening to some vulnerable people for many years, according to a new report.

Lincolnshire Police has now apologised to victims, with Det Supt Pete Grayson admitting the force "didn't react quick enough" in some of these instances.

Despite some successful court cases, the Safeguarding Adults Board report concludes there were many missed opportunities by Lincolnshire Police.

There've been changes at Boston Borough Council.

Image source, Google

Nigel Welton has joined the Conservatives, meaning Paul Gleeson became the sole Labour and Cooperative Party Councillor on the Borough council.

As a political group on a council needs to have at least two members, Mr Gleeson says the council's Independents have "kindly allowed me to group with them for the purposes of seat allocation".

This means Mr Gleeson will still able to represent the electors of his ward on council committees, he adds.

Bomb disposal experts have carried out a controlled explosion at the headquarters of Lincolnshire Police.

Yesterday, they were called to a property in Lincoln after the discovery of old ordnance on Chesney Road, off Bunkers Hill.

Lincolnshire police say today's explosion was just a precaution:

Alex Rhodes
BBC Local Live, Lincolnshire

Staff at Lincolnshire's hospitals are facing an increase in parking charges from the end of this week.

From this Friday, charges for some staff at hospitals run by United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) will go up by more than a third.

The cost of parking for members of the public is also set to rise.

The trust says difficult financial times mean it's had to up the cost rather than reduce patient services, external.

Lincoln Labour MP Karen Lee says the trust is not to blame for the price rise:

Maggie Curtis
News Editor, BBC Radio Lincolnshire

Vulnerable people are being forced to hand over their benefits and steal food to survive, according to a new report by the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Adults Board, external which throws light on the scale of financial exploitation in Lincolnshire.

In the first report of its kind, agencies say they've received harrowing accounts of how people with mental health issues and learning disabilities and drug abusers are being targeted by criminals in the county to hand over money, sometimes over many years.

It focuses on one Lincolnshire market town where it says 34 separate cases were identified between 2013 and 2014.

One man had been held hostage for two weeks and whipped with a dog lead, the report says.

Experts say it's just the tip of an iceberg.

The report concludes these cases were not hidden and the abuse was known to support workers.

Despite some successful court cases, the report concludes there were many missed opportunities and support services must work more closely to protect potential targets.

Hope Bolger
BBC Local Live, Lincolnshire

Tonight, Lincoln will be lit up as this year's torchlight procession in aid of St Barnabas House Hospice takes place.

Image source, St Barnabas House

The appeal gives people the opportunity to come together and reflect on moments spent with loved ones - as well as support the hospice.

The Light Up A Life procession starts at Clayton's Sports Ground and will then follow a pipe band past the hospice and up to the cathedral, where a Tree of Life will be illuminated.

You can dedicate a light to remember someone special, external which will be placed on the tree.

Lisa Gallagher
Weather presenter, BBC Look North

Cold and becoming windy, especially along the coast.

Largely dry and sunny this morning, then rain, hail and sleet showers will spread inland.

Here's my full forecast:

Hope Bolger
BBC Local Live, Lincolnshire

Good morning. Hope here, ready to bring you the news, sport, weather and travel updates from across the county as it happens.

As ever, I'd love to hear from you so why not get in touch by sending an email, or a message on Facebook, external or Twitter, external.

Hope Bolger
BBC Local Live, Lincolnshire

Well that's it from me today, I'll be back tomorrow with news, sport, weather and travel from across the county as it happens.

For now I'll leave you with five things we've learned today:

• A driver who caused life changing injuries to two teenagers in a crash near Market Rasen has failed in his bid to reduce his three year driving ban
• There's no evidence that crime's gone up in areas where streetlights have been switched off in Lincolnshire according to a police report out this morning.
• The number of two and five year old children in Lincolnshire having the MMR vaccine does not meet the national target

• A vicar who installed an ice rink in his church has gone a step further this winter by adding a toboggan run

• And Meghan's got some links to Lincs!

Hope Bolger
BBC Local Live, Lincolnshire

There's a new resident at a rehabilitation centre in Lincolnshire and he's receiving rave reviews.

Teddy, the 14-year-old cockapoo, has been going to work with his owner Sue at The Laurels Neurological Rehabilitation Centre in Lincoln for the past couple of months.

Image source, Gillian Davies

The pup is in training to become a PAT (Pets as Therapy) dog.

The idea is that he'll enhance the health and well-being of both residents and staff at the home.

And even though he's just begun his official training staff and residents say they're already seeing great results.

Barbara Stimpson
BBC Radio Lincolnshire

Parents-to-be in a part of Lincoln are to be the first to be offered a one stop shop aiming for better births.

A maternity hub is being set up on the Birchwood estate.

It'll have antenatal, post natal, health and social services under one roof.

Image source, Better Births Lincolnshire

The pilot scheme will run for 12 months and at the start it will only be available to parents registered at Birchwood Medical Pratice and Woodland Medical Practice.

Three others will also open across Lincolnshire by the end of March.

BBC Look North
East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

Lizzie Musham
BBC Local Live, Lincolnshire

If you were around Skegness beach today you may have notice a new sign.

Image source, Skegness Aquarium

It's near the aquarium and includes all of the equipment you need to pick rubbish off the beach including litter pickers and bags.

Anglian Water and Keep Britain Tidy are behind the 2 Minute Bleach Clean, external initiative which has been trialled in Norfolk and Suffolk.

Lincolnshire Police are advising people in Skegness who have a work van to remove all tools and belongings if they're leaving the vehicle unattended.

It comes after nine reports of thefts of tools from transit vans in the area yesterday.

Hope Bolger
BBC Local Live, Lincolnshire

More now on the street light switch off.

Lincolnshire Police have done a report into the partial switch off, external, which sees 42,000 lights off between 00:00 and 06:00 in a bid by the county council to save £1.7m a year.

Image source, Lincolnshire County Council

The report looked into crime including violence, robberies, vehicle offences and cases of criminal damage in the areas affected by the changes.

It found a slight increase in overnight crimes but says there is no link between the introduction of part-night lighting and the levels of crime, as overall crime in Lincolnshire has increased, as it has nationally.

Lincolnshire County Council has responded to the report.

Councillor Richard Davies, the man in charge of highways, say he hopes these findings will reassure those who were concerned by the changes.

A formal review is also being carried out by the council looking into the wider impact.

Cllr Davies says feedback will be taken into consideration, external:

Hope Bolger
BBC Local Live, Lincolnshire

Work on the A17 Sleaford Bypass, external has begun.

Image source, Lincolnshire County Council

The work, to protect the bank from further slippage and deterioration will run until the end of April 2018.

From today until next Monday there will be lane closures in both directions.

And from next Monday westbound lanes will be closed for six weeks.

Su Whitaker
BBC Radio Lincolnshire sport

The Lincoln City manager Danny Cowley says striker Matt Green will take great confidence from scoring his first goal since August in Saturday's 3-1 win at Port Vale.

Image source, Lincoln City FC

Cowley thinks Green deserved his goal:

David McKenna
Reporter, BBC News Online

A vicar who installed an ice rink in his church has gone a step further this winter by adding a toboggan run.

Fr Stuart Cradduck took to his skates in 2015 at St Wulfram's in Grantham wearing his vicar's cassock, but took a tumble on his first outing.

He said the toboggan run would "up the ante" and make this year's festive offering "a bit more risky".

At 45ft (13.7m) long it promises to be "quite a ride" through the 14th Century building, he said.

Fr Cradduck, who says "life is for living", hit the headlines in 2015 after taking a tumble on the ice when the rink was first used in the church.

He said since then he has had plenty of time to practice and was now "at a level where he could ice dance with the stars".

Paul Hudson
Weather presenter, BBC Look North

Now a look at the weather for this afternoon and into the rest of the week: