The Leader of North Lincolnshire Council, councillor Rob Waltham, has met with rail bosses over plans to run a direct service between London and the region.

Image source, North Lincolnshire Council

The current proposals are for trains from London to travel to Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Cleethorpes. The group also discussed the possibility of adding further stops in North Lincolnshire including the Isle of Axholme at Crowle, and at Barnetby.

Cllr Waltham, pledged his support to an application from Grand Central to the Rail Regulator for access to the line and if the bid is successful, the services could start running in 2020.

Three juveniles have been arrested after an incident in Lincoln last night.

Officers were called to St Margaret's Gardens at about 22:00 after reports of drunken youths fighting.

When they arrived over 100 people were there - some throwing cans and bottles in their direction.

Extra police officers from the surrounding area including the dog support unit were called in to bring the situation under control, which was done so relatively quickly.

Three 16-year-old boys were arrested for disorder offences and remain in custody.

It will stay mainly dry through this afternoon with further periods of sunshine.

A little patchy cloud will also develop.

The top temperature will be about 9C (48F):

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

• About 150 people living on the Lincolnshire coast have turned out to have their say on future flood prevention plans
• The team at Boston Stump asks for donations to their Warm Rail after nearly running out of stock
• A couple from Messingham in North Lincolnshire fulfil a long-held ambition by opening a zoo

About 72 fires a week are being caused in our region by faulty white goods according to Humberside Fire and Rescue.

The fire service has been been speaking after the review website "Which?" produced research which showed washing machines, tumble dryers and fridge-freezers are causing more than 60 house fires nationally every week.

The consumer group is calling on the government to do more to make sure unsafe products are removed from people's homes.

North Lincolnshire Council is launching a scheme to give local residents the power to tackle speeding vehicles.

Volunteers will be trained with police support to use handheld speed detection devices.

Pilots will take place in March and April in Belton, North Killingholme, South Killingholme, Thornton Curtis and Ulceby, with the scheme is expected to start in April 2018.

The council hopes the presence of the volunteers will act as a deterrent to speeding drivers.

The team at Boston Stump is asking for donations to their Warm Rail after nearly running out of stock.

Image source, Boston Stump

The rail is a place for people to donate unwanted winter clothing, then those in need can help themselves.

Anyone with a spare coat is being asked to drop it by the church.

A couple from Messingham in North Lincolnshire are fulfilling a long-held ambition by opening a zoo.

Iain and Alex Gouldthorp first had the idea six years ago and have spent the last three planning the venue after buying some land next to their home.

Their animals include prairie dogs, pot bellied pigs, skunks, and racoons. The couple plan to reserve Mondays and Tuesdays for school visits, with the public able to attend on other days.

About 150 people living on the Lincolnshire coast have turned out to have their say on future flood prevention plans.

The Environment Agency's set out six options, external for reducing the flood risk between Saltfleet and Gibraltar Point.

The public drop-in session in Sutton on Sea yesterday is just one of a number of events being held as part of a consultation.

There's another session on Friday at the Gibraltar Point visitors centre.

Thousands more children across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are in poverty because of public sector pay caps and benefit cuts, it's being claimed.

An extra 14,000 children have fallen into poverty in Yorkshire since 2010, according to the TUC.

In the East Midlands, which includes Lincolnshire, the figure is also about 14,000.

The BBC has contacted the government for comment but is yet to receive a response.

Work to demolish six high-rise tower blocks on Grimsby's East Marsh estate will finally begin in March.

Image source, David Wright

Shoreline Housing announced in September 2014 that the 1960s buildings would be knocked down because they needed huge investment and because of the falling demand for high-rise living.

The demolition is expected to be finished in November and Shoreline says it will be done in the safest way.

Stefan Pidluznyj
Local Democracy Reporter

Dogs must now be kept on leads at all times on the promenade at Chapel St Leonards.

Image source, Google

East Lindsey District Council's executive approved the extension of what's known as a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) at a meeting in Manby on Wednesday.

Councillors previously established the PSPO on the promenade 200m either side of the Main Pullover in the village last November.

However, this has now been extended to cover the area between Trunch Lane and Chapel Point.

The extension was requested by Chapel St Leonards Parish Council.

There's been a huge increase in the number of cars abandoned on Lincolnshire's roadsides.

New figures, collated by insurance company Confused.com, show the number has risen by 424% in five years.

In 2012, just 274 were abandoned in the county, but that rose to 1162 last year.

Police say the practice is illegal and if the owner doesn't move their vehicle after a week it's taken away by the local council.

Depending on its condition, if it's not claimed within a month it can be crushed or sold for parts at a cost to the owner.

Abbie Dewhurst
Weather Presenter, BBC Look North

The odd shower is possible this morning but, in general, it will be dry with sunny spells.

Largely staying dry through this afternoon with further periods of sunshine.

Here's my full forecast:

A North Lincolnshire woman is calling on the government to make toilets for people with disabilities compulsory in all public places.

Lorna Fillingham has gathered more than 50,000 signatures in an online petition calling for "Changing Places" toilets, which meet the needs of all people with a disability, to be installed.

The petition is due to be delivered to Downing Street next week and Lorna says these facilities, which offer extra equipment for people with disabilities, are a basic human right:

The government says it's worked with disability charities to help improve facilities.

Top-up fees charged by elderly care and residential homes in Lincolnshire are to be fixed for three years.

Image source, Thinkstock

Each home sets its own top-up fees which are charged to residents or families and those fees will now stay the same until 2021.

Lincolnshire County Council says whatever residents are paying in April this year will remain in place for that period.

The top stories from Lincolnshire so far today include:

• There'll be no Tour of the Wolds cycle event in Lincolnshire this year
• Trading Standards officers have warned about the dangers of 'dodgy' Valentine's gifts
• Demolition work on Grimsby's East Marsh tower blocks will start next month
• A Lincolnshire Olympics volunteer who helped in London and Rio is back for South Korea event
• Plans to revive Louth's livestock market are about to be agreed

Organisers said they hoped to bring the event back in future years.

Public drop-in events about how to protect the Lincolnshire coast from future flooding began today.

Image source, Environment Agency

The Environment Agency's set out six options, external for reducing flood risk between Saltfleet and Gibraltar Point, including new concrete groynes or replacing sand.

It's hoped it'll help to protect more than 20,000 homes and businesses and thousands of caravans.

Today's session was at the Bacchus Hotel in Sutton On Sea - and there's another at Gibraltar Point on Friday.

Join Peter Levy for all the latest news from around the region on BBC One 18:30.