Breaking news, sport, travel and weather updates from across Lincolnshire.

League One club Scunthorpe United sign defender Cameron Borthwick-Jackson on a season-long loan from Manchester United.

West Bromwich Albion sign attacking full-back Conor Townsend from Scunthorpe United for an undisclosed fee.

Andrew Riddel keeps lions and a tiger as part of his collection of 235 animals.

Pictures of Skegness feature in a major arts festival in Denmark aimed at promoting links between the two places.

These are the top stories from across Lincolnshire so far today:

• A man in his 70s has been seriously injured after being hit by a car in Boston
• Pilgrim Hospital's struggles to recruit doctors and nurses could cost £4m
• Lightning strikes, described as an "almighty bang", have caused chaos on the East Coast Mainline today
• Two men have appeared in court after a police pursuit in Lincoln
• A donkey owner says he's faced verbal abuse for continuing to run donkey rides in high heats, despite animal charities giving it the all clear

A donkey owner in Skegness says he's had abuse and threats from the public, after offering donkey rides on the beach during the recent hot weather.

One social media post, which complained about the rides, has had more than 30,000 shares.

Animal experts say the donkeys are well adapted for the heat, and animal welfare officers have checked the conditions for Skegness donkeys are appropriate.

Chris Epton, a donkey owner in Skegness, says he's been criticised for keeping rides going, despite providing donkeys with parasols and water.

Image source, Louis Wagner

A woman who burgled the home of a vulnerable elderly man in Gainsborough, and stole the jewellery he was wearing while he was in bed, has been jailed.

Image source, Lincolnshire Police

Using a key she'd stolen earlier in the day, 31-year-old Samantha Davies (pictured), of no fixed address, went into the man's house on Lea Road in the early hours of the morning on 17 June.

She walked into the 65-year-old's bedroom and called out his name to wake him.

Davies then asked the victim to sit up, before removing a gold necklace from round his neck and then taking a gold bracelet.

The two pieces were both worth over £2000.

The 31-year-old admitted two charges of burglary and of fraudulently using the man's bank card at Lincoln Crown Court.

She was jailed for three years and four months.

We were all woken up by it this morning and it's caused chaos on the railways, but did you catch the lightning on camera?

There have been amber weather warnings, external across the county for thunder storms, but Weather Watcher Chris King wasn't put off.

He caught this amazing shot of the lightning mid-strike on the Lincolnshire coast.

If you have any photos of the storms today you can email us.

Dealing with the ongoing crisis at Boston's paediatric service is estimated to cost the trust which runs Lincolnshire's hospitals between £1m and £4m.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust is changing services at Pilgrim Hospital after putting it under review because of serious staffing shortages.

The plan includes a temporary model to keep the children's ward open from August, and contingency plans to provide additional space at Lincoln County Hospital if that idea fails.

Much of the extra money will go towards funding extra locum doctors, who'll fill gaps in the rota, more short-term agency staff on occasional shifts and, in the future, private ambulances.

Members of the ULHT's executive met to discuss the situation at Pilgrim Hospital today.

Boston MP, Matt Warman, said "money is not the issue" when it comes to managing the situation at Pilgrim.

"If we need additional resources, then those resources will be found," he said.

A man in his 70s is in hospital with serious injuries after being hit by a car in Boston this morning.

Image source, Google

The crash happened at the entrance to Boston West Business Park at 08:45.

He was taken to Pilgrim Hospital with serious injuries.

They're appealing for anyone who may have seen the collision or who might have dashcam footage of the incident.

Traders and the general public have been given the opportunity to take a look at the plans for Scunthorpe's new market today.

North Lincolnshire Council are spending over £4m, converting the old BHS building into a new indoor market.

Visitors will be shown a 3D video of the proposals today at the building.

There will also be a mock-up market stall, the opportunity to ask questions and find out how to go about applying for one or more stalls.

More than 3,500 people have signed a petition opposing the MoD's planned sale of RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire.

Image source, MOD

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Defence announced that the home to the Red Arrows (pictured above Scampton) will close in 2022.

3,677 people have signed the petition, which is urging the Ministry of Defence to 'Stop the sale and loss of 600 jobs at Historic RAF Scampton, Home of the Red Arrows'.

The Royal Air Force says it is committed to investing and staying in the county despite the sale.

Two men are due to appear in court today after a police pursuit through Lincoln city centre earlier this week.

Anthony Kimani, 23, of Honeysuckle Court, Woodston, Peterborough, has been charged with dangerous driving and failing to stop for police.

Louis Holden, 20, of no fixed address, has been charged with possession of an offensive weapon.

A man's been taken to hospital after being hit by a car on a major route in Boston.

Image source, Google

The crash happened on the A52 near to McDonalds.

The road's currently closed and is causing long tailbacks in the area.

A lightning strike which hit a signalling centre has caused "complete disruption" on the East Coast Main Line, according to Network Rail.

The "quite significant lightning strikes" affected the Signal and Control Centre in York which controls all traffic in and out of the Leeds area.

Network Rail says several lightning strikes elsewhere on the network have exacerbated the problem.

LNER, which runs rail services on the East Coast Main Line, is advising passengers not to travel at all today which is causing major problems at Leeds railway station (pictured).

Northern Rail is advising passengers not to travel for the next few hours.

Rachel Lowe, from Network Rail, says its priority is dealing with "trapped trains which were out on the network when the signalling went down".

She says: "People are sat in hot trains not necessarily at platforms" and the firm's priority is making sure they're able to get off and get refreshment.

A North Lincolnshire aviation festival has been postponed due to high winds being forecast.

Image source, PA

North Lincolnshire Council say because of the high winds and rain forecast for this Sunday, the decision has been made to postpone the North Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Festival set to take place at Skydive Hibaldstow.

The festival included a special Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flypast.

It will now take place on Sunday 30 September.

Four fire crews have been dealing with a vehicle blaze which spread to other cars, vans and sheds in Lincoln.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue had been advising people living nearby to close their windows because of the fumes.

The blaze broke out at about 09:00 this morning on Glentham Close in Lincoln, but has now been extinguished.

No cause has been determined yet.

Lincolnshire has been picked to be one of 13 locations to attract American tourists to the UK.

Esteemed travel author Fionn Davenport is in the county today to write about some of the sights and destinations for the new scheme called Tour England.

He's touring the county to compile itineraries centred around themes - including Faith and Religion, Wartime, and The Great Migration.

A festival in Skegness has been cancelled on "health and safety grounds" because of the threat of thunderstorms today.

The event, which was due to take place this evening, was to include a performance from a live band fronted by Grammy Award Winner Anthony Harty.

Event organisers say that potential lightning means they "cannot take any risks that may impact on the safety of the public or anybody part of the event":