Alex Rhodes
BBC Local Live, Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire's is very proud of its RAF connections and heritage - so today's news that the MoD plans to close and sell the station has come as a bolt out of the blue to many.

Here's some of the views you've been expressing about the news:

Image source, MoD

RAF Scampton's closure will not only impact on the Red Arrows - the station is also home to No 1 Air Control Centre, which helps monitor UK airspace for hostile aircraft.

Image source, MOD

The Mobile Meteorological Unit is also located there too.

That's a section of the Met Office which helps monitor the weather for British troops deployed overseas.

The unit is currently in the Middle East providing forecasts across Afghanistan.

About 600 personnel in total work at RAF Scampton, including service personnel, contractors and civil servants.

A match between Grimsby Town and Barnet, in November last year, was one of the most heavily-policed football games, with one police officer for every 47 fans.

The figures come from analysis by the BBC Shared Data Unit, which carried out a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

It was also the most expensive fixture in League Two to the tax payer.

Critics say the sport is "often over-policed," and that high concentrations of officers can contribute to tensions on match days,

Police say they use the minimum resources necessary to avoid disorder.

Resorts across England are experiencing unusually warm temperatures beneath the waves.

People who live and work near RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire have been speaking of their sadness following the news that the station is to be sold.

The Ministry of Defence made the announcement this morning.

It has been the home of the Red Arrows for 20 years.

It was also the headquarters of 617 Squadron as they prepared for their famous 1943 Dambusters mission.

The MoD says by 2020 the Red Arrows will move to another station.

Greg Algar, who runs The Dambusters Inn in Scampton, says the Reds will be missed:

The sell-off of RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, which has been announced this morning, comes as the MoD bids to save millions of pounds in running costs.

Image source, PA

Last month, the Commons Defence Committee called on the government to increase defence spending from 2% to 3% of GDP, a boost of about £20bn a year.

The MoD declined to comment at this time.

Committee chairman Julian Lewis said the hike was necessary "to place our defence policy on a sustainable basis to meet new threats and fill existing financial 'black holes"'.

RAF Scampton, which the Ministry of Defence has announced is to be sold, was the World War Two headquarters of 617 "Dambusters" squadron.

Image source, Getty Images

The audacious attack on German reservoirs in the Ruhr Valley with "bouncing bombs" was a major coup for the British with the aim of flooding a vast area in one raid

A total of 19 bombers left Scampton in three waves on the night of 16 May 1943. The first headed to the Möhne and the Eder Dams, the second and third to the Sorpe dam

The Sorpe Dam was damaged but the Mohne and Eder Dams were destroyed, flooding the Ruhr valley and killing an estimated 1,300 people, mostly civilians

Out of the 133 crew who set off from Scampton, only 77 returned.

The leader of City of Lincoln Council says there's major concern over the planned sale of RAF Scampton, which has just been announced.

The RAF station, near Lincoln, is the current base for the Red Arrows aerobatic team and was the base from which the Dambusters set off on their famous raid in 1943.

Council leader Ric Metcalfe (pictured) says the Red Arrows represent such a lot about Lincolnshire and he wouldn't want to see the team moved to another part of the county.

"It's of huge concern if there was any suggestion of them going elsewhere", he says.

Sir Edward Leigh, the Conservative MP for Gainsborough, the constituency where RAF Scampton is based, says he's "saddened" with the news that the Ministry of Defence is to sell off the station:

The sale of RAF Scampton, near Lincoln, has been confirmed by the Ministry of Defence.

More to follow.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire, Marc Jones, says the possible sale of RAF Scampton by the MoD - which has been reported in The Times this morning - would be a major blow to the county:

The former Chief of the Air Staff Sir Michael Graydon has told the BBC that closing RAF Scampton, near Lincoln, could lead to problems in the future for the UK.

Unconfirmed reports in the Times today claim the historic RAF station is to be sold to save money.

Sir Michael, who lives in Lincolnshire, says the loss of the station could have several consequences which he hopes have been "fully understood" by the MoD.

He says he also can't see where else the world-famous Red Arrows aerobatic display team would fit in in Lincolnshire, suggesting they would move out of the county - possibly to Yorkshire.

The Ministry of Defence is expected to make an announcement later over the future of RAF Scampton, near Lincoln, the home of the iconic Red Arrows display team.

Unconfirmed reports in the Times newspaper claim the station is to be sold to save money.

Last month, the Commons Defence Committee called on the government to increase defence spending from 2% to 3% of GDP, a boost of around £20bn a year.

Opened in 1916, the base is famous for being the headquarters of 617 Squadron as they prepared for the Dambusters mission.

The suggestion is that the future of the world famous Red Arrows aerobatic team is secure.

About 600 people currently work at the RAF station.

The number of young people being given police cautions in Lincolnshire has been cut thanks to community service, according to the county council.

Image source, Getty Images

Instead of being given cautions or criminal records, young offenders are being offered the chance to meet their victims and find a resolution through community action.

The number of cautions has gone down by more than 90% since June 2017, according to Lincolnshire County Council.

Patricia Bradwell, executive councillor for children’s services, says: "This isn’t about young offenders getting away with it.

"Through robust, community resolutions with input from victims, it means young people won’t be criminalised but will take part in community action to repair the harm they've done."

Here are some of the top stories from Lincolnshire today:

• The Met Office has issued of a heatwave warning for the county
• Two brothers have written a book about the murder of their sister and mother by their father
• A 20-year-old man has admitted causing serious injury to a dog walker after losing control of his car.
• A record number of seals have been released back into the wild in the last year, according to a seal sanctuary in Skegness

Updates on breaking news will continue through the night.

Two women have been jailed after admitting they burgled a house in Spalding.

The owner of the house was "terrified" and "hid under the bed clothes" as his home was raided, Lincoln Crown Court has heard.

He said he pretended to be asleep when one of the burglars came into his bedroom, they stole cash, bank cards and cigarettes.

Sarah Smith, 28, of Wainfleet Road Skegness, and 46-year-old Teresa Wilson of Double Street in Spalding, admitted burglary.

Smith was given a nine-month jail sentence, suspended for a year with a 12-week electronically monitored night time curfew.

Wilson was given a nine-month jail sentence suspended for a year, with a six months drug rehabilitation activity requirement and a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

A lifeguard in Ingoldmells has rescued a man who had a seizure while he was body boarding.

Image source, RNLI

One of the lifeguards (pictured), saw the teenager struggling in the sea and came to his rescue.

The RNLI say that it illustrates the importance of using the water on lifeguarded beaches.

Only those stretches of the beach are actively watched by lifeguards, it said.

Building a new border inspection post for Grimsby and Immingham "would not make sense" until a Brexit deal is reached, according to the port owners.

Image source, Getty Images

Associated British Ports (ABP) have said arrangements were in place to build a new facility in Immingham, but the vote to leave the European Union put those plans on hold.

A border inspection post carries out checks on animal products arriving from non-EU countries, the current Grimsby facility is designed in line with European Union law.

But, ABP have said they need "clarity" on what a future Brexit deal will look like before any new post can be built.

Scunthorpe's new £4 million market is to be called St John's Market.

Image source, Getty Images

The market is part of a £60m private/public sector investment which aims to attract more businesses, jobs, residents and visitors to the town.

The name St John's Market was chosen to mark the nearby Grade II listed St John’s Church, which is now the popular 20-21 Visual Art Centre in Church Square.

The public are being given the opportunity to see the plans on Friday 27 July at the former BHS store, where the market will be based.

Fire crews in Gainsborough have been tackling a second field fire in just 24-hours.

Image source, Kate Wilson

Four fire engines and crews from as far afield as Nottingham have been tackling the blaze near Enderby Crescent.

It comes just a day after another fire in Lea, near Gainsborough, which was caused by a combine harvester overheating (pictured).

Fire officers say the current blaze is causing a lot of smoke in the area and people living nearby should close their windows.