Lincolnshire Police is telling people who are thinking of coming to the county for hare coursing not to bother.

Image source, Lincolnshire Police

The county force brought back Operation Galileo today to try to stop coursers.

Last year 76 dogs were seized and officers recorded a 30% drop in the crime.

The hot spell has benefited one Lincolnshire farmer who has grown five million sunflowers this year.

There will be plenty of very warm sunshine in Lincolnshire this afternoon.

It should be dry at first, but there is an increasing chance of showers later, some of these potentially heavy.

West Lindsey District Council's been criticised for buying buildings in Sheffield that house a lingerie company and a gym at a cost of £5.5 million.

Image source, Google

Opposition councillors argue the money could, and should be better spent locally.

But the Leader of the authority Cllr Jeff Summers says the return on rent will help to pay for public services, and what they're doing makes sense.

Hosepipe bans are in place in the Isle of Man and parts of the Republic of Ireland, but Anglian Water, which covers the east of England, Rutland and parts of Lincolnshire, says water levels in its reservoirs are still looking healthy, despite the long heatwave.

The company has been measuring supplies in its reservoirs at Alton Water, external in Suffolk, Ardleigh reservoir near Colchester, Covenham in Lincolnshire, Grafham Water, external in Cambridgshire; Hollowell, external, Pitsford Water, external and Ravensthorpe Resevoir, external in Northamptonshire, and Rutland Water, external and says levels are "still good for the time of year".

Alton near Ipswich is at the bottom of the table at just shy of 80% capacity, while Covenham tops the table with 96%.

However, the company is still asking customers not to be complacent and to make sure they are using water wisely.

A man was knocked out after being punched in the face in an attack at a bus stop near Lincoln at the weekend.

The attack happened at about 05:00 on Sunday at the bus stop on the A607 Tinkers Lane junction in Waddington.

The victim was set upon after refusing to give his attacker money.

Police are urging anyone with information to get in touch.

The top stories from across Lincolnshire so far today include:

• Lincolnshire Police talk tough on hare coursing
• The Campaign for Real Ale says the East Midlands is one of the worst affected areas for pub closures
• The largest Lincolnshire-based commercial growers of sunflower seeds in the UK say they've had one of their best seasons in years

It may be a regular in fry-ups in our county, but are you sure your Lincolnshire sausage is actually from Lincolnshire?

Image source, Red Hill Farm

There have been renewed calls for Lincolnshire sausages to gain protected status, in the same way Cornish Pasties, Cumberland Sausages and Stilton cheeses can't be copied.

The calls come as industry figures revealed that 4.4m more sausages were sold last year than the year before.

Jane Tomlinson, from Redhill Farms near Gainsborough, says the Lincolnshire sausage needs protecting:

A petition signed by 305,000 people is being handed to Walkers crisps later to get the company to stop using plastic packaging.

The company, which has a factory in Lincoln, says it is committed to improving its bags by 2025.

But campaign group 38 Degrees, external says it needs to happen now.

The factory on Newark Rd in Lincoln, which makes Quavers and some of the Walkers Sensation ranges, has been in the city for more than 70 years.

It was originally the home of Smiths Crisps and in 2013 over 70 people were made redundant in the factory because of the installation of new packaging equipment.

The largest commercial growers of sunflower seeds in the UK says they've had one of their best seasons in years.

Nicholas Watts and his family decided to grow sunflowers on their farm at Deeping St Nicholas (near Spalding) after they first brought seeds from Argentina to grow in their garden.

This year they've produced 5 million plants, which works out at around 1 billion sunflower seeds.

Firefighters in Lincolnshire have been called out to more field and grass fires overnight.

Firefighters have been tackling a blaze caused by an electrical fault in a tractor in Gainsborough which caused a barn, tractor, digger, and 50 bales of hay to be set on fire.

A combine harvester also caught fire in Surfleet yesterday evening, causing damage to 24 acres of wheat.

It comes after Lincolnshire Fire Service announced its crews had dealt with over 120 grassland and field fires during June and July (pictured).

The government's being asked to ease the tax burden on the cost of a pint by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra).

Image source, Google

The organisation says 18 pubs are closing every week across the country.

There were 476 closures in the first six months of the year - that's 13 more than in the last six months of 2017.

In East Barkwith, near Market Rasen, there's an appeal for a new landlord to take over The Crossroads Inn to secure its future as a community hub.

Shrewsbury Town sign Lincoln City centre-back and captain Luke Waterfall for an undisclosed fee.

Measures to tackle hare coursing in Lincolnshire are due to get under way today as police begin what's known as Operation Galileo.

Image source, Getty Images

The police say they'll take a hardline approach to those who carry out hare coursing in the county.

In the past, offenders have travelled from across the country to take part in the illegal activity.

Hare coursing has been illegal across the UK since 2005.

Andy Dales' late winner helps Scunthorpe come from behind to win at newly-promoted Coventry City.

The top stories from Lincolnshire so far today include:

• A Lincolnshire council has spent £5.5 million on two new properties in Sheffield to bring in revenue for the county
• A man's being treated for a stab wound to his arm in Boston
• The cost of rural crime is higher in Lincolnshire than anywhere else in the country, new figures show
• Gainsborough supermarkets face £75 fine for each abandoned trolley which is recovered

BBC Weather

It's going to be a warm end to the day in Lincolnshire.

Here's the latest forecast:

On the day firefighters in Lincolnshire are urging people to be careful because of the hot and dry conditions, they are responding to several field fires:

A woman's been left with minor injuries to her face after an assault and attempted bag snatch in Grimsby, external.

Image source, Google

It happened on Oxford Street at about 13:40 on Friday 27 July.

It's thought a slim, tall woman in her mid 30s, with long bleached blond hair, was responsible for the assault and attempted robbery.

The woman didn't get away with the bag, but left her victim with some injuries.

As we mentioned earlier, a Lincolnshire woman is currently attempting to swim 13 miles in eight and a half hours across The Wash.

Claire Draper's doing it to raise money to pay for cancer treatment for a family friend.

She set off from Hunstanton and is expected to arrive in Skegness later today.