Firefighters in Lincolnshire are urging people to be careful as the hot and dry weather continues.

Crews have dealt with fires caused by overheating farm machinery, embers from a bonfire and spontaneous combustion of manure heaps in recent days.

They say because the land is so dry, a small fire can spread very quickly.

The county's police have issued figures of what they tackled over the last week:

Image source, Lincolnshire Police

A Lincolnshire council has spent £5.5 million on two new properties in Sheffield to bring in revenue for the county.

Image source, Google

West Lindsey spent £2.5 million on a property occupied by Better Gym in Penistone Road.

The authority will make £164,000 in annual rent.

The second building, leased by Panache Lingerie, cost £3m and will bring in £275,000 a year in rent.

Opposition groups have criticised investments outside the council's area.

There's concern for the welfare of a missing 16-year-old boy from Rochester in Kent who's now thought to be in the Grimsby area.

Image source, Kent Police.

Brandon Chalcroft was reported missing on Thursday 2 August.

Officers are asking anyone who may have seen Brandon, or knows where he is, to get in touch with Kent Police.

The top stories from across Lincolnshire so far today include:

• A man's 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
• Gainsborough supermarkets face £75 fine for each abandoned trolley which is recovered

Farmers in East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire say they are digging trenches and building walls to keep out thieves because rural crime is on the up.

David Airey (pictured below) is a sheep farmer in Yorkshire and claims it's never been as bad.

A report by insurance company NFU Mutual estimates the cost of rural crime in the UK rose to more than £44m last year.

It says some farmers are using medieval methods to protect their property.

Humberside Police say they take rural crime seriously.

Officers say they are encouraging farmers to ensure their farms and property are safe by putting extra security measures in place.

BBC Weather

It'll be a very warm afternoon with only a light breeze.

A man's being treated for a stab wound to his arm in Boston.

Image source, PA

Lincolnshire Police say they were called to the Market Place just after midnight.

The victim was taken to Pilgrim Hospital for treatment.

Officer says his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

New figures show that the East Midlands Ambulance Service received just under one million emergency calls last year.

Crews also dealt with almost 18 hundred patients every day.

It's hoped an extra £19 million of funding will help improve response times, the service said.

BBC News Travel

Motorists are being warned about delays on the A15 north of Lincoln.

Lincolnshire Police say a collision has blocked the southbound carriageway.

Plans to close more than 30 House of Fraser stores, including those in Lincoln and Grimsby, are to go ahead, it's been confirmed.

The company has settled a legal row with a group of landlords, removing one hurdle to a potential rescue deal.

The firm wants to close 31 of its 59 shops next January.

House of Fraser said it was now "focused on concluding discussions with interested investors" and the out-of-court settlement with the landlords had removed "any risk to those discussions".

From today, supermarkets in Gainsborough will be charged £75 every time one of their abandoned trolleys is recovered.

West Lindsey District Council says it's finding up to 70 trolleys a day.

The authority says it's been working with all local supermarkets on the clamp-down.

Today looks set to be a dry one for Lincolnshire.

There'll be a good deal of sunshine and just a little cloud, mainly during the morning.

Becoming very warm or hot again with only a light breeze:

The cost of rural crime is higher in Lincolnshire than anywhere else in the country, new figures show.

Insurers NFU Mutual dealt with claims worth a total of about £2.1m in the county last year.

However, that's down 15% on 2016's figures.

Quads, tractors, tools, and machinery top thieves' wish-lists, the insurer says.

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

Just under one million calls were made last year to the ambulance service which covers northern Lincolnshire.

East Midlands Ambulance Service dealt with about 1,800 patients a day, it's been revealed.

It's hoped a £19m government cash boost will help improve its response times.