The police watchdog says Lincolnshire's force has to do more when it comes to protecting vulnerable children.

The report by HMICFRS, external says police officers and staff needs to act quicker to deal with people who download and distribute indecent images of children.

It does add that Lincolnshire Police has shown commitment to improving the way it deals with risks to youngsters.

Lincolnshire Police say it's already working to address these issues and has increased staff numbers.

The number of reports of illegal hare coursing have significantly decreased in Lincolnshire, according to police.

This season 686 incidents have been reported so far, compared to 1,579 at the same point in 2017.

Ch Insp Phil Vickers says this has been achieved by working with rural communities, having the right equipment, and working well with the force control room.

BBC Weather

A cold start, perhaps with some patchy mist or fog.

This will disperse though, leaving it fine and dry with a good deal of sunshine. Very mild too.

New pictures have emerged of a Japanese Raccoon dog, or Tanuki, at his new home at the ARK Wildlife Park in Lincolnshire.

Roscoe was spotted roaming around Kirton on Monday and, after quite the adventure, search teams caught up with him and brought him to the wildlife park which will be his new stomping ground.

He seems to be getting used to his new life rather well:

Image source, ARK Wildlife Park

Image source, ARK Wildlife Park

Image source, ARK Wildlife Park

It's hoped a new website will help to raise the profile of a memorial garden dedicated to people who've been killed on Lincolnshire's roads.

Image source, Lincolnshire Road Victims Memorial Garden

The Lincolnshire Road Victims Memorial Garden, external is sited in Westgate Wood in Boston and work's under way to finish building it.

About £40,000 has already been spent on the project which includes a display of plaques with the names of road death victims.

Visitors to the site will find a weatherproof memorial which enables family and friends of road death victims to have a place of quiet reflection and remembrance.

There is also a display of plaques recording the names of Lincolnshire road death victims.

A dry, settled night to come with some long clear spells.

Perhaps a few pockets of mist and fog developing.

Turning locally chilly under starry skies:

RAF Tornado fighter jets will fly over Lincolnshire next week as part of a farewell tour.

Image source, PA

The fleet of aircraft is being retired after returning to RAF Marham in Norfolk last week.

They will over five RAF stations in Lincolnshire next Tuesday.

The Tornado fleet has been used by the RAF for 40 years and has taken part in combat since the first Gulf War.

It is being replaced by the RAF's F-35 Lightning II fighters and an upgraded Typhoon fleet.

Grimsby Town manager Michael Jolley has told his players to be comfortable with managing the expectations ahead of Saturday's home game against Cheltenham Town.

Image source, Google

The Mariners are on a three-game winning run in the league and Jolley says he wants that to continue.

Jolley says the team's at a stage where "their form is good and that brings with it a certain amount of expectation".

"We have to be able to handle that. We want our fans to expect us to play well and expect us to win and that's how it should be. So, every game is tough at this level," Jolley says.

"We've beaten teams like MK Dons this season and lost to teams like Macclesfield, so it shows the league is tight and competitive and Saturday's another chance to show what we can do."

People in Lincolnshire are being advised to watch out for "romance scams" if they're looking to start a new relationship online or via an app this Valentine's Day.

Image source, ActionFraud

Lincolnshire Trading Standards says online dating is a very common way to get scammed.

Nick Bates, from Lincolnshire Police, says more than £50m has been lost to romance fraud in the UK.

Mr Bates says: "This fraud can have a devastating effect on the victim - not just economically, by losing large amounts of money - but also emotionally when the victim learns he or she isn’t in a legitimate relationship."

If you think you've been the victim of fraud, or you know this is happening to someone, you're being urged to contact Action Fraud, external.

Lincolnshire Police has seized more than 120 dogs since introducing the new tactic in 2017.

One of the longest serving fundraisers in Lincolnshire has been honoured today for her 70 years of service to the Royal British Legion.

Image source, Royal British Legion

Sheila Wood, from North Hykeham, started selling poppies when she was16 years old when her mother encouraged her after the support they received from the charity when her father died.

She retired last year and this morning, she was presented with a special recognition award by the Lincolnshire Poppy Appeal.

A total of £34,000 has been given to restore an old water fountain in Sleaford in the fight against plastic waste.

Image source, Heritage Fund

The Grade II-listed fountain was built in 1874 to provide a source of clean water for the town, but it was shut off in 1904.

Previously, contaminated water was often taken from the River Slea, which could lead to poor health.

The fountain has fallen into decline in recent years, but soon people in the town will be able to refill their water bottles from the fountain thanks to the money from the Heritage Fund, external.

The company which runs non-emergency hospital transport in Lincolnshire has been branded "inadequate" by inspectors.

The Care Quality Commission says it has significant concerns about Thames Ambulance Service Limited.

During a visit to stations in Lincoln, Spalding and Grimsby last October, inspectors found ambulances which were visibly unclean.

There were infection control issues, such as staff not having access to running water at one station.

They also found that lessons learned from complaints, which would help improve the service, were not being shared.

However, they did find staff were caring towards patients.

The Lincolnshire West Clinical Commissioning Group says it will continue to work with the company to make sure improvements are made.

The Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones has described cutbacks to frontline officers and PCSOs as a "worst case scenario" and says he's confident it won't happen.

He says he's going to be applying for extra government funding in the next few days.

It comes as the force looks to save £3.2m from its budget by 2020.

BBC Weather

It will be dry this afternoon with some sunny spells.

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

• Sala pilot search fund nears target
• Interest in earthworks contract for Lincoln bypass
• Escaped bull shot dead by police firearms officers

An escaped bull which has been running round Skellingthorpe has been shot dead by police:

The two-year-old bull went missing at about 05:30 this morning from the abattoir in the area.

Since then, police have been hunting for it.

Lincolnshire Police have confirmed the bull they're looking for near Skellingthorpe has escaped from an abattoir.

It's two-years-old and weighs about 700kgs, police say.

Officers, some with firearms, are searching the area.

Armed police officers are currently on the hunt for a wild bull near Skellingthorpe.

Yes, you heard right, there's a bull on the loose...

People in the area say they believe it's escaped from an abattoir at the end of Ferry Lane.

The BBC's Jake Zuckerman is following the progress of the hunt:

Lincolnshire Police have released CCTV images of a man they wish to speak to in connection with the theft of a charity donation box in Lincoln.

Image source, Lincolnshire Police

The Poppy Appeal box, filled with money, was taken from Costcutter on Ruston Way on Tuesday 5 February.