Lincolnshire County Council has confirmed 87.8% of children have been given a place at their first choice secondary school.

Image source, Google

The authority says the figure is likely to be higher once an appeals process has taken place.

More than 8,000 pupils will be starting at secondary school in September.

People with suspected lung cancer are being seen quicker and receiving faster treatment in Lincolnshire, according to a hospital trust.

Image source, Google

A new project was piloted in 2019 and has now been rolled out at Lincoln County Hospital and Pilgrim Hospital in Boston.The project means patients receive the results of their chest X-rays within 24-hours.

If they then need a referral for a CT scan it should come within 48 hours.

Patients referred for chest X-rays from their GPs previously had to wait for two to three weeks for their results or to be referred for further tests.

Lincolnshire Police has handed out almost 700 fines for breaching coronavirus restrictions since the start of the pandemic.

Image source, PA

The most recent fines issued were to two men found hiding in a shed in Lincoln. Officers did not believe the one man who told them he'd never heard of coronavirus.

The force said in the early days of the pandemic fines were only issued as a last resort, but that has now changed.

BBC Weather

Today, patches of fog and low cloud will linger, and it will be a rather dull and grey day.

Tonight will continue cloudy and dull, with further low cloud and fog developing:

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

Mark Beck nets his first league goal since September 2019 to secure Harrogate a home triumph over struggling Grimsby.

Goals from Sam Smith and Callum Wright keep Cheltenham's promotion push firmly on track with victory at Scunthorpe.

A court hears Daniel Noddings was assisted by the officer at Sainsbury's before reversing into her.

Lincolnshire's most senior health expert says in the coming months there should be less focus on how high rates of coronavirus infection are due to the impact of the vaccines.

Professor Derek Ward, Lincolnshire's director of public health, says: "We need to start to shift our gaze a little bit and move away from looking all the time at our rates of infection to looking at how many people who do catch Covid actually then need treatment and support."

Professor Ward adds that infection rates will rise as the economy opens up again, but that's not as important if those people aren't as seriously affected by the virus.

He told BBC Radio Lincolnshire: "I think we will see more infection, especially when we open up schools and the economy".

However, he added that "as long as it's just a mild infection in people" people shouldn't be as concerned "if vaccination goes to plan".

Over 200 firms in Lincolnshire could fold this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the county's Federation of Small Businesses has warned.

In December, Katrina Pierce, the federation's local representative, said 218 businesses were at risk of closing their doors, but now she says "that number remains, and has probably grown".

Restaurants, theatres and high street retail are among the businesses considered most at risk, she says.

Ms Pierce adds that despite the government announcing its plan for a return to normality, with the gradual easing of coronavirus restrictions, "the risk is not over".

She says: "Having this plan from the government doesn't mean the end of restrictions and doesn't mean the end of the crisis. There are many businesses in real dire straits."

"All eyes are on the budget next week", with hopes that will provide certainty and continued support for small businesses, she adds.

The Sentinel R1 is being retired after serving in the skies above Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

The Sentinel R1 is being retired after serving in the skies above Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

BBC Weather

Today, it will be dry and bright with the odd patch of cloud but plenty of sunshine throughout.

Remaining mild for the time of year.

Tonight, it will remain dry with clear spells and the odd cloudy patch.

Feeling chilly, with temperatures dropping under mainly clear skies.

There is the chance of mist or fog patches:

The number of rough sleepers in Lincolnshire has more than halved in the last year, according to latest figures.

New statistics for the county show a dramatic reduction from 75 people sleeping rough daily in 2019 to 34 in 2020. Lincoln saw the biggest fall - from 27 in 2019 to eight last year.

The figures for Lincolnshire follow the national trend, which has seen a drop of 37% in rough sleepers across England.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which compiled the figures, says the sharp reduction is likely to have been affected by measures taken by government to tackle Covid-19, including the Everyone In scheme, which put up 33,000 people during the pandemic.

Experts say that scheme, and lockdown restrictions, makes comparison with previous years difficult.

A Grantham musician who got her start on BBC Introducing in Lincolnshire is to be featured on one of America's biggest talk shows tonight.

Holly Humberstone will have a performance, filmed in Lincolnshire, featured on the Late Late Show with James Corden.

The show, which is famous for introducing Carpool Karaoke to the world, has over 1.5 million regular viewers in the US and is broadcast on Friday Nights on Sky Comedy in the UK.

Holly began by uploading her music to BBC Introducing, which has kickstarted the careers of many global artists including George Ezra, Florence and the Machine, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Blossoms.

A-Level students in Lincolnshire have welcomed plans for teacher-assessed grades this summer, rather than exams.

Image source, Getty Images

Today it's been confirmed schools, not exams or algorithms, will decide A-Level and GCSE grades.

At Haven High Academy in Boston one student says its "definitely a good idea".

Sophie, who's studying in the Sixth Form, says "it takes a lot of anxiety off the situation" which she says has already been difficult.

"Stress of the exams is a lot, and to miss a lot of education time... we have had online schooling, but it's still different from being in a classroom."

Classmate Mark, who's also taking his A-Levels, says the idea of using teacher assessment is a "fairer" system than exams.

He says "If we had to go to tests, grades wouldn't be as high as it would normally be. Having our teachers assessing our grades is definitely a beneficial thing."

Last year the government had to perform a U-turn after students had their grades reduced because of an algorithm used.

More than a third of people aged over 16 in Lincolnshire have now had a coronavirus vaccine, it's been confirmed.

An additional 34,000 injections were given in the seven days up to Sunday, new figures from NHS England show.

The vast majority were first jabs, with two being given 12 weeks apart to give maximum immunity from Covid-19.

A total of 237,000 have now been given in Lincolnshire, that's 37% of the population aged over 16.

A total of 15 areas of Lincolnshire with poor mobile phone coverage are to get a 4G upgrade by the end of the year, it's been confirmed.

Image source, BT

The areas due an upgrade include parts of East Lindsey, South Holland, South Kesteven and West Lindsey.

On average, 4G is three times faster than 3G connections.

The upgrade, by phone network EE and subsidised by the government, is to help tackle so called "not-spots".

Boston and Skegness MP, and Minister for Digital Infrastructure, Matt Warman, says he's "delighted" at the upgrade.

Areas due an upgrade in Lincolnshire are:

• A153, Haltham, East Lindsey, Lincolnshire
• Addlethorpe, East Lindsey, Lincolnshire
• Mareham le Fen, East Lindsey, Lincolnshire
• Roughton, East Lindsey, Lincolnshire
• Wragby, East Lindsey, Lincolnshire
• Broughton, North Lincolnshire
• Moulton Seas End, South Holland, Spalding, Lincolnshire
• Bitchfield and Bassingthorpe, South Kesteven, Lincolnshire
• B1176, Little Bytham, South Kesteven, Lincolnshire
• Careby Aunby and Holywell, South Kesteven, Lincolnshire
• Stoke Rochford, South Kesteven, Lincolnshire
• Swayfield, South Kesteven, Lincolnshire
• Witham on the Hill, South Kesteven, Lincolnshire
• Bullington, West Lindsey, Lincolnshire
• Market Rasen, West Lindsey, Lincolnshire

Around 20,000 people have had a rapid Covid test at sites in Lincolnshire since they were introduced at the start of the year, it's been revealed.

A total of 1.47% of those tests at sites in Boston and Lincoln (pictured) have picked up Covid cases which would have otherwise gone undetected.

Public Health Lincolnshire says that's around 300 people who could have otherwise gone on to infect other people.

Andy Fox, assistant director for public health in Lincolnshire, says: "That represents a success, definitely.

"That is a significant number where we have found some cases that otherwise wouldn't be picked up, and we have broken those chains of transmission."

Some rapid testing sites in Boston are to move in the coming week, but Public Health Lincolnshire says there should be testing across the county until after June.

BBC radio presenter Jo Whiley should be made a Dame after her campaign to get people with learning disabilities the Covid vaccine, a Lincolnshire woman has said.

Lynn Bannister, from Market Rasen, who has learning disabilities herself, says she is "really pleased" at news people on the learning disability register should be bumped up the vaccine queue.

People with a "severe or profound" learning disability in England and Wales were already in priority groups for the jab.

But now everyone on their GP's learning disability register will be invited for vaccination regardless of how severe their disability is, Public Health England has confirmed.

Ms Bannister described this as "the cherry on the cake" following a campaign by Jo Whiley, whose sister has a learning disability and diabetes.

Ms Bannister has been self-isolating with her father in Market Rasen for the last year, but the increased chance of a vaccine means she may soon be able to return to living independently.

She says she's going to call BBC Radio 2 about Jo Whiley's campaign and "get her made a Dame" and is calling for people across Lincolnshire to support the idea.