With days of rain and extensive floods, the autumn of 2019 seems to have been much wetter than normal. Has it though?

Image source, Getty Images

Villagers in Fishlake, near Doncaster, were forced to flee their homes after the river Don and Ea Beck both burst their banks.

Sheffield in South Yorkshire, Scampton and Coningsby in Lincolnshire and Watnall near Nottingham have all had their wettest autumns on record and are on course for their wettest ever Novembers.

Sheffield had 456mm of rain beating its record from 2000 of 425.2mm.

But while there have been some dramatic weather events locally, nationally the record has been a long way from being broken.

This autumn is currently ranked as the 24th wettest on record for England and Wales, with 372.1mm falling on average across the two nations. The record was set in 2000 when 502.7mm was recorded.

England as a whole has had a mean temperature of 5.3C between 1 and 17 November, 0.9C cooler than the period's average temperature.

There seems to have been a lot of rain and flooding this autumn but how wet has it really been?

Three flood warnings remain in place for Lincolnshire, external this morning.

Image source, Rui Vera/PA Wire

An Environment Agency (EA) flood warning means "flooding is expected and immediate action is required".

The warnings are for:

• Groundwater flooding for Barrow upon Humber in North Lincolnshire. The EA says: "Although groundwater levels are very slowly receeding, any further rainfall could lead to ongoing property flooding in the Barrow upon Humber area. Properties on Westoby Lane, Park View and Orchard Close areas are most likely to be affected through the rest of this week.
• Low Barlings and the Short Ferry Area. The EA says: "The breach near Short Ferry remains, and Short Ferry Road is flooded and impassable along with large areas of farmland. The risk to low lying properties in this area remains."

A total of 13 flood alerts also remain in place for Lincolnshire. Alerts mean "flooding is possible, be prepared".

There are currently no weather warnings for Lincolnshire issued by the Met Office.

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

Jeremy Flashman sent abusive messages to a Lincolnshire fire chief after Sam was axed as a mascot.

Andrew Highton attacked his partner Linda Treeby and left her dying in a pool of blood, court hears.

Candidates in one part of Lincolnshire say households are receiving the wrong general election leaflets through their letterboxes.

The Royal Mail delivers one leaflet per candidate in each constituency.

But it's being claimed residents within the Sleaford and North Hykeham area are getting party political leaflets promoting candidates in other constituencies and not their own.

The Royal Mail has not yet responded to the claims.

The candidates standing for the Sleaford and North Hykeham constituency are:

• Caroline Coram: Independent
• Oliver Craven: Liberal Democrat
• Linda Edwards-Shea: Labour
• Caroline Johnson: Conservative
• Marianne Overton: Lincolnshire Independents
• Simon Tooke: Green Party

A man's been found guilty of murdering his partner on her birthday whilst they were staying at a caravan park on the Lincolnshire coast.

Image source, Lincolnshire Police

Linda Treeby, 64, was found with fatal injuries in a caravan at the Summerlands Caravan Park, Ingoldmells, near Skegness.

A jury at Lincoln Crown Court deliberated for 90 minutes before convicting Andrew Highton, 51, of Highbury Road, Bulwell, Nottingham of her murder.

Prosecuting William Harbage, QC said: "He assaulted her so severely that she died. It was not just two or three or four punches. You could never have caused that much damage with so few punches... This attack was savage. It was brutal. He must have intended to kill her."

Image source, Lincolnshire Police

Highton will be sentenced tomorrow at Lincoln Crown Court.

A telecoms engineer who sent abusive messages to Lincolnshire's Chief Fire Officer in response to the service axing Fireman Sam from its promotional material was today jailed at Lincoln Magistrates' Court.

Image source, Google

Jeremy Flashman, 56, of Kings Road, Southminster, Essex, rang fire officer Les Britzman and swore at him after the officer was interviewed by Piers Morgan on breakfast television.

Although Mr Britzman hung up he later received an abusive email and a voicemail message in which Flashman was abusive about the fire chief's mother, his partner and the officer himself.

Flashman, admitted three charges of sending an offensive, indecent or obscene message to Mr Britzman on 11 September this year.

He was jailed for 10 weeks and ordered to pay a £121 surcharge.

Lincolnshire Police say they want to speak to this man in connection with the theft of a poppy collection box in Spalding:

Image source, Lincolnshire Police

A man entered G. Simpsons Butchers in Hall Place at about 15:30 on 13 November and left with the box.

Officers are asking anyone who knows this man to get in touch with them.

Rev Canon Dr Paul Overend is accused of indecently assaulting a woman between April and July 1997.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans for the site of Skegness' first mosque, which was targeted by an arson attack earlier this year, are expected to be approved.

Image source, Dan Quinn, Assistant Chief Fire Officer at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue

The plans by Skegness Central Mosque Group include a community centre, with four self-contained flats above, which will be built next to the former Methodist chapel on Roman Bank.

The developers say the residential aspect will help pay for the upkeep of the centre, which will include washrooms, a kitchen and a main hall.

Recommending approval, planning officers say the site “can benefit from a mixed use redevelopment introducing a community centre for a minority group while also providing low cost housing along the coast in a highly accessible location.”

The site for the planned mosque was hit by fire on Sunday 6 October, with about 45 firefighters tackling a blaze at the two-storey derelict building.

The incident was later said by police to be arson and a hate crime and an investigation was launched. No arrests have been made.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A non-emergency patient transport provider in North Lincolnshire has decided to terminate its contract just eight months after taking over the service.

Image source, Local Democracy Reporting Service

Kent-based Savoy Venture Ltd won the contract tendered by North Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and took over the service in March.

The firm took over as provider after Thames Ambulance Service was stripped of its contract last year.

Now, Savoy Venture has given notice to CCG bosses that it has decided to terminate its contract from March 2020.

The company will continue to provide the service until then.

A spokesperson for the CCG said: "Patients do not need to take any action as a result of the ending of the contract and the CCG will continue to work with Savoy Ventures over the coming months to ensure they continue to provide safe and reliable services that meet their needs.

"NHS North Lincolnshire CCG is undertaking actions to appoint a replacement non-emergency patient transport provider.”

About 1,000 people took part in the annual St Barnabas Torchlight Procession last night in uphill Lincoln.

The procession, which was led by the pipes and drums of RAF Waddington, gives people the opportunity to remember lost loved ones:

Proposals for the redevelopment of a key site on Cleethorpes sea front have gone on show for the first time.

Image source, North East Lincolnshire Council

The £1m plans will see the demolition of a former nightclub and new public space created.

It's part of major regeneration plans for the resort, with work expected to start next year.

The artist's impressions showing the proposed development are due to go on show at King’s Baptist Church on Alexandra Road in Cleethorpes between 15:00 and 19:00 today.

Officials at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust say their hospitals are currently "incredibly busy."

They say there have been increasing numbers of patients attending their A&E departments with many needing to be admitted to wards.

The Director of Operations Simon Evans has also urged patients to: "use pharmacy and GP services in the community before coming to one of our A&E departments."

Pothole repairs in parts of Lincolnshire have been delayed because of the recent flooding.

People living in North Hykeham, near Lincoln, have made complaints about huge holes on their streets.

Lincolnshire County Council says some of the work has been postponed or cancelled because staff had to be diverted to deal with the damage caused by flooding elsewhere.

Grimsby picked up their first point under interim manager Anthony Limbrick as they are held to a goalless draw by high-flying Cheltenham at Blundell Park.

Staff at Mablethorpe Wildlife Rescue Centre have taken in their first two abandoned seal pups of the season from Donna Nook on the Lincolnshire coast.

They're currently being given medical treatment at the centre.

They'll be at the sanctuary for up to six months before being released back into the wild:

BBC Radio 5 Live

More than 2,600 drink-spiking incidents have been reported in England and Wales since 2015, according to figures obtained by the BBC.

The data from 22 out of 43 police forces and the British Transport Police also revealed 72% of alleged victims were female.

Cases involving under-18s have more than doubled, from 32 in 2015 to 71 in 2018 - and between January and September 2019, 68 cases had already been recorded, suggesting the total figure for 2019 is set to hit a five-year high.

University of Lincoln student Lily Petch, 18, said her drink was spiked on her second night in the city.

"People said I went from having the best night of my life to then losing consciousness and feeling really sick, she said.

"I couldn't keep my head up, I remember feeling really unsteady and not really knowing what was going on."

Now, Lincolnshire is one of two regions in England to have launched schemes that see pubs and clubs keep drink-spike test kits behind the bar, enabling staff to test drinks using a swab and get an instant result.