Summary

  • Updates for Friday, 27 January 2017

  • Helen Bailey murder trial: Author's body took two days to recover

  • Tesco agrees to buy Booker in £3.7bn deal

  • Alfie Barker admits FA charge over Harry Arter tweets

  • Borehamwood businesses claim rent has gone up by more than 400%

  1. Millwall 1-0 Watfordpublished at 15:34 GMT 29 January 2017

    Steve Morison puts League One Millwall into the last 16 of the FA Cup as his 85th-minute volley knocks out Premier League Watford.

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  2. Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 Wycombe Wandererspublished at 18:29 GMT 28 January 2017

    Son Heung-min scores a stoppage-time winner as Tottenham recovered from twice going behind to League Two Wycombe.

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  3. Goodbyepublished at 18:01 GMT 27 January 2017

    Alex Pope
    BBC Local Live

    That's it from all of us here on the Beds, Herts and Bucks live news feed. 

    We'll be back on Monday at 08:00 with more news, sport, travel and weather. 

    Tonight we'll be keeping our fingers crossed for Milton Keynes singer Holly Brewer, who's hoping you'll be "Making Your Mind Up" and voting for her to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. 

    She'll be performing "I Wish I Love You More" tonight live on You Decide, on BBC Two at 19:30, where you can vote for your favourite singer.

    Media caption,

    Holly Brewer's Eurovision: You Decide song

  4. Send your good luck messages to the Chairboyspublished at 17:31 GMT 27 January 2017

    Katy Lewis
    BBC Local Live

    Meanwhile, Wycombe Wanderers supporters are being encouraged to send good luck messages to the Chairboys ahead of the FA Cup tie against Tottenham.

    The club said Twitter posts with #GoodLuckAtTheLane will be collated here, external and shown to the players before the game. 

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  5. Drinker loses appeal bid to overturn conviction for pub murderpublished at 17:31 GMT 27 January 2017

    Patrick Byrne
    BBC News

    A second attempt by a drinker to have a murder conviction overturned has failed at the Court of Appeal. 

    Stuart James Layden, 34, from Harlow in Essex, was one of a gang who attacked Ian Church, 40, outside the Bricklayer's Arms in Great Yarmouth in May 2012.

    Stuart LaydenImage source, Norfolk Police

    His conviction for a "joint enterprise" murder along with four others in 2013, was quashed on appeal in 2015. 

    A retrial at Norwich Crown Court last year re-convicted him of the murder and he was again jailed for life. 

    Today Lord Justice Treacy, sitting at London's Criminal Appeal Court, heard him mount an attack on the jury's guilty verdict and then dismissed his application for permission to appeal. 

    Mr Church was kicked and stamped upon after being knocked to the ground outside the pub and died of brain injuries. 

    Lawyers for Layden had argued that there remained a "lurking doubt" about his involvement in the attack.

    Dismissing the application, Lord Justice Treacy said: "It was for the jury to sift and analyse these shocking events, which happened at night over a short period of time - that is what juries do."

  6. Wycombe Wanderers prepare for Spurs gamepublished at 17:29 GMT 27 January 2017

    Katy Lewis
    BBC Local Live

    There is great interest in a possible FA Cup giant killing on Saturday and yesterday cameras were allowed into Wycombe Wanderers' training session, ahead of their fourth round match against Spurs on Saturday.

    They also caught The Beast - aka Adebayo Akinfenwa - getting in some training in the gym.

    Wycombe WanderersImage source, Getty Images
    Wycombe WanderersImage source, Getty Images
    Wycombe Wanderers Adebayo AkinfenwaImage source, Getty Images
  7. Weather: Cloudy with patchy light rainpublished at 17:21 GMT 27 January 2017

    Julie Reinger
    BBC Look East weather

    Occasional clear spells overnight, but generally cloudy with outbreaks of mainly light and patchy rain in a moderate breeze across the BBC East region.

    Weather chart

    Less cold tomorrow but expect a cloudy day with some further outbreaks of mainly light and patchy rain. 

    There's a chance of sunshine in the west of the region before sundown. 

    Maximum Temperature: 8C (46F)

    More details from BBC Weather

  8. Mystery after man found with head injuries in Roystonpublished at 17:16 GMT 27 January 2017

    Alex Pope
    BBC Local Live

    Police are trying to find out how a man ended up with serious head injuries, external in Royston in the early hours of Wednesday.

    They say the 65-year-old man had been near Morrisons and Princes Mews at about 00:40. 

    He was taken to hospital, but has since been released. 

    Police are keen to talk to anyone who saw anything, including two men who were in the area at the time.

    Morrisons supermarketImage source, Google
  9. Big Garden Birdwatch: 'Charismatic migrants' expected in UK gardenspublished at 17:08 GMT 27 January 2017

    As well as blue tits and house sparrows, unusual migrant birds could be spotted in our gardens during the RSPB's annual birdwatch.

    More than half a million people are expected to take part in this year's Big Garden Birdwatch, external

    The Bedfordshire-based RSPB said people may be able to spot Scandinavian visitors such as waxwings (pictured), redwings and fieldfares.

    The charity said the birds had left their homelands to feed on the UK's bumper berry crop.

    WaxwingImage source, Getty Images
  10. Watch the birdie!published at 17:06 GMT 27 January 2017

    Alex Pope
    BBC Local Live

    For nearly 40 years now the Bedfordshire-based RSPB has been asking members of the public to take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, external, but this year it's been extended by a day. 

    The charity is asking as many people as possible to log the birds that land in their garden in an hour and it can be completed on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. 

    Rupert Masefield said the data was compiled to "build a picture about how different birds are doing". 

    Robin in garden in SharnbrookImage source, Looker

    Last year the most spotted bird in Bedfordshire was the house sparrow, but in Hertfordshire it was the blue tit.

  11. Helen Bailey: More photos released of cesspit under garagepublished at 16:58 GMT 27 January 2017

    The photos below have been released today by Hertfordshire Police.

    Accessing a cesspitImage source, Hertfordshire Police

    They were shown at St Albans Crown Court today when the jury heard how experts spent two days recovering Helen Bailey's body from the cesspit in her garage.

    Garage floorImage source, Hertfordshire Police

    The former well is where the 51-year-old's body was found in July. 

    CesspitImage source, Hertfordshire Police

    Only Ms Bailey's elbow was visible when police first looked inside the deep well, jurors at St Albans Crown Court heard.

    Opening up of the cesspitImage source, Hertfordshire Police

    Her fiancé, Ian Stewart, 56, denies murder, preventing a lawful burial, fraud and three counts of perverting the course of justice.

    Search and rescue by the cesspitImage source, Hertfordshire Police

    The case continues.

  12. Helen Bailey: Photos shown to jury of crews accessing cesspitpublished at 16:55 GMT 27 January 2017

    A series of photos have been released by police which were shown to the St Albans Crown Court jury in the trial over the death of Helen Bailey.

    Helen Bailey's home in RoystonImage source, Hertfordshire Police

    They were taken at the Royston home the author shared with her partner Ian Stewart, who denies murder.

    The garage of Helen Bailey's homeImage source, Hertfordshire Police

    They show the process taken to recover the 51-year-old's body found in the cesspit under their garage.

    Digging a holeImage source, Hertfordshire Police
    A hole in the cesspitImage source, Hertfordshire Police
  13. FA Cup: Spurs survive big scare, Lincoln & Oxford both winpublished at 16:09 GMT 27 January 2017

    An afternoon of Cup shocks – reaction and analysis as Lincoln defeat Ipswich and Oxford knock out Newcastle but Wycombe agonisingly lose 4-3 at Spurs.

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  14. Author's body took two days to recoverpublished at 15:27 GMT 27 January 2017

    A murder trial jury hears how police removed the body of a children's author from a cesspit beneath her house.

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  15. Helen Bailey: Court hears her Arsenal season tickets were renewed during her disappearancepublished at 14:58 GMT 27 January 2017

    The jury in the trial of Ian Stewart, accused of murdering his partner Helen Bailey, has heard how her two season tickets for Arsenal football club were renewed more than a month after her death in April.

    At the time police had been searching for the 51-year-old Royston writer after she was reported missing by Mr Stewart, 56.

    The case at St Albans Crown Court heard Ms Bailey was a keen Arsenal supporter and a season ticket holder.

    Helen BaileyImage source, South Beds News Agency

    A statement by Det Con Helen Richmond was read out and she said she contacted the club as part of her investigations.

    She said she was informed by the club that all the season ticket holder renewals had been sent out on 12 May last year. 

    Ms Richmond said she was then told that two season tickets held in Ms Bailey's name had been renewed and paid for over the telephone on 16 May, using funds from Ms Bailey's sole Barclays Bank account.

    Mr Stewart, of Baldock Road, Royston, denies murder, preventing a lawful burial, fraud and three counts of perverting the course of justice.

    The trial continues.

  16. Luton boss Jones given touchline banpublished at 13:58 GMT 27 January 2017

    Luton Town manager Nathan Jones is given a one-match touchline ban for comments made to the match officials at Wycombe.

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  17. Weather: Ice, ice babypublished at 13:22 GMT 27 January 2017

    BBC Weather Watchers

    It was a cold and icy start to the day in Milton Keynes and Hitchin, as these pictures from BBC Weather Watcher, Harry, show. 

    Ice in Milton Keynes
    Ice

    For the rest of the day it's set to remain rather cloudy, with rain possible towards the evening.

    Temperatures will be much milder than yesterday though. Maximum temperature: 5C (41F). 

  18. Helen Bailey: Ian Stewart paid for 'missing' leafletspublished at 13:07 GMT 27 January 2017

    The partner and alleged killer of Helen Bailey paid for flyers and attended a dog walk as part of the search effort for the missing children's author, a court has heard.

    In a statement read out at St Albans Crown Court by the author's friend, Jay Nolan-Latchford, she said: "When Helen was missing I set up the 'Where Is Helen Bailey?' Facebook page. As part of our campaign we organised an awareness walk in Royston. It was during this walk I met Ian Stewart for the first time."

    She added: "Ian insisted on paying for the leaflets we were going to distribute during the walk. I was surprised when Ian said he would come across to wave the group off - throughout the whole day I found Ian to be unemotional and very contained in his manner." 

    Helen Bailey

    Ian Stewart, 56, of Baldock Road, Royston, denies murder, preventing a lawful burial, fraud and three counts of perverting the course of justice.

    The case continues.

  19. Four people 'unhurt' after MK bus firepublished at 12:04 GMT 27 January 2017

    Alex Pope
    BBC Local Live

    Three passengers and a bus driver were "safely removed" from a number 4 Arriva bus in Milton Keynes this morning after it caught fire. 

    The bus company confirmed there were "no injuries" on the service that runs between Bletchley and Milton Keynes. 

    It said the "driver safely secured the vehicle, ensuring no-one was injured and called the fire brigade who attended". 

    "The vehicle has been taken back to Milton Keynes depot by recovery," a spokesman added.

  20. Tesco-Booker deal 'not about job cuts'published at 11:21 GMT 27 January 2017

    The chief executives of Tesco and Booker both said on a call with reporters they plan to merge the two companies without cutting jobs.

    Londis storeImage source, PA

    They reckon they'll get benefits of £25m and cost savings of £175m from combining the two companies.

    But that would not be driven by a reduction in the number of roles, said Dave Lewis, head of Welwyn-based Tesco.

    Charles Wilson, head of Booker, which has about 800 workers at its Wellingborough headquarters, said they hoped to "keep the expertise" in both firms.