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

There's otter disbelief in the back gardens of a village in North East Lincolnshire.

A sneaky otter is stealing fish from people's ponds in Great Coates near Grimsby.

A few people like Jason Wicks have lost prized Koi from their back gardens.

"I started reviewing the CCTV and then noticed a picture of an otter. It was around 4am, you see him come under the fence in the corner behind the bench.

"He's gone into the pond and helped himself, then you see him come back and jump over the fence and go back and start munching on it."

The trial looks at whether biochar can reduce methane emissions and make cattle dung less harmful.

If you're trying to figure out what you fancy for tea tonight, how about fish and chips but with twist?

The Carholme Chippy in Lincoln has introduced a new vegan menu, but instead of fish they're serving banana blossom.

Owner Nick says: "Banana blossom is the flower that grows at the bottom of the bunch of bananas. That's harvested and put into a brine.

"It's actually an amazing vegetable to use as an alternative for fish."

He says it doesn't taste like fish or banana, but is quite bland and is marinaded to give it an authentic taste.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Health bosses are set to bid for £150m of government funding to modernise Scunthorpe Hospital.

Image source, LDRS

Officials at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust want to flatten half of the hospital site and rebuild it.

Dr Peter Reading, the trust's chief executive, said the investment would be “value for money” for the taxpayer. He added that some of the buildings on the site are decades old and designed for a different world and different health service.

The trust, which also runs Diana Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, currently faces an estate maintenance bill of £72m.

The cost covers work such as water pipe maintenance, fire safety and upkeep of hospital buildings.

But, Dr Reading said paying for the maintenance would only “patch up old buildings” and would not deliver a modern hospital site.

The trust will now line up a bid for £150m of funding from the Department of Health and Social Care over the next five to 10 years for the work. It will also look to invest around £100m to help modernise its sites in Grimsby and Goole.

Police officers are currently dealing with a crash in Boston:

Police want to speak to two men after dog harnesses worth more than £350 were stolen from a pet store in Boston.

Image source, Lincolnshire Police

Lincolnshire Police said one man entered the Queen Street store on 4 October and took a variety of dog harnesses worth £366 from a display.

A second man then placed the harnesses into a bag before both left the store without paying.

Police believe the two men pictured may have information about the incident.

Volunteers have spent the morning clearing an allotment in Lincoln which was hit by arsonists.

BBC Radio Lincolnshire made an appeal for help after Fred Hyde's shed was destroyed at Boultham Park Allotments a week ago.

Previously, it was used to help people with mental health issues to learn about growing vegetables.

Mr Hyde's daughter-in-law, Janet, said: "It's been quite emotional seeing the old shed being pulled down. It's been mixed emotions.

"My poor old dad didn't quite know how to feel with it, he's just pottered around, watching from a distance."

The fire is being treated as arson, police have confirmed.

A suspected arson attack at a flat in Grimsby is being investigated by police.

Image source, Google

The door of a flat in Tivoli Gardens was set alight at about 21:30 yesterday, according to Humberside Police.

Whoever was behind the attack was possibly targeting the previous occupant of the flat, the force says.

The woman who now lives in the flat suffered from the effects of breathing in smoke and her property has been damaged.

Anyone with information about what happened is being asked to contact Humberside Police.

The value of tourism in Lincolnshire has passed the £1.5bn mark for the first time.

The latest industry figures show more than 20 million people visited the county last year.

The off-peak season between October and March is also seeing a rise in tourists coming Lincolnshire, according to the county council.

Councillor Colin Davie, who oversees tourism for the authority, says efforts are being made to attract more and more people.

"We've got direct trains coming to the city shortly, LNER are working with us closely to deliver a service that's going to bring a lot more international visitors to Lincolnshire," said Mr Davie.

"That's particularly as we look forward to the 400th anniversary of Mayflower next year and the history of the Pilgrim Fathers being traced by their ancestors in the US who are going to come in their droves to our county," he added.

A man who bit a chunk out of a man's cheek in an "appalling unprovoked" attack has been jailed for more than 10 years.

Image source, Humberside Police

A woman was also head-butted during the incident at a takeaway on Pasture Street in Grimsby in June.

Jamie Furnell, 26, of Hildyard Street, was found guilty of assault to cause grievous bodily harm and two counts of assault to cause actual bodily harm.

He was sentenced at Grimsby Crown Court to 10 years and eight months in prison.

A vending machine with a difference has been installed at the University of Lincoln, dispensing short stories instead of chocolate bars or crisps.

It's believed to be the first of its kind in the UK and prints the stories on a receipt-size scroll of eco-friendly paper.

Users can chose between a one, three or five-minute story to receive for free.

Ian Snowley, a Dean and Librarian at the university, says it's proved hugely popular so far.

"We've only had our two machines for just under three weeks and we've dispensed more than 1,200 stories," he says.

"We're knocked out. It's one of those things where you just don't know how popular things will be, but it's been incredibly popular. The publisher thinks we're breaking all the records."

In future, students will be able to write their own stories for publication through the vending machine, Mr Snowley added.

Two men from Essex who embarked on a day of crime across a 75-mile area of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire have been jailed at Lincoln Crown Court.

Costel Copalea and his accomplice Marius Stanescu targeted victims in Stamford, Bourne and Sleaford as well as in Cambridgeshire in July.

Their intent was to steal mobile phones by distracting their victims, but although they were persistent, they only managed to take three, the court had heard.

They approached children as young as 12 and made sexually suggestive comments to a teenage girl during their spree.

They were eventually arrested in Northamptonshire the next day.

Copalea, 20, and Stanescu, 21, both of Manford Way, in Chigwell, Essex, each admitted a charge of conspiracy to steal.

Between them, the pair have previous convictions in five other European countries.

They were each jailed for 32 months and are likely to face deportation.

NHS call-takers in Lincolnshire are being asked to help steer more patients away from A&E if they could get treatment elsewhere.

Image source, Getty Images

Patients calling 999 or 111 could be offered treatment at home or at a GP surgery instead of a trip to a hospital.

It's hoped it could help relieve pressure on the county's emergency departments over the winter.

Dr Dan Boden, a Lincolnshire A&E consultant, said: "We're hopeful we can continue to increase the numbers of patients managed in a different setting away from A&E.

"We know our departments both at Lincoln and at Pilgrim are so small we haven't got the geographical space to see all the patients coming through the department currently."

A man who was attacked as he walked along a street in Grantham has suffered serious injuries.

Image source, Google

The victim was walking along Brook Street at about 15:30 on Tuesday 1 October when another man blocked his path.

While attempting to walk away, the victim was kicked and injured.

His attacker is described as white, 5ft 4ins tall, with short black hair.

He is believed to have been wearing a black anorak and hoody at the time of the attack.

Police want anyone with information, and in particular any dash-cam footage, to get in touch.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A developer looking to knock down the former home of Louth Town Football club to make way for new houses wants to back out of an agreement to replace the lost sports facilities.

Image source, Google

GBM UK has submitted documents to East Lindsey District Council which say plans for a sports facility, approved in 2014, are no longer needed.

The council asked for new facilities to be built as part of GBM UK’s outline application for 98 homes on Park Avenue when it was granted in 2016.

The developer is now looking for permission to build 54 homes on the site instead and proposes a £49,000 contribution towards the council's plans to enhance facilities on London Road.

GBM UK says Louth no longer has a team playing at the level which justified the requirement.