Colleagues described 44-year-old Anujkumar Kuttikkottu Pavithran as a "truly remarkable" friend.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Council bosses say a £1m government grant intended to help the authority cope with the impact of coronavirus is "devastating" and up to £4m short of what is needed.

Image source, BBC/Alex Rhodes

City of Lincoln Council has been awarded £1,050,718 out of a £3.6 billion government pot.

However it predicts it will need between £4-5 million to recover from the pressures on income, including car parking, rents, planning and leisure, and a predicted drop in council tax and business rates.

Council leader Ric Metcalfe said without further funding some council services may be stopped.

"To be allocated little more than £1 million at this difficult time is truly devastating for the city," he said.

“If more funding does not become available, we will be forced to look closely at the services we provide and it is inevitable that some of these will have to stop in order for us to balance the books."

A group of restaurants in Louth providing community meals during the coronavirus pandemic says it needs more help to keep up with demand.

Image source, Priory Hotel

The Serendipity Project, run out of the Priory Hotel (above), says the scheme set up during the lockdown is going really well.

But Paul Hugill, who came up with the idea, says they could do with donations for ingredients:

Families in Lincolnshire are being urged to have a conversation about internet safety amid fears the coronavirus lockdown could increase pressure on youngsters to share explicit messages and pictures.

Image source, Getty Images

Gemma Holbird, from The Conversation, a group which runs relationship workshops in schools in Grantham, Stamford and Bourne, says the coronavirus pandemic means many children and adults are spending more time on their devices:

More than 100 people have died in hospitals run by United Lincolnshire's Hospitals Trust after being diagnosed with coronavirus, it has been announced.

Image source, PA Media

According to the latest figures four more people have died in the Trust's hospitals, bringing the total to 101.

Meanwhile there has been one further death reported by Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Foundation Trust, bringing the total to 64.

The RSPCA in Lincolnshire has dealt with 382 incidents while the nation has been in lockdown, it's revealed.

Image source, RSPCA

The animal charity says it has responded to over 21,000 instances of animals suffering or being harmed nationally, that's about 660 incidents across the country every day.

It's urging people struggling to care for pets during the coronavirus pandemic to seek help rather than hurt or abandon them.

It also suggests pet owners have a plan for their animals in case they have to go into hospital.

Councils in Lincolnshire are to receive an extra £28m to help them respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

It's to be spent on services such as social care and housing the homeless.

The extra cash has come at a time when councils are facing a potential loss of millions from things such as car parks and leisure centre.

This fresh allocation of government help brings the total amount so far allocated to Lincolnshire to £43m.

Anujkumar Kuttikkottu Pavithran, 44, is described as a "beautiful soul" who "worked day and night".

Dog owners will be able to continue to walk their dogs on three Lincolnshire beaches this summer after council bosses suspended an annual ban.

Image source, Getty Images

Dogs are normally banned on beaches in Skegness, Mablethorpe and Sutton on Sea between 1 May and 30 September.

However, East Lindsey District Council says it is temporarily suspending the rules, external "to enable people to stay local" during the coronavirus lockdown.

Rob England
BBC News

Police officers in Lincolnshire have denied rumours the force had issued lockdown fines to homeless people for "failing to go home".

Officers in Boston said they had been challenged by locals for issuing fines to rough sleepers, but added: "We have not and will not issue people with FPNs for failing to go home if they do not have a home to go to.

"Instead, our policy is to give help to homeless people so that they may get somewhere safe to stay."

Image source, Getty Images

However, on social media, external, officers said fines would be issued to those "who are just not listening" to government guidance.

"You may have seen some officers in the area recently, and from a distance it might look like we’re not doing what you expect of us. Trust us, we are. We want to be out of lockdown as soon as you," a spokesman added.

Police have wide-ranging powers to help fight coronavirus, by enforcing social distancing measures designed to keep people apart.

A woman has been left with serious and potentially life-threatening injuries after the car she was driving hit a parked car and a wall in Cleethorpes.

Image source, Google

The crash, involving a silver Vauxhall Vectra, happened at about midnight on Sandringham Road, according to Humberside Police.

No-one else was injured in the collision, police say.

Anyone who saw what happened, or who saw the vehicle before the crash, is being asked to contact Humberside Police.

A grey, and in places damp, morning with some pockets of drizzle around.

Some brighter spells by midday, but bands of rain are expected by mid-afternoon and into the evening. Rain may be heavy in places.

Tonight, it will be drier with patchy cloud, but a second band of rain is expected in the early hours.

A few heavy showers will be mixed in too. Feeling a bit cool for the time of year.:

Tributes have been paid to Lincolnshire's first NHS front-line staff member to die after testing positive for coronavirus.

Anujkumar Kuttikkottu Pavithran, 44, a staff nurse at Boston's Pilgrim Hospital, died on Monday.

Mr Pavithran, known as Anuj Kumar to his colleagues, has been described as a "well-liked and respected" member of the hospital's team.

Alison Marriott, from the SOS Pilgrim Call to Action group, a community group campaigning against changes to services at the hospital, says the loss will be felt deeply.

"The people most affected are his wife and his sons, but for us in Lincolnshire - especially at the Pilgrim - to lose valued members of staff is a tragedy," she says.

"All the comments about him are glowingly positive. I think he's going to be very, very much missed by his colleagues as well as his family."

There are now plans for a private "blue light" tribute for Mr Pavithran.