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

Age UK says the situation in care homes across the country is "a scandal behind closed doors".

People make mistakes but blatant rule-breaking is "clearly not acceptable", a police chief says.

The number of people going to A&E in Lincolnshire fell by over a third since the start of the coronavirus pandemic compared with the same time last year, it's been revealed.

Image source, Google

Just over 9,000 patients were recorded visiting the county's A&Es last month, according to new figures, compared to over 14,000 in the same period in 2019.

NHS bosses are concerned seriously ill patients are being put off seeking treatment.

Nationally, data also indicates that urgent cancer referrals were down by a fifth on last year.

Health experts said it could take months to get the NHS back to normal and tackle the backlog.

It will be a dry end to the day in Lincolnshire.

Here's the latest forecast:

The new academic year at the University of Lincoln won't now start until mid-October due to the coronavirus pandemic, it's been confirmed.

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The university usually welcomes students back in September.

It says the decision has been made to give as much time as possible for coronavirus restrictions to be eased.

The organisers of Lincolnshire's Beyond the Woods music festival say they're determined to bring it back in 2021 after this year's event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Yesterday, it was confirmed that the event, due to take place in August in Stourton Woods, near Horncastle, had been cancelled for a second year running.

Last year, the festival, described by organisers as "a two-day intimate music festival featuring the UK's most exciting new artists and the best emerging talent", was called off due to stormy weather.

The decision was only made "after much consideration and with a great deal of disappointment", organisers said.

Another person who had earlier tested positive for Covid-19 has died in a Lincolnshire hospital, it's been confirmed.

The patient, a man aged 83, had underlying health conditions, according to United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT).

It brings the total number of deaths of people being treated in ULHT hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus to 122.

Lincolnshire headteachers are warning they can't guarantee pupils won't be exposed to coronavirus if they return to school next month.

A joint education union statement has called on the government to "step back" from a 1 June start date.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has warned against "scaremongering" over safety and says the government is following appropriate scientific advice.

Leaders at Carlton Academy and Mount Street Academy in Lincoln are among those who've said they're worried about how younger children will socially distance.

A man "deliberately coughed and spluttered" at staff working in a mobile safety camera van in Sleaford, according to Lincolnshire Police.

Image source, Ben Birchall/PA Wire

The incident happened at about 14:10 on Wednesday afternoon when a motorist, who's thought to have been in a Transit van, pulled up alongside the police van on Lincoln Road.

He's then believed to have left his vehicle, walked to the camera van and coughed inside it before returning to his vehicle and driving off.

Part of the Transit's registration plate was caught on camera and officers are investigating, the force says.

Supt Paul Timmins said: "Attacks on any emergency worker are completely unacceptable, especially so during the current Covid-19 pandemic.

"Many of those who operate our mobile safety camera vans are police staff carrying out vital work to crack down on speeding motorists.

“Those operating our vans are carrying out really important work and keeping our road users safe."

Anyone who saw what happened, or who has information about the incident, is being asked to contact police.

A carer read a letter a great-grandmother got from her family unable to see her due to lockdown.

Councils in Lincolnshire say they're losing millions of pounds in income and extra costs due to the coronavirus outbreak.

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Authorities in Lincoln and along the east coast say they could effectively go bankrupt and have asked the government for extra money.

Last month, Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick announced a second tranche of emergency funding for councils as part of a £3.2bn package to fund higher service costs caused by the pandemic.

Richard Fry, Finance Portfolio Holder for East Lindsey District Council, says local authorities have serious concerns:

Are robots the answer when it comes to tackling a shortage of agricultural workers in Lincolnshire due to the coronavirus pandemic?

There have been warnings that crops will rot in the ground unless more people come forward to help bring in the harvest.

Investigating possible solutions to the problem, the Small Robot Company has been testing technology on farms in Lincolnshire and says they could have several uses.

BBC Weather

Today will be a dry day under the influence of high pressure.

It will start off with sunny spells, but some areas of cloud are expected to develop during the day. Feeling warmer.

Dry conditions are expected to continue through the night.

There will be clear spells for most, but it will turn cloudier near dawn.

A milder night with light winds:

Work is under way to make sure Lincolnshire's hospitals are ready should there be a second wave of coronavirus cases, according to the trust which runs the county's NHS hospitals.

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A total of 121 people have died at sites run by United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (ULHT) after testing postive for Covid-19.

Meanwhile, another four people have died at sites run by smaller health trusts.

Andrew Morgan, ULHT chief executive, says while he hopes there isn't a second wave, the trust has "bed capacity, equipment capacity and staffing capacity".

"We are looking to refocus onto getting some essential services back up and running as quickly as possible, while making sure that if something goes badly wrong again with the virus then we've got the capacity to switch it," he added.