BBC Local Live: Beds, Herts & Bucks

The travel agency run by a councillor who has been suspended by the Luton Labour Party after being found guilty of falsifying documents is looking rather bare...

Luton Travel Services on Dunstable Road now has no signage left.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Mohammed Ashraf was convicted of five of the six charges against him at Luton Magistrates' Court and fined more than £2,000.  

The court heard he displayed outdated signage and documents inferring he was consumer protected and the logo of a major airline - Pakistan International Airlines - which he wasn't entitled to display. He also faked documents and produced them in an official investigation under caution.  

Plenty of sunshine to end the day and then a dry night. Temperatures no lower than 9C (48F).

BBCCopyright: BBC

Tomorrow is looking largely dry with spells of sunshine. Temperatures could reach 21C (70F).

A judge passing sentence on Thomas White for the manslaughter of his partner told him: "You intentionally did nothing to help a fellow human being in what was a life-threatening situation."

SBNACopyright: SBNA

The 26-year-old was passed an extended sentence of 13 years and nine months at Luton Crown Court today by Judge Richard Foster, who said White posed a risk to the public of committing further serious offences.

Judge Foster detailed to the court how White had found out hairdresser Ashley Gillard was HIV positive and he left him fitting whilst tied up in his flat.

He later returned to burn the flat in an attempt to destroy any evidence of the killing.

It's been alleged in court that hard-line Muslims were encouraged to support the so-called Islamic State during a speech at an Anglican church in Luton. 

The jury heard a transcript of the speech, which had been recorded by an undercover police officer, at St Margaret's Church on 29 June 2015. 

BBCCopyright: BBC

The prosecution says the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, spoke about Muslims who supported the aims of so-called Islamic State, but were waiting for it to be victorious before showing their support. 

He is charged with four counts of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation, which he denies.

Four other men are also on trial: A second man, who also cannot be named, is charged with three counts of arranging meetings for a banned organisation.

Three men are accused of encouraging support for a banned organisation: Two from Luton, Yousaf Bashir, 35, and Rajib Khan, 38, and a third from Maidenhead, all deny the charges against them.

Milton Keynes MPs have said proposals for maternity services to move to the town from Bedford are "good news".

Conservative MPs Mark Lancaster and Iain Stewart said in a joint statement that "the move would be the result" they "have been campaigning for".  

GoogleCopyright: Google

They continue that "centralising specialist services" would mean they'd be able to "attract the best staff" and enable clinicians to "develop their skill".

"We will continue to push the case for Milton Keynes University Hospital to be upgraded and expand to attain further services to deliver for our growing population," they conclude.

This is Fansipan Mountain, where British backpacker Aiden Webb's body was found this morning. 

Fifteen years ago, 17-year-old schoolgirl Amy Ransom, from Bryants Bottom, Buckinghamshire, died after falling 500m (1,640ft) when she slipped off a path on the same mountain. 

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

She was part of a school party, accompanied by two Vietnamese guides, and had been trekking up the mountain near the village of Sa Pa when the tragedy happened.  

A police officer from Aylesbury has admitted making and distributing indecent images, after filming a teenage girl performing a sex act on him and sending it to three friends.

GoogleCopyright: Google

Metropolitan Police officer Stephen McMillan, 26, of Viridian Square, pleaded guilty to four charges at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court.

He met the girl, who is under 18, via the dating app Tinder. He will be sentenced next month and has been suspended by the force.

A court has heard how two shop assistants were left so traumatised by a machete raid in Luton that they had to leave their jobs.

The Nisa store on Axe Close in Luton's Marsh Farm was robbed on 15 October by two men armed with a machete and an imitation hand gun.

SBNACopyright: SBNA

Luton Crown Court heard how the female shop assistant was left suffering from sleepless nights and depression. A male assistant was left so traumatised he could no longer work indoors and has moved to another part of the country.

Leonard Hunte, 34, of Albert Road, Luton, was given an extended 17-year prison sentence.

A man armed with a machete who raided two small shops and a bookmaker in Bedfordshire has been given an extended jail sentence of 17 years. 

BBCCopyright: BBC

Leonard Hunte, 34, of Albert Road, Luton, made off with just a few hundred pounds, but the shop workers were left so traumatised they had to leave their jobs.   

Luton Crown Court heard how Hunte and another man wore scarves to cover their faces, and were armed with a machete and an imitation handgun when they robbed the Nisa store in Axe Close. 

It's that time of week again, Throwback Thursday! 

Bedford Borough Council has shared another great photograph from the Bedfordshire Archive - of Sharnbrook High Street about 70 years ago.

A man who spied on a mother and her three-year-old daughter in a public toilet has been fined and told he must complete a 12-month community order.

St Albans Crown Court heard that Malcolm Hawkins, 57, of Oakmere Avenue, Potters Bar, put his head under a toilet door in the women's toilets in Verulamium Park, St Albans, in June 2014.  

SBNACopyright: SBNA

The mother took a photograph of Hawkins and circulated it on social media. His neighbour told him about the picture and he handed himself in to police.

Hawkins, who suffers with a learning disability, was given a 12-month community order with supervision of probation officers, made to pay £1,750 and must register as a sex offender for five years.

We're broadcasting live from Bedfordshire's Lockheed Martin, a worldwide defence company whose turret production line was officially opened earlier.

Before the show started, I got to take a look around and INSIDE one of the turrets... they're rather tiny.

This is the impressive turret production line at Bedfordshire's Lockheed Martin.

The facility was officially opened today by the defence minister Philip Dunne.

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBCCopyright: BBC

Two people have been taken to hospital after a car overturned in Luton this afternoon.

GoogleCopyright: Google

Emergency services were called to Wigmore Lane just before midday and treated two elderly people.

A woman, suffering from chest and abdomen pain, and a man with cuts and bruises were taken to hospital for further treatment. Their injuries were described as minor.

I've just heard from the ambulance service about the collision in Dunstable earlier. 

They were called to the scene at College Drive and Boscome Road just after 12:45.

There was just one patient assessed by staff - a teenage boy. He didn't require any further treatment and was discharged at the scene.

Last night's 24 Hours In Police Custody on Channel 4 was a tough watch, featuring two cases of child sex offences in Bedfordshire.

Channel 4Copyright: Channel 4

One of the officers featured in the episode, Det Cons Mo Hussain, has blogged about the case involving Martin Druce.

He said: "I’m a shy person and I don’t like to be in front of the cameras, but this was such a good job by all involved that I wanted people to see it.

"I wanted them to witness first-hand the work we do to protect people."

A man who is alleged to have been the victim of modern day slavery told St Albans Crown Court today that he voluntarily went to live with a family of travellers.

SBNACopyright: SBNA

Cameron Biggar, 43, was living on the streets of London in 2004 as an alcoholic. 

Appearing via video link, he told the court that he agreed to work for Johnny Moloney (pictured) from St Albans: "I saw it as an opportunity not to be homeless any more," he said.

Mr Biggar said he'd been made to feel welcome at the Moloney home in Watford Road when he arrived. Read more here.

A new multi-million pound production line at a worldwide defence company in Bedfordshire has been officially opened by a government minister. 

BBCCopyright: BBC

Lockheed Martin in Ampthill has a contract to make armoured vehicle turrets for the British Army. It's been designed and developed at the site, and the new production facility will create 40 new jobs. 

Philip Dunne, the minister of state for defence procurement, said of the turrets: "It's a digitally-enabled platform which will allow the operators inside the vehicle to have much greater awareness of the situation that they find themselves in."