BBC Local Live: Essex

The risk of heavy, slow moving and possibly thundery showers will continue through this evening and overnight. It'll turn misty and murky in places. 

There'll be light south-westerly winds and temperatures falling no lower than 11C (52F).

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Tuesday is looking a similar day of sunny intervals and further showers. However, some places may stay largely. Remaining quite humid with highs of 19C (66F).

There is a "yellow" weather warning in place for this evening, overnight and tomorrow for heavy rain and the risk of localised flooding. You'll find the latest forecast for your area at BBC Weather.

A midwife who squeezed a woman's nipples while she was in labour and told her to imagine she was smoking a spliff has been suspended.

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At Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, midwife Samantha Stanton asked the woman: "What do you expect? You're in labour, you should be in pain."

A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel found she acted unprofessionally towards the woman in June 2014.

Ms Stanton was suspended for 12 months, as reported by the Essex Chronicle.

Greater Anglia has published its annual report today and says it has to do more to meet customers' expectations.

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Last year, the rail operator came 20th out of 22 companies in a survey of customer satisfaction. 

It says it has spent £40m to improve experiences for commuters, including refurbishing trains and adding thousands of extra seats. 

Four Braintree Town players have left the club in the space of 24 hours, prompting some social media users to question whether the team was going to play five-a-side instead.

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Mark Phillips, Daniel Sparkes, Sam Habergham and Alex Woodyard are the latest names to leave the Iron. 

Find all the latest football transfers on BBC Sport's dedicated page.

Thanks to everybody who has continued to share photos of last night's storm. 

Us Brits love talking about the weather, don't we...

I'm at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court where a couple who took their children on an 11-day holiday during term time have been found guilty of failing to make sure their children regularly attend school.

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Ben and Rebecca Walker, of Southminster, took their two daughters on holiday to Tenerife in October 2015. Their decision meant the children had 22 unauthorised absences from Latchingdon Primary School.

The pair were found guilty and a 12-month conditional discharge was imposed. They were also told they had to pay the initial £240 fine given to them by Essex County Council for failing to make sure their daughters, aged 10 and six, attended school regularly.

Leaves on the line, staff not turning up, or signalling problems. If you're a commuter, these words probably send shivers down your spine - but now there's light at the end of the tunnel for "heat-related" delays. 

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Network Rail is replacing 320km (199 miles) of overhead lines connecting Essex, Suffolk and Norwich with London Liverpool Street, so during hot weather lines won't sag and cause delays for passengers. 

The work, however, is not due to be completed until 2019.

Police say they've deployed a drone to help search the Weybread area as they continue to try and find Sylvia Stuart, who was reported missing on 3 June.

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As part of the investigation into Mrs Stuart's disappearance, and the murder of her husband Peter, police are also continuing their hunt for Ali Qazimaj, 42, who had been living in the Tilbury area of Essex and is believed to have travelled to France.

Det Ch Supt Simon Parkes (pictured during an earlier interview) said: "Over the weekend police have been continuing searches and these will be ongoing in a bid to locate Sylvia. 

"A lot of work is continuing behind the scenes, including liaison with authorities on the continent to try to locate Ali Qazimaj."

It's not the first time Southend Hospital has run out of beds and struggled to cope this year. 

In January, we reported three occasions that the hospital declared an "internal critical incident". 

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A poster warning that dog food laced with poison has been put down in Leigh to teach "selfish" owners a lessons has been handed to police, the Echo reports. 

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The flyer, which is said to have been pinned to a lamppost on Marine Parade, warned: "The recent level of mess on the path has become intolerable. Due to selfish dog owners, dog food laced with poison will be placed in this area of path and woods."

The man who found the poster told the paper the person responsible was a "sick individual". 

Lots of you have been sharing your thoughts on social media this morning on the news that a school in Maldon is introducing a "gender neutral" uniform policy, meaning girls can wear trousers and boys skirts if they wish.

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Rita tweeted: "Oh for goodness sake! What next? Hair ribbons!!!".

Beverly wrote: "I think the issue here is getting rid of gender discrimination, not just 'letting boys wear skirts'."

Gary said: "I've never heard anything so ridiculous".

I'm outside Southend A&E after an "internal critical incident" was declared here earlier today. 

The hospital says it has "run out of beds" and is calling on people only to come here if it's an emergency.

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I'll bring you further updates when I get them. 

This afternoon will be another humid and largely cloudy one with scattered showers - with some heavy, thundery downpours likely. 

Maximum temperature: 20C (68F).

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You can find the latest forecast for your area here.

Good afternoon - here at the top stories we've covered on Essex Live so far today: 

• Southend Hospital has declared an "internal critical incident" after an influx of patients to its A&E department 
• A school in Maldon has become the first in Essex to introduce a "gender neutral" uniform - which means boys are allowed to wear skirts and girls can wear trousers if they choose to do so
• A Southend man who is in Marseille for Euro 2016 described fan violence over the weekend as "the worst I've ever seen"

Southend Hospital bosses are urging members of the public to "think very carefully" about using its A&E. 

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However, those experiencing choking, chest pain, blacking out, blood loss and fractures "should not hesitate" to visit, they say.

We'll keep you updated with information throughout the day as we get it. 

The chief operating officer of Southend Hospital says there are "no beds available" at the hospital.

Southend HospitalCopyright: Southend Hospital

Quote Message: We are working closely with our partners at the Clinical Commissioning Groups and local authorities to allow us to safely discharge patients who are medically fit so that we can free up beds for new admissions." from Jon Findlay Chief operating officer, Southend Hospital

We are working closely with our partners at the Clinical Commissioning Groups and local authorities to allow us to safely discharge patients who are medically fit so that we can free up beds for new admissions."

A "internal critical incident" means Southend Hospital is currently so full it is losing its ability to deliver services and needs specials measures and support from other agencies to restore normal operating functions.

The hospital says it has seen an increase in the number of patients while already operating at full capacity. 

It also remains on a "black alert", which indicates the hospital has run out of bed space. 

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