BBC Local Live: Cambridgeshire

This evening will be rather cloudy with some showers clearing eastwards. 

Clear spells will develop and bring the risk of a frost in places and the odd fog patch. Lows of -1 to 4C (30 - 39F).

BBCCopyright: BBC

Saturday will be a little cloudy at times, but staying dry with some bright or sunny spells. 

Chance of an isolated shower in eastern counties, with highs of 7C (45F).

There's more at BBC Weather.

It may feel like the depths of winter outside, but plans are already being put in place for next summer's Secret Garden Party.

The first set of headliners have been announced and include electronic group Metronomy, as well as legendary reggae act Toots & the Maytals.

Samantha MilliganCopyright: Samantha Milligan

The festival, which sees more than 25,000 people attend every year, is a staple for music lovers and takes place just outside Huntingdon in Abbots Ripton.

The 2017 festival takes place from 20 to 23 July.

This little bit of "frost art" has got us all wondering... who's in love with who?

Gemma OsborneCopyright: Gemma Osborne

This pair of love hearts appeared in the frost outside Gemma Osborne's mum's house in Yelling yesterday morning.

"We've absolutely no idea who did it, or what they did it with," she said. "Mum thought she might have a secret admirer for a minute."

She might, but an almost identical pair of linked hearts appeared in the frost at the same time in a road in Godmanchester, about 10 minutes' away. So someone's spreading the love around a bit.

Gemma thinks it might be "just one of those Random Acts of Kindness", but if you know better, drop us an email and let us in on the secret.

A second armed robbery has taken place in Cambridgeshire in as many days.

The most recent of the two robberies took place about 22:00 at Tesco Express on Great North Road, Eaton Socon, on Wednesday.

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Two men entered the shop armed with a knife and a crowbar. They threatened staff and demanded money from the tills before leaving with more than £900.

Police are linking it to a similar crime in St Ives the day before.

A woman killed in a five car crash near Ely during last night's rush hour has been named.

Janet Beaumont, 79, from Brook Street in Soham, was a passenger in one of the vehicles involved in the collision on the B1104 near Prickwillow.

The driver is now in a critical, but stable condition in hospital.

There were also other minor injuries reported and investigations are continuing.

It's been confirmed that only 25 scientists out of "several hundred" are to remain at a world-renowned lab in Cambridge - with the rest losing their jobs.

Japanese company Takeda, which has a lab at Cambridge Science Park, searches for new drugs to treat diseases such as dementia.

During the summer it revealed it was negotiating the future of the Science Park site as part of a global restructuring.

TakedaCopyright: Takeda

Today it's confirmed only a handful of Cambridge scientists will be retained and transferred to a new venture called Cerevance.

The new firm is being launched with funding worth $36m (£28m) and will be jointly owned by Takeda and the US company, Lightstone Ventures, solely focussing on treatments for brain diseases.

The firm has previously denied Brexit was a factor in its decision to close Takeda Cambridge.

Earlier we brought you pictures of demolition work beginning on part of a 19th Century historic mill site in Peterborough.

It's part of the £120m regeneration of Fletton Quays.

The former Whitworth Mill building will be saved, however, and turned into an arts and culture hub for the city.

Here's a video of the initial demolition work to the surrounding structures...

A Christmas display that has been going for almost 30 years has raised £29,000 for Magpas Air Ambulance over its lifetime, its owners say.

Alan and Megan Milton have been creating the display at their Oakington bungalow since the 1980s.

It's being switched on for this festive season tomorrow and will stay on until New Year's Day.  

Yesterday we mentioned composer Benjamin Till, from Higham Ferrers, set off on a 100-mile walk that will take him from the start of the River Nene in Badby to its end in Wisbech. 

For five days he'll listen to the river to hear its sounds and pitch to help him create the piece, titled Source to the Sea.

He was back out walking this morning.

He's taken in the beautiful countryside...    

And the not so beautiful countryside...

You can see more by clicking on his Twitter feed above.

The daughter of a couple who were stolen from and tortured in their home in Coton has spoken of the "irreparable change" to family life as a result of the crime.

“What hasn't been said is the personal loss my parents have suffered and continue to suffer; their loss of their sense of security, the loss of their retirement dreams, the loss of precious memories; as family heirlooms, medals, wedding gifts and other irreplaceable mementoes, collected over generations, were melted down to their constituent metals and sold for scrap," a statement reads.

"Their loss of their ability to get a full night's sleep; both nearly 80-years-old, they literally barricade themselves in their bedroom as soon as it gets dark. Too scared to accept invitations to go out, even from old friends, they've become socially isolated.

"As a consequence of all of this their health has declined at an alarming rate and my mother now views mealtimes as a misery; having needed to undergo the painful removal and replacement of all the teeth on one side of her jaw, because her own were badly cracked from blows to her face."

In mitigation for Richard Leslie, John Farmer told the Old Bailey the evidence was that his client was involved in the burglary but was not inside the house.

Ramiz Gursoy, for John McCarthy, said the defendant's behaviour was borne out of "personal difficulties" including drug use, an unhappy upbringing and issues with his partner.

But it did not stop the pair being jailed for 15 years each for torturing and burgling a couple in Coton, near Cambridge, in 2014.  

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Det Insp Alan Page, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: "This was a truly despicable crime committed against two elderly vulnerable victims.

"Those who commit this type of crime need to realise that we will leave no stone unturned in the fight to bring to justice those responsible." 

Two former cleaners who stole £20,000 in a raid in Coton in November 2014 have been jailed for 15 years each.

John McCarthy, 35, from Cambridge, and Richard Leslie, 37, from Mitcham, south London, were linked to Marc Smith, 43, from Cambridge, who also admitted handling stolen goods.

Cambridgeshire PoliceCopyright: Cambridgeshire Police

Prosecutor Maryam Syed said the victims were targeted through Smith, who previously worked for a taxi firm the couple used.

When Smith's home was searched, police found a new kiln for smelting down precious metals as well as £15,000 in cash.

Smith's case was adjourned to a further hearing on 8 December.

Jacob O'Dell, 20, from Cambridge, who admitted sending malicious communications to a witness on Facebook messenger last year, was handed a two-year community order at an earlier hearing.

But the Old Bailey heard other men involved in the burglary have never been caught.     

The judge who sentenced two men to 15 years each in prison has branded them "every householder's worst nightmare".

John McCarthy, 35, and Richard Leslie, 37, were part of a gang that stole £20,000 in cash, gold ornaments and silverware in a raid in Coton in November 2014.

Judge Richard Hone QC, told them their behaviour was "vicious, ruthless and merciless". 

When the householders were set upon by the burglars they thought they were under attack from "alien invaders" or a "Swat team", the judge said.

The Old Bailey heard one of the burglars threatened to cut off the wife's fingers and ear with a pair of sheers if gold, more cash and Rolex watches were not produced. 

They also used a sledgehammer to break one of her toes, causing bruising and swelling to the whole foot. She also needed extensive dental treatment because of the beating to her face.

Her husband was stuck with pins "many times" to extort more valuables, the judge added.

During the attack, one of the armed intruders boasted: "This is what we do for a living".

A pair of professional burglars who tortured a wealthy couple in their Coton home and stole £20,000 in cash, gold ornaments and silverware have been jailed for 15 years each.

John McCarthy, 35, from Cambridge, and Richard Leslie, 37, from Mitcham, south London, played leading roles in a gang that terrified the couple, in their 70s, over four hours during a night-time raid in November 2014.

Cambridgeshire PoliceCopyright: Cambridgeshire Police

Following a retrial at the Old Bailey, they were found guilty of aggravated burglary.

Father-of-two McCarthy, who had admitted two other burglaries in May 2015 while on bail, and Leslie were both handed 15 years in jail with five years on extended licence.

The defendants will have to serve two thirds of the jail term before being eligible for parole. 

A woman has died and a man is in a critical condition in hospital after five cars collided near Ely.

The woman was a passenger in a Honda Jazz that crashed on the B1104 near Prickwillow at about 17:30 yesterday.

The man who was driving the vehicle is in a critical condition at Addenbrooke's Hospital.

The occupants of the other vehicles only received minor injuries.

Police have appealed for witnesses.

Mice continue to keep Leighton Primary School in Peterborough closed for a third successive day.

They were found at the school earlier this week and pest control experts remain on site.

The school says it will make a decision later today regarding whether it's closed into next week.

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Demolition work has started on the former Whitworth Mill building on Fletton Quays in Peterborough.

If you're up for a quick history lesson, the former flour mill is the only surviving building of three mills and warehouses that were constructed for the Earl Fitzwilliam between 1840 and 1850.

Peterborough City CouncilCopyright: Peterborough City Council

It was used by Cadge and Colman from 1850 and then later acquired by Whitworths in 1936. Grain was transported to the mill by barge until the mid-1960s. 

Peterborough City CouncilCopyright: Peterborough City Council

Cadge and Colman ceased trading in 1987, although the site is still used by Whitworths for storage purposes.  

Peterborough City CouncilCopyright: Peterborough City Council