BBC Local Live: Essex

Outbreaks of rain will move eastwards this evening and overnight, heavy at times and accompanied by gusty winds.

It may stay dry in the extreme east until the early hours of tomorrow.

Temperatures falling to 12C (54F).

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A wet start to tomorrow for many eastern areas, but drier and brighter in the west for a time.

Eventually widespread showers will develop, and some of these could be heavy and thundery. Onshore winds could prevent these showers towards the coast, and there will be spells of sunshine.

Temperatures reaching 22C (72F).

Sunday will see sunny spells and scattered showers, which could be heavy and thundery.

Take a look at BBC Weather for a more detailed forecast for where you are.

The historic fishing boat from Essex which features in the new Dunkirk film first went over to Dunkirk in May 1940.

The Endeavour TrustCopyright: The Endeavour Trust

The Leigh-on-Sea boat the Endeavour (pictured above in the 1940s) answered the call for boats and volunteer crews to help rescue more than 300,000 British and French soldiers from the beaches (pictured below) above after the German invasion of France saw the army cut off.

Skipper PO Halls and crews including James Stroud and Norman Ewing took part in Operation Dynamo on 31 May.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

The boat, which was built in 1926, joined over 800 craft, dubbed the "Little Ships", which helped bring 338,000 soldiers to Britain.

Charity the Endeavour Trust was set up in 2001 in order to restore and maintain the fishing boat and bring it back to its former glory.

We've been covering the story of the historic fishing boat the Endeavour, from Leigh-on-Sea, which is featuring in a new World War Two film directed by Christopher Nolan (pictured bottom, with producer Emma Thomas).

Christopher Nolan/Warner BrosCopyright: Christopher Nolan/Warner Bros

The film (pictured above and below) tells the story of the mass evacuation of Allied troops from the northern coast of France in 1940.

Christopher Nolan/Warner BrosCopyright: Christopher Nolan/Warner Bros

It is seen as representing a gamble for the Hollywood studio Warner Bros, especially in relation to the US market where the target audience has little knowledge of the event.

Christopher Nolan/Warner BrosCopyright: Christopher Nolan/Warner Bros

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

The film has been getting glowing early reviews. Here are a selection:

• The Guardian gives it five stars and calls it Nolan's "best film so far"
• The Telegraph calls it "heart-hammering"
• The Sun says Harry Styles is "remarkably confident and watchable"
• Empire calls it "stunningly rendered and thunderously intense" and also gives it five stars

People in Chelmsford are being urged to have their say on plans for a major revamp of transport in the city.

Essex County Council has launched a six-week consultation into a series of proposals on upgrading road, bus, cycle and walking infrastructure.

Basher Eyre/GeographCopyright: Basher Eyre/Geograph

Deputy leader Kevin Bentley says they're investing millions to make improvements, so it's vital people give them their views.

He said: "Chelmsford roads are almost at capacity and we need to completely rethink how we travel.

"We cannot just continue to build new roads and upgrade junctions. That is why we have worked with our transport experts and local feedback to help create 30 solutions we believe can help keep Essex moving and support economic growth for residents and businesses.

"Please take five minutes out of your day check out the plans either online or at our consultation events and then give us your views on if they work for you.

"We are keen to ensure that we can deliver value for money on this £15m investment to help improve transport for everyone."

Some 53 years ago this month, a photographer captured Joe Page at work painting a toy train in a fairyland setting in The Shrubbery at Southend-on-Sea in preparation for the switch-on at the end of that month.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

A member of a charity which helped restore an historic fishing boat from Essex, which was involved in helping rescue British troops at Dunkirk, has spoken of the craft's involvement in a new film about the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of troops from the beaches of north east France.

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Paul Gilson (pictured above), of the Endeavour Trust, was one of three members who took the boat, the Endeavour (pictured bottom), to Dunkirk for the filming of scenes in the new Christopher Nolan film - called Dunkirk.

"It was an amazing experience and quite moving at times going on to the beach with the noise going on around," he said.

Warner BrosCopyright: Warner Bros

Mr Gilson said the film (pictured above) is "pretty moving. I shed a couple of tears. It is hard-hitting and very different from any other film I have ever seen".

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Clear skies over Essex were captured in the north east of the county last night:

An historic Essex fishing boat returned to the beaches of Dunkirk, more than 75 years after she took part in the World War Two operation to evacuate troops, to star in a film which celebrates the operation.

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The Endeavour (pictured above), from Leigh-on-Sea, was one of more than 800 "Little Ships" captained by civilians which helped rescue thousands of British soldiers.

The film Dunkirk, produced by Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas (BBC video report below) is released today and features the Endeavour.

The boat has been restored by the Endeavour Trust.

Air traffic controllers reckon more than two million Britons will be heading abroad this weekend at the start of the school summer holidays - with 136,000 flying out of Stansted Airport.

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Jamie Hutchinson, director of the National Air Traffic Control Service, said: "If you imagine airspace as the invisible motorway network in the sky, it has not been changed for decades and is not designed to deal with the two million flights [per year] we have in the UK.

"If we are to meet the demands for future growth - in the UK we are anticipating three millions flights by 2030 - we need to start making changes to airspace now."

There's an Essex welcome to new Lib Dem leader from the leader of the party on Chelmsford City Council.

The Conservative MP for Southend West, Sir David Amess, is pleased major NHS restructuring plans have been dropped.

Yesterday we reported that health bosses in Essex have decided not to go ahead with plans which campaigners argued would have downgraded two accident and emergency departments.

They were thinking about turning Basildon into the main A&E centre, while Broomfield and Southend hospitals would have dealt only with specialist emergencies, such as burns at Broomfield.

Under a revised plan, all three hospitals will keep their A&E departments - with patients being taken to their nearest - and they would each offer a wide range of specialist treatments.

Some 87 years ago a photographer took this picture of sculptor Jacob Epstein (1880-1959) with his daughter in Epping Forest, Essex.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Clacton's new MP Giles Watling has given his maiden speech six weeks after he replaced UKIP's Douglas Carswell as the constituency's representative in the Commons:

We reported earlier that Liberty House Group had bought up Amtek's plants in Witham and the West Midlands.

Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of the Liberty House Group said: "Despite current challenges, this operation is a valuable asset and a vital part of the UK and EU automotive supply chain.

"We are very pleased to use our resources and extensive experience in the automotive sector to rescue this enterprise and enable it to recover and reach its true potential.

"We greatly value the specialist skills of the workforce and we will be working closely with them and with key customers to get the business back on a sound footing."

Most parts of the BBC East region should see a dry day with sunny spells.

Cloud may thicken later, with the chance of a few showers for some.

Temperatures will reach 23C (73F).

BBC Weather will have more details for where you are.

Engine component plants in Essex and the West Midlands, in the hands of administrators, have been bought by the Liberty House Group in a deal which aims to save about 550 jobs.

GoogleCopyright: Google

Liberty has bought the trade and assets of Amtek Aluminium Castings (Witham) Limited and King Automotive Systems Limited (Amtek UK) for an undisclosed sum from administrators PwC.

Amtek UK, which supplies major vehicle manufacturers, has two plants in the West Midlands and one at Witham in Essex.

The business manufactures aluminium die castings and undertakes a range of processes including machining, assembly and testing of parts used in engines.

Almost all of its products go directly to leading vehicle manufacturers across the EU.

Hello and welcome to Friday's live updates for Essex. We'll be here until 18:00 with the latest news, sport, weather and travel.

We'll be bringing you news about a Witham engine component being bought up with jobs saved.

A full regional weather forecast is alos on the way...