:00:11. > :00:19.A key section of the region's rail network is preparing
:00:20. > :00:20.to close tonight for the entire festive period.
:00:21. > :00:23.Network Rail say the shutdown, which will disrupt hundreds
:00:24. > :00:27.of journeys, will allow for upgrade work on the main line out of London.
:00:28. > :00:29.For the next ten days, there'll be no direct services
:00:30. > :00:32.from Liverpool Street to Essex - the only exception being
:00:33. > :00:35.There are no trains on Christmas Day and only the Stansted Express
:00:36. > :00:41.Additionally, next weekend, the line between Ely and Cambridge
:00:42. > :00:49.Replacement bus services will be laid on.
:00:50. > :00:51.Robby West has spent the day at Colchester
:00:52. > :00:56.The Christmas holidays for Army medic Jake Ricketts begin here.
:00:57. > :01:02.Now a five-hour drive for Jake and his
:01:03. > :01:04.girlfriend to Wales lays ahead of them.
:01:05. > :01:08.I was able to get on the one o'clock.
:01:09. > :01:17.For the next ten days, the line effectively
:01:18. > :01:20.closes down for Network Rail to carry out planned engineering work.
:01:21. > :01:23.Of course, there never is a good time to close the railway.
:01:24. > :01:24.We picked Christmas because it really affects
:01:25. > :01:30.We need to bring this railway up to a standard,
:01:31. > :01:33.so we can get the performance out of it that people want.
:01:34. > :01:35.But people using the drains today were angry about
:01:36. > :01:37.the trains not running over Christmas.
:01:38. > :01:41.We don't drive, that's why we use public transport.
:01:42. > :01:44.I mean, it's left us with no family over Christmas,
:01:45. > :01:49.We're going to have to get a hotel in
:01:50. > :01:51.London and stay up there for three days.
:01:52. > :01:57.And it's been the busiest Christmas on record for
:01:58. > :02:00.Check-in has been quite interesting this year, with
:02:01. > :02:03.some of the items that some people are trying to take on board.
:02:04. > :02:11.And party crackers, because they contain small detonators.
:02:12. > :02:14.Back here at Colchester Station, it's
:02:15. > :02:18.Earlier on, these car parks were gridlocked with
:02:19. > :02:21.people trying to make it home before the planned engineering works.
:02:22. > :02:26.Robbie West, BBC look East, Colchester.
:02:27. > :02:28.And if you are travelling tomorrow your BBC Local radio
:02:29. > :02:32.station which will have regular travel bulletins
:02:33. > :02:36.There's still no official explanation for a blaze which killed
:02:37. > :02:40.a mother and her daughter in a house fire in Essex.
:02:41. > :02:42.The deaths of Alina Kordaszewska and her daughter, Emilia,
:02:43. > :02:49.have had a big impact on the local community in Braintree.
:02:50. > :02:52.All morning they came with flowers and toys.
:02:53. > :02:55.In the end, there were so many outside what remains of the
:02:56. > :02:58.house, community support officers had a job keeping the pavement
:02:59. > :03:07.And still they came, as a community paid their respects.
:03:08. > :03:10."The words can never say how much we miss you.
:03:11. > :03:13.We will never forget the fun times we had.
:03:14. > :03:20.Emilia and Jasmine go to the same school.
:03:21. > :03:23.So we actually watched them grow together.
:03:24. > :03:25.As time progressed, they became very good
:03:26. > :03:30.Really close friends, because many times Jasmine slept
:03:31. > :03:37.The last time Jasmine spoke to her was on Monday.
:03:38. > :03:41.What do you think of the response, the flowers?
:03:42. > :03:44.Well, it's an indication they have been loved.
:03:45. > :03:46.A family that has been part of the community
:03:47. > :03:51.The house is very, very badly damaged.
:03:52. > :03:54.That must make the fire investigation difficult,
:03:55. > :03:57.because anything that might indicate how the fire started may have been
:03:58. > :04:02.A fundraising page Set up for the family has
:04:03. > :04:07.Back at the house, more flowers, many here
:04:08. > :04:11.have been moved by this double tragedy just days before Christmas.
:04:12. > :04:20.Thieves have carried out another raid on a church roof in Norfolk.
:04:21. > :04:24.The raiders stripped lead from the roof of the village church
:04:25. > :04:28.Dozens of churches have been targeted in the past 18 months.
:04:29. > :04:31.Police are searching for the driver of a van which crashed
:04:32. > :04:33.into the central reservation of the A14 near Ipswich
:04:34. > :04:37.They had been chasing the van, which went
:04:38. > :04:44.He's most famous for writing The Snowman, but Ramond Briggs also
:04:45. > :04:48.wrote a book about his parents - Ethel and Ernest.
:04:49. > :04:51.And now that book has been turned into a film.
:04:52. > :04:54.It will be shown on the BBC this Christmas, and it was directed
:04:55. > :05:10.Ethel And Ernest is the story of Raymond Briggs' own parents.
:05:11. > :05:14.Originally a graphic novel, it has been brought to the screen
:05:15. > :05:19.His studio, at home in Wivenhoe, is in the spare room.
:05:20. > :05:23.Roger was one of the animators on The Snowman in 1982.
:05:24. > :05:31.As director, Roger likens his role to that
:05:32. > :05:36.In this case, a rather big orchestra.
:05:37. > :05:41.For the animation process itself we have over 100 people and that
:05:42. > :05:43.includes the animators, their assistants, but also
:05:44. > :05:48.the clean-up people who put the final line to the drawing.
:05:49. > :05:51.We've also got background artists, all the people who do the ink
:05:52. > :05:59.The end credits go on for a long time.
:06:00. > :06:04.The film stars Jim Broadbent and Brenda Blethyn.
:06:05. > :06:13.Well, Ethel, how about coming to the pictures with me?
:06:14. > :06:16.We all felt that it was such an important thing to get right
:06:17. > :06:19.because it's such a personal story for Raymond and we could not
:06:20. > :06:25.Roger Mainwood and his team have done a fine job,
:06:26. > :06:28.and Ethel And Ernest looks set to be a highlight of the Christmas
:06:29. > :06:33.That's all for tonight - we're back at 25 past
:06:34. > :06:37.From me and the rest of the late team, have a Happy Christmas.
:06:38. > :06:50.Good evening. We had some rain earlier. We have a dry night with
:06:51. > :06:59.clearing skies. A blustery wind. Temperatures dropping to between two
:07:00. > :07:03.and four Celsius. Most places will be frost free. Long spells of
:07:04. > :07:07.sunshine tomorrow. More clouded by the afternoon. It will stay dry
:07:08. > :07:15.through the day. Blustery south-west winds. Eight to nine Celsius. Maybe
:07:16. > :07:19.ten in some spots in Essex. Her Christmas Day, we are looking at
:07:20. > :07:26.some drizzle. A cloudy and mild day. Temperatures may be 14. The average
:07:27. > :07:29.is about six Celsius for this time of the year. The National forecast
:07:30. > :07:33.is next. Mild weather for Christmas Day.
:07:34. > :07:38.big day? Christmas Day. It will stay mild and temperatures could reach
:07:39. > :07:44.14, 15. He is down bet that the national picture.
:07:45. > :07:50.It will be more northern parts of the UK that see the worst of the
:07:51. > :07:59.weather. Another storm is developing in the Atlantic. This will turn into
:08:00. > :08:06.Storm Connor. This cloud has wrapped around storm Barbara. It brought
:08:07. > :08:08.gusty winds in the West. Some localised flooding in Scotland