The BBC is to drop Crimewatch after more than three decades.

The show - which reconstructs unsolved crimes in a bid to gather information from the public - was only relaunched last September with Jeremy Vine as a host.

Daytime spin-off Crimewatch Roadshow will continue to be screened, the broadcaster said.

A BBC spokesman said: "We believe the successful Crimewatch Roadshow format in daytime is the best fit for the brand going forward and we will increase the number of episodes to make two series a year.

"We are incredibly proud of Crimewatch and the great work it has done over the years and the work Crimewatch Roadshow will continue to do, and this move will also allow us to create room for new innovative programmes in peak time on BBC One."

Here are a few of the Essex cases that have been featured on the programme over the years:

Acid attack victim Darren Pidgeon

Echo:

Father-of two Darren Pidgeon, of Rayleigh, was left scarred after acid was thrown in his face in June 2014 as he was driving in Thundersley.

In March 2015, Crimewatch appealed for information following the incident.

Following the appeal, Ashley Russell, of Sunnedon, Basildon, and Christina Storey, of Studland Avenue,Wickford, were found guilty in March 2016.

Missing Nigel Kedar

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Nigel Kedar, of St Oysth, near Clacton, went missing on April 4 this year after visiting friends in Norfolk.

Diana Mays, Mr Kedar’s sister, made an appeal for information on the BBC show which was broadcast on Tuesday, June 20.

Despite the appeal, he has still not been found and Norfolk Constabulary have halted the search.

Anyone with information should call Norfolk Constabulary immediately on 999.

For updates from the Find Nigel Kedar Facebook page, click here.

Woman shot in the eye

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Crimewatch appealed for information after a woman was shot in the eye with an airgun, in Chesham Drive, Laindon, in July 2015.

Susan Smith was left blind in one eye after the incident.

Murder of John Palmer

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On June 24, 2015, John Palmer was shot by a gunman as he was tending to a fire in his back garden in South Weald, near Brentwood.

He was shot six times in the chest and back. He was eventually discovered by his son’s girlfriend at 5.30pm. His son then tried to revive him.

Palmer was known for his alleged involvement in the Brinks Matt robbery in 1983 but was acquitted. In 2001 he was convicted of a time share fraud in Tenerife.

Despite a Crimewatch appeal, subsequent media stories and a 50-year-old man voluntarily questioned on suspicion of murder in February this year, no-one has ever been convicted.

Anyone with information should call Essex Police on 101.

Laindon rapist

In 2008, Crimewatch ran an appeal for women who had been targeted by the Laindon rapist to come forwards.

The series of six sex attacks brought fear to the streets of Basildon in the 1990s.

The first happened when a 16-year-old girl was indecently assaulted in the bushes off Mandeville Way, as her 15-year-old friend looked on, at 4.10pm on March 19, 1990.

Just eight days later, two 16-year-old girls dragged into the bushes and both raped as they walked along Lee Chapel Lane, at about 5.30pm on March 27, 1990.

A 20-year-old woman was grabbed in Mandeville Way and raped in nearby bushes at 3.30pm on October 8, 1990.

An 18-year-old woman was indecently assaulted on December 13, at 7.15pm in the car park opposite the BP garage in Nethermayne.

The final attack was on a 15-year-old girl, who was raped in an underpass as she did her newspaper round at 6.35am on August 14, 1992.

The Crimewatch appeal saw more than 200 calls with more information. However, no-one has been arrested.

Murders of James Attfield and Nahid Almanea

Echo: James Fairweather has been convicted of murdering two strangers in frenzied attacks (Essex Police/PA)

James Fairweather, pictured above, was found guilty in 2016 of murdering James Attfield and Nahid Almanea in Colchester in 2014.

Both murders featured on Crimewatch and the programme helped the case gain exposure - along with the Colchester Gazette. This led to a woman phoning police after spotting a man acting suspiciously and he was later arrested.

James Fairweather was given two life sentences for their murders, which he carried out aged 15.