A young sailor from the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Burnham demonstrated his extraordinary talents when he achieved second place in the World Championships in Australia last month. Richard Elphinstone, 16, from Beauchamps in Burnham, and his team mate
Matt Holland has promised Ipswich will bounce back from their recent run of league defeats. Holland was skipper for the day with Tony Mowbray suspended and scored a smashing first half goal to give Town hopes of at least a point before going down 2-1
Colchester United slumped out of the Essex Senior Cup going down 5-3 at home to Leyton Orient. The U's fielded six first team regulars coming back from injury and suspension. Paul Buckle put the U's ahead after getting forward well and latching on to
Colchester United are planning to move into the new millennium with their future secure in the Football League. Plans for a major new share capital in the company, raising the second division club's profile from £250,000 to £2million are to be put forward
The Today's Runner Cross Country League ventured into Suffolk for the customarily tough Hadleigh hill hiking session on Sunday. The organisers contrived to make full use of the hilly terrain with tough uphill slogs; fast downhill racing and sticky mud
On Sunday a good sized group of the Witham & District CC met at Witham for the weekly club run. The route went through Terling, Little Waltham, Howe Street, Pleshey, High Easter to High Roding where both Graham Doe and Kevin Orrin punctured. After
Within five minutes Colchester opened up the scoring by winger Mike Burgess. Good quick ball by the forwards gave the backs plenty to do and outside centre Adam Cook went over for the second try. Burgess in rampant mood added two further tries. Braintree
Heybridge Swifts slipped back into the bottom three of the Ryman League Premier Division, after Saturday's scheduled match at home to Bromley was postponed due to a waterlogged Scraley Road pitch. Following a pitch inspection at 10am on Saturday morning
Report by Braintree took advantage of an almost complete wipeout of Division One fixtures on Saturday to move into second place by completing the double over Yeading who had been beaten on the opening day of the season. Once again the Cressing Road pitch
Burnham were the underdogs for Saturday's important league fixture but came out focused and disciplined against an Old Brentwoods' side who were aiming for promotion this season. The match started with a brilliant try by the Burnham backs, with scrum
Steve Wignall is one of only five managers to guide Colchester United to promotion in their Football League history. Benny Fenton, the late Neil Franklin, Jim Smith and Bobby Roberts are the other four. Three former Layer Road icons - Smith, Roberts and
It's music all the way with a series of concerts promoted by Southend Council's Arts Department to take us into the new year. There will be six concerts from January to June at the Plaza Centre, Southchurch Road starting on Friday, January 29 with the
London's Burning star Glen Murphy has opened the premises of a mid-Essex charity. The actor, who plays George in the series, arrived in Chelmsford yesterday to officially open the Dyslexia Institute building in New London Road. This Saturday the institute
Southend Council has reprieved more than 200 jobs threatened with the axe as part of a major social services shake-up, it was revealed today. Senior officers have found alternative posts for dozens of care workers affected by the closure of three old
Plans to convert a popular Southend sports centre into a new casino have been dealt a major blow. The Gaming Board has lodged an objection to the £4.5m bid for Courtlands Country Club in Thorpe Bay. The industry regulator believes there is not enough
A pensioner' group has been told it will be thrown out next month from a hall on Canvey - ending an association spanning nearly two decades. The New Venture Club claimed it will have to hand back the keys on February 25 after a dispute with the committee
Latchkey kids may become a thing of the past in Castle Point if a Government-backed plan succeeds. Council leisure director Steve Packham told committee members how the Kids Club Network could soon be setting up centres in the borough. The national charity
Hundreds of mourners let the tears run free as they said goodbye to their special young friend who exuded happiness. Sports-loving Lewis Roche was a team player, both on and off the pitch, said his headmaster Philip Bell. And there was no substitute.
A GP deputising service has defended its actions after unprecedented demands caused problems over the festive season. Healthcall, which covers the area out of normal surgery hours from bases in Westcliff and east London, has been attacked by Basildon
Maldon started full of confidence after last week's win and immediately pressed their advantage by claiming most of the early possession. The home team were forced to defend and were unable to clear the ball from their own half, eventually resulting in
Thieves stole a footballer's kit on the eve of a local derby, causing her to miss the match. Left-back Debbie Nicklin, 37, of Brooklands Road, Brantham, had been due to play for Colchester Ladies in a crunch match against arch-rivals Colchester United
Wickford is set for the biggest street party the town has ever seen. An all-day extravaganza is planned for the year 2000, with bands, choirs, majorettes and buskers performing in the closed-off High Street, before the town settles down to a massive "
A temporary stay of execution has been won on plans to knock down the only shelter left on Leigh seafront. A full structural check of the shelter has been agreed by Southend Council chiefs after a barrage of protest from local residents and councillors
Heart patient Sheila Cross was in Southend Hospital expecting to be transferred to London for vital tests when her doctor brought her good news. The catheter laboratory, which was not expected to be up and running for another month, was ready for patients
Carp angler Stephen Ray has his pal Mick Goodall to thank for a super session at Basildon's Gloucester Park Lake. Stephen was in the doldrums after having his tackle stolen from his garden shed, when Mick offered to lend him his own prized tackle. Stephen
Braintree MP Alan Hurst is concerned that new rural policing plans will lead to cutbacks in manpower levels across the district. He has written to Essex Police Chief Constable Geoffrey Markham querying policing figures released by the force when they
A price war raging between rival airlines at Stansted Airport is a major boost to passengers, a consumer watchdog said today. Ryanair is already offering a "buy one seat get another free" deal on many of its flights and rival carrier Go is offering cut-price
Nearly 600 schoolchildren are visiting Colchester Castle each week during term time - and the tours are proving increasingly popular. More than 22,000 children passed through the turnstiles to the Norman fortress in 39 weeks last year and the tour programme
A woman had an unfortunate end to her driving test - when she was involved in a road crash. The three-car accident happened at about 11am at the London Road roundabout in Clacton. PC Robin Rush said a Fiesta and Orion were both being driven towards Clacton
TIM STOUT is on song to talk with singing teacher Margaret Cozens You could say that Margaret Cozens was the Voice of Southend. Voices of Southend would be more accurate. Down the years this joyous lady has coaxed goodness knows many bubbling streams
Outspoken Colchester United boss Steve Wignall has hit out at the "greed and hypocrisy" he claims is threatening to cripple small Football League clubs like the U's. Wignall was speaking out following the intrusion of players agents and the collapse of
Staff at GEC Marconi have been promised a "very bright future" with the revelation of a £7.7bn buy out. Jobs were said to be safe at all branches of the electronic systems company, which has bases in Basildon and Chelmsford. British Aerospace has come
Maldon took the lead in Saturday's match at Park Drive but let it slip to suffer their eighth league loss of the season. The hosts went ahead in the fifth minute, Gold meeting Noble's free kick and hammering the ball into the roof of the net. Maldon had
Two Canvey football clubs have joined forces as part of a new scheme to develop youth football in the borough. Dave McNeill, deputy director for leisure at Castle Point council, told committee members how the Island Boys and Concord Rangers Football Clubs
Sportsmen and women who want to give their coach an extra special thank-you for all their hard work, still have time to nominate them for the Sports Coach of the Year Awards. Closing date for nomination forms, now available from local authority leisure
A pub landlord was kicked and punched as he tackled two burglars. Paul Harbin, 40, came across the intruders as he went down into the cellar of the Leather Bottle pub in Shrub End Road, Colchester. He spotted the two trying to break into the office and
A decision to allow a Braintree kebab shop to extend its late-night opening hours has angered a neighbouring undertaker. The Best Kebab House, in Manor Road, will now remain open until 11.30pm every night after winning a battle to extend its hours of
Chelmsford MP Simon Burns has protested to Health Secretary Frank Dobson after it was revealed hospital waiting lists in mid-Essex have shot up in the past two years. Figures released by Mr Burns, the Tory MP for West Chelmsford, show that the number
A widow has hit out at Tendring Council after it accidentally "desecrated" her husband's gave. When Veronica Sweeney went to her husband's grave at Burrs Cemetery, Great Clacton, she found the headstone and its surround had been removed from the plot.
Police today appealed for help to catch an attacker who robbed a man in broad daylight in an alleyway in Clacton town centre. The victim was hit in the face and knocked to the ground before the robber made off with cash from his pockets. The 23-year-old
IAN TUCKEY gets deep with Basildon Sub Aqua Club instructor Ken Smith You can go down under without leaving Basildon - and then, using all you have learned, explore the world's watery wonders. Sounds enticing? Many people are beginning to think so too
Disabled cricketers, including blind and deaf players, are keener than ever to show that the only boundaries for them in the sport are those around the outfield. The proof, they hope, will arrive in the first summer of the next millennium. Two Basildon
Blues boss Alvin Martin is desperate to recruit new players who can help the Seasiders climb back into the Third Division promotion race. German midfielder Lars Unger jets into Roots Hall today to try and earn a permanent contract with Southend United
Mental health wards in south Essex will have to follow the example of general hospitals and become single sex. The directive, in the Government's Modernising Mental Health Services, will mean a major exercise for Thameside Community Healthcare Trust,
Southend and Westcliff rugby club officials have held shock exploratory talks about a possible merger between the two sides. Club representatives met to discuss the potential of pooling both side's resources in an attempt to strengthen rugby in the borough
Purfleet's achievement of going to the top of the Ryman Premier League is one of the most extraordinary in non-league soccer. Only formed in 1985 when starting life in Division One of the Essex Senior League (they beat Canvey Reserves in their first game
Southend United's teenage striker Trevor Fitzpatrick is hoping to recover from a troublesome groin strain in time for Saturday's Roots Hall clash with Carlisle. Fitzpatrick, who has scored five goals this season, has missed the last three league games
Three star members of Basildon Athletic Club - Samma Power, Lara Carty and Serina Mantle - competing in the South of England Indoor Championships pentathlon, all got among the medals. Samma, who lives in Southend and attends Southend High School for Girls
Bosses at a popular rugby club have vowed a mystery firebug will not destroy their team spirit. A blaze at Basildon Rugby Club left its bar gutted and put the changing rooms and showers out of action. Up to hundred youngsters were left disappointed on
A man suffered burns to his hands when he threw a blazing gas heater out of a house. John and Gwen Double today said if it was not for the quick response by fitter George Green - and the fact they had a smoke alarm - their bungalow in Whinfield Avenue
A woman has condemned the 20-yard stretch of road outside her home as a treacherous accident blackspot after three cars ploughed into her front garden in one morning. Andrea Richardson , who has lived in Bartholomew Green , Rayne, for 14 years, first
Staff at GEC Marconi have been promised a "very bright future" with the revelation of a £7.7bn buy out. Jobs were said to be safe at all branches of the electronic systems company, which has bases in Basildon and Chelmsford. British Aerospace has come
A man died after being stabbed in a "frenzied" drug-related attack in Basildon, police revealed today. The 26-year-old was set upon by a gang of men wielding various weapons at a home in Cranes Court, off Cranes Farm Road, Basildon. Police believe he
Three people were lucky to be alive today after a road smash which saw the driver undergoing emergency surgery. Ambulance crews said it was a miracle the three men were not killed after their R-registered Ford Escort slammed into an iron girder supporting
Braintree completed a 'win double' over Coastal with a comfortable victory on a heavy pitch which made attractive football difficult to play. It took just six minutes for Town to open the scoring when James Hawton netted with a shot from the edge of the
