A new digital television service has been branded "a farce" after it was discovered Witham would not be able to pick up a signal for the new channels. David Stocker, of Witham-based television dealers John Trowles, is due to pick up his first stock of
Witham people are rallying round to help a child carer raise thousands of pounds for charity on a sponsored bike ride in China. Teresa Morrish, 26, needs to raise at least £2,500 in sponsorship for the charity, Mencap (Royal Society for Mentally Handicapped
They look like any normal happy family. But the smiles conceal a tragic sadness. Their two-year-old son Jay has the degenerative Infantile Battens Disease. He is dying. Jay Theobald was diagnosed with the disease when he was 14-months-old. Now he has
Some might say it's what Essex man was born for. Head in the clouds, plenty of freedom, loads of birds around. Yet the county has just two clubs for it - gliding, that is. Maurice Quire, 69, Essex Gliding Club secretary, took up the sport less than two
Chelmsford finally got to play their league fixture against Rochford after the recent bad weather, and it lived up to expectations, by being a nailbiting affair right up to the final whistle. Within the first five minutes, Chelmsford were awarded two
Chelmsford narrowly lost last Sunday's top-of-the-table encounter to Canterbury at Chelmer Park. Having gone 2-0 behind within 14 minutes, Chelmsford's indiscipline did not help their cause as both Robert Wallbank and Adam Hunter were given temporary
The Essex Cross Country Relay Championships were held at Colchester last Sunday, and defending champions Chelmsford Athletic Club were denied a third consecutive win by the shortest of margins. Hosts Colchester Harriers took the honours in the last 200
Chelmsford Chieftains' excellent 7-4 English Premier League win over Milton Keynes Kings last Sunday was slightly overshadowed by the news that Chieftains' longest serving player Tony Cimelli has decided to leave the club. Cimelli started with the Chieftains
Elderly residents of a Southend care home look set to be moved out so it can be converted into a rehabilitation unit. It comes just weeks after three old people's homes in the borough were closed - and pledges there would be no more disruptions or closures
It takes balls to tell soccer hard man Vinnie Jones where to go. Gazza should know: his tingled for a while following his famous scrape with the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels star after Jones put the squeeze on the then Newcastle player. "I just
One hundred canaries together worth £1,000 have been stolen from an aviary at an address in Rayleigh. The thetf of the birds from the Sutton Court Drive home follows a similar theft in Beckett Close, Ashingdon, overnight on January 24-25, when 55 birds
The man killed when his Volvo car was in collision with a tree at Theydon Bois has been named by police. Simon Pettifer, 28, of Woodland Camp, Lambourne End, Abridge, was injured when his Volvo 340 left the road and collided with a tree, according to
Police in Leigh were today out and about with a new piece of equipment as part of a county-wide survey on how officers spend their time. The officers have all be given a hand-held Psion organiser which bleeps every 15 minutes and requests information
A Tendring division police officer is being investigated over allegations of misconduct at a private Christmas party in Clacton. The officer - who has not been named by Essex Police - has not been suspended and is still on duty. An Essex Police spokeswoman
When a footballing legend like Bert Barlow says you're good, then it's not a bad accolade. The 1939 FA Cup-winning keeper for Portsmouth keeps his finger on the footballing pulse and has seen some good youngsters in his time. Nine-year-old Jamie Wright
Penny the pet cat was back enjoying the comforts of her Braintree home this week after an amazing journey lasting nearly two months. The Edwards family of Coalville Close, Great Notley, had almost abandoned any hope of seeing their pet since she went
A total ban on night flights from Stansted Airport has been rejected by the government, Essex county councillors were told on Tuesday. The county's environmental services board was considering a response to a government's consultation paper on night flight
Police today launched a desperate plea for help in tracing a potentially lethal haul of rat poison stolen from a car in Southend. The four brands of poison, killers if swallowed, were taken from a Citroen 2CV parked in Alexandra Road overnight. They were
Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore were today feeling a bit lonely - after thieves made off with their best pal. An 8in Winnie the Pooh garden ornament, worth £20, was stolen from the front courtyard of a home in Beambridge Mews, Basildon. Pooh's owner, who did
A teenager was today studying at home after her plum-coloured hair landed her in hot water with her headmaster. Danielle Peacock, 14, of Ferndale Crescent, Canvey, was sent home from Furtherwick Park School because her new hair colour breached school
Detectives investigating an £11.5 million cocaine seizure in Belgium have swooped on addresses in south Essex. They arrested one person during a late night search of a Runwell farm and an unknown address in nearby Wickford. In all five men and one woman
Bugmania hit Basildon at the weekend as the town heaved with creepy crawlies celebrating the release of Disney's new movie A Bug's Life. The film is not due to hit our screens until Friday but Robins Cinema in Basildon decided to get in on the fun early
A wonder-strike from Jamie Clapham gave Ipswich their first league points since Boxing Day. But the single goal victory only hides the painful truth that on these sort of performances Town are not Premiership material. Port Vale were ravaged by injury
A mother and daughter were today fighting for their lives after a collision which claimed the life of a four-year-old girl. Lydia Kilany, of Clare Close, Halstead, a pupil at the town's Holy Trinity Primary School, died in Colchester General Hospital
Many Southend children in care are to be placed back with their families in an effort to cut costs, it has been revealed Over the next three years social services bosses want to reduce the number of youngsters the authority looks after from around 250
Villagers launched a bizarre hunt for a woman's rhea after it vanished without trace. The cheeky rhea - a five feet tall ostrich-like bird which originates from South America - escaped from Wendy Chalkley's home in Colchester Road, Wix. A search ensued
Murder suspect Jason Bolger blacked out at the time he was allegedly involved in a killing at a South Ockendon pub, a jury heard. Bolger told Chelmsford Crown Court he became numb and - apart from fleeting memories of lights and black uniforms - remembered
A woman was left with serious head and shoulder injuries after she was mugged by a man on a mountain bike. Police investigating the case believe he may have been trying to get hold of cash to buy heroin. Det Con Graham Hurrell of Basildon CID said: "It
Castle Point Council has just launched a new customer care charter for its housing department. Geraldine O'Connor looks at the growing trend for charters to see whether they're worth the paper they are written on. Nearly every area of our lives is dominated
Patients waiting for operations to remove cataracts could have their NHS surgery performed in a private hospital. In a bid to meet Government waiting list targets by next March, South Essex Health Authority has given the go-ahead for 200 patients to be
Social services, doctors and the Crown Prosecution Service have been condemned in a report into how a mentally ill man with a long history of violence against his wife managed to kill her after she fled to a safe house. Mental patient Kevin Keegan, who
A fun culture club is putting a feather in the caps of youngsters. Enthusiastic couple Richard and Gloria Venables are spreading the word about Native American Indians to Ramsden Heath boys at the Beaver group. The eight weekly sessions have been packed
Millions of pounds worth of investment could flood into Basildon as the district stands on the threshold of joining an economic elite. After years of petitioning, Basildon looks set to join a band of districts and London boroughs in the Thames Gateway
Passengers can look forward to a more reliable service following pledges made by bus operators. Managers from Arriva Southend agreed to attend a public meeting on Thursday night - and listened to a range of well-presented views. More than 40 people turned
A woman in her mid-50s was left with concussion and a broken collarbone after an attempted bag-snatch in Basildon. An Essex Police spokesman said a mugger on a yellow mountain bike tried to grab the woman's handbag as she walked along Broadmayne between
Following a draw between the two teams on their first Essex League Premier Division outing earlier this season, Chelmsford had a score to settle against visitors Havering and, despite a sluggish start, Chelmsford dominated throughout. From a short corner
Chelmsford restarted their Division One campaign after the Christmas break with a comfortable 3-1 win at Exeter-based Isca last Sunday. From the first whistle, it was obvious that there was going to be no repeat of last season's 10-4 spectacle at Chelmer
Police have repeated warnings to householders to be on their guard against conmen posing as water officials after three homes were burgled in a single day. An Essex Police spokesman said a man claiming to be from the local water authority had gained access
The chairman of industrial giant GEC is coming to Chelmsford tomorrow to make a gift of the £5 million Marconi Archive and Museum to the people of Essex. Sir Richard Hurn and communications chief Sir Geoffrey Pattie, who led "save the archive negotiations
Police have appealed for the public's help in tracking down masked raiders wielding large pieces of wood who struck at a Harlow store. An Essex Police spokesman said the attack happened at the Happy Shopper store in the town's Sherrards Hatch shopping
A teenager was today due to appear before Southend magistrates charged with attempted murder. Trevor Laing, of Palmerston Road, Westcliff, is accused of beating a 34-year-old man in a late night attack on Southend beach. His alleged victim was found by
Hundreds of insurance workers in Colchester face an uncertain future today after Guardian Royal Exchange was taken over. Axa, Sun Life and Provincial (SLP) paid £3.45 billion for the insurance giant, and has warned several hundred jobs could go. One of
Chelmer C.C's prizewinners at the Eastern Counties C.A. annual luncheon, held at North Weald, were Steve Freeman, Peter Barton, Dick Wall, Tim Bright, Dave Nock, Bill Broadfield, Paul Newman, Garry Barton and Mary Horsnell. In the short distance points
The father who shopped his drug-smuggling daughter to police said today she had forgiven him and they were rebuilding bridges. Nigel Griffiths told police his daughter was planning to smuggle drugs across Europe but they took no action. As a result, Sally
A 93-year-old woman with pneumonia had been waiting almost seven hours in the accident and emergency unit at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, when a "snapshot" survey of waiting times was staged. The survey was carried out by Mid Essex Community Health
Chelmsford Canoe Club's Slade Warne and Paul Anderson are off across the world to represent Great Britain in the World Whitewater Championships which start this week in New Zealand. Paul flies out on Wednesday and Slade follows three days later to take
Detectives are hunting a canary thief who struck twice in one week - escaping with 155 birds. A Rochford man found 100 birds had disappeared from the aviary in the garden of his home in Sutton Court Drive on Saturday morning. The birds were worth £1,000
A depressed businessman found slumped at the steering wheel of his car on a Shoebury beach was today piecing back together his life after escaping a jail sentence. Christopher Scott of Albany Avenue, Westcliff, was found by police at East Beach in the
A hapless car thief found himself in handcuffs after enlisting the help of two undercover police officers to try and get a car started. The officers, who were working as part of an unrelated undercover operation, were only too happy to help out when the
Frustrated Southend United right-back Mark Beard was left counting the cost of another poor Roots Hall performance as the Shrimpers spluttered to a drab 0-0 draw with Torquay United on Saturday. The 24-year-old summed up the thoughts of most Blues fans
A much-awaited derby fulfilled all expectations as Rochford held off Basildon's stirring fightback in one of the best games seen at Magnolia Road for many years. A large and vocal crowd provided the perfect backdrop to a thrilling London League Three
Southend United made it a hat-trick of failures against Torquay as they failed to beat a side from the depths of the Third Division's bottom six for the third game running. The Shrimpers have now taken just one point from a trio of teams - Shrewsbury,
Around 300 people packed out Harwich Amateur Boxing Club's first-ever show to make it an outstanding success. Already talk is of making it an annual event after organiser Martin Webb said: "It couldn't have gone better." In all 17 fights were held at
Colchester United manager Mick Wadsworth was today still waiting to hear if Steve Whitton is ready to become his official right-hand man. Whitton, who played a big part as player, coach and then assistant manager to former boss Steve Wignall as the U's
A vintage extra-time goal from Wines saw Airborne United fly into the semi-finals of the Section D Southend Charity Competition. They triumphed 1-0 over Shoebury OB in an all Southend Borough Combination affair while other high-fliers were World Aviation
Billericay finally achieved their first win of 1999 in their final game in January - but they left it very late. The second-half action had reached the 50th minute before Jon Hooker's effort from the left caught a deflection and brought all three points
Crime-busting walkie-talkies could be used to combat crooks and troublemakers in Braintree. The hi-tech radios are being hailed as the way ahead in the fight against shoplifters and town centre crime. But crime-prevention officer Geoff Butler says he
When the going gets tough, the tough get going! It's a thought Copford cyclist David Flack will fix in his mind as he prepares to tackle the biggest challenge of his life. David, 53, of London Road, has signed up for September's Grand Canyon Bike Away
A classical music version of the V98 Festival is on the cards in Essex next month. The new event looks set to take place in Chelmsford at the end of February. Stravinsky and Beyond sees the Britten Sinfonia, teaming up with local groups for a weekend
Thousands of pooper-scoopers have been delivered to Castle Point to encourage dog-owners to clean up after their pets. Tony Doveaston, parks warden for Castle Point Council, along with committee chairmen Dave Blackwell, Brian Weller and Joe Cooke, launched
A £76,000 renovation of a Leigh church has reached its midway point. Work on the second phase of the project to give St Clements Church a facelift is expected to be complete in a fortnight. Builders have been replacing the stones on the church's turret
What can Trevor Taylor be talking about when he says: "It's a computerised, button-pressing world." Banking, car design, museum archives, maybe even journalism? No. Sadly, it's music he has in mind. He would much rather not feel this way. After all, he
They don't make 'em like this any more -- not the bricks, nor the men. These photographs, dating from the 1930s, are among many treasured possessions of Bill Caten, a collector of memorabilia. That's him, stripped to the waist and trundling with skill
