Security is being stepped up at trouble-hit Wickford fire station after yobs launched another attack on the building. Arsonists broke into the yard and set two cars ablaze in the latest incident. Fire bosses yesterday said they believed the town's £161,000
The village of Rayne has a bizarre new tourist attraction - fly spotting. People became curious after This Is Essex's story of villagers battening down the hatches because they were being plagued by a swarm of flies. And businesses have been visited by
Colchester United's teenage sensation Lomana Tresor Lua Lua paid the ultimate price for one moment of costly Easter Monday madness - he was sent off for stupidly kicking Burnley's Paul Cook. It cost him and his U's team-mates three crucial second division
Snetterton was the venue for the third round of the British Motor Cycle Racing Clubs Championship held over the Easter weekend. Marks Tey's Gary Waylen was in action following his impressive start at Lydden Hill two weeks previously, but had been unable
Firefighters were nearly killed when a gas cylinder exploded as they tackled a blaze in a workmen's trench. Power was lost to 6,000 homes and businesses as fire crews - faced with a dramatic catalogue of events - fought the blaze in Benfleet. The series
Braintree rallycross driver Dave Ward made amends after retiring in the first round of the Compomotive Motorsport Wheels Rallycross championship by taking a resounding win in the second round held at Lydden Hill, Dover, on Bank Holiday Monday. Dave was
A wannabe Tiger Woods is a little under par - because of poor greens at a golf course. Teed-off Nathan Sutton is only four but has his sights set on becoming a professional golfer and has been spending every day of his Easter holidays on the pitch and
A Wickford teenager locked up for stealing from a pensioner while posing as a flower seller has had her sentence slashed on appeal. The 16-year-old girl was sentenced to 12 months' detention at Chelmsford Crown Court in January after admitting to taking
Ice hockey starlet Derek Whitbread has been given a double glimpse of the sporting future he dreams of. First, the crack London Knights team - the side he wants to play for - invited him to meet his favourite players. Then he tasted international glory
Young boxer Danny Hunt, Eastwood's three times national champion, has more reason than usual to relish his major bout tonight. Hunt, 17, has even underlined his dedication to reach the top by giving up a computer job in the City because it was affecting
The Shaftesbury Cycling Club racing season has started, although because of the dark mornings, there are still many riders who prefer to leave the start of their racing activities a little longer when the mornings should be a little warmer. However, the
Leaders of a campaigning pressure group in Southend have backed growing calls to stop the bombing of Serbia. Ron Montague, vice chairman of the United Nations Association Southend branch, said he felt the Nato air campaign had intensified the problem
Multi-million pound waterfront development could lead to hundreds of jobs in Maldon, it has been revealed today. The Baltic Consortium, a group of developers, wants to create a major riverside complex at Sadd's Wharf, off Station Road. Hundreds of jobs
Slow moving lorries snaked along sections of the A12, M25 and M11, causing jams of up to two miles at some points, as part of their 160 mile journey which started at Harwich. The protest was organised by John Tye, an owner driver from Little Oakley near
A heartbroken mother today told how a cot collapsed, fatally crushing her beautiful baby girl. Catherine Harvey's nine-month-old daughter Alexandra suffered brain damage in the accident and died seven days later, an inquest heard yesterday. Grieving Miss
The big time is in sight for Ipswich if they can tame the beast that is their fear. It is quite simple - they must not worry about what Bradford are doing and win their next six games. Ipswich are going great guns, and 31 points from a possible 36 since
Plans for a new multi-million pound home for Colchester United could be submitted within weeks. A 30-acre site for the new ground has been earmarked on council-owned land near the A12 at Cuckoo Farm and an outline planning application is on the verge
Tennis courts at Wickford Tennis Club are among 5,000 throughout Britain to be opened to the public, free of charge, on Saturday, May 1, as part of Play Tennis 99, Britain's largest annual promotion of tennis. Play Tennis 99 is organised by the Lawn Tennis
A giant eagle is being lovingly carved by a group of woodworkers to take pride of place in a national memorial park. Retired schoolteacher Peter Benson and his students have so far spent six days working on the mammoth project. The magnificent eagle has
Plans to build a glass arts display unit in Basildon Town Centre have been put on the back burner. Councillors investigating a feasibility study prepared by Basildon Council officers, shelved the plans when they discovered the cost. The idea had been
Terror struck in a quiet row of shops in Warley when a masked raider dressed in black held terrified Chinese takeaway staff at gunpoint before running off with their takings. At about 10.55pm on Good Friday the armed raider walked calmly into the Oriental
Harold Hill's new teenage village has been defended against claims that it has already become an under-age drinking den for abusive louts. The purpose built village, which has three shelters, tennis courts and an all weather football pitch, was opened
Southend United's forgotten winger Adrian Clarke wants to win back his place in the Third Division strugglers' first team by proving his worth to new Blues boss Alan Little today. The Shrimpers chief will be running the rule over the Seasiders' fringe
The home side made a good start to Monday's game and went in front after ten minutes. A Mark Simpkins free kick from the left was well read by Dave Stittle who left his marker stranded and then headed the ball over goalkeeper, Neal, and into the net.
A fantastic night is in store for fight fans on Saturday. One of the sport's biggest crowd-pullers, Prince Naseem Hamed, will be in action, defending his WBO featherweight world title against the popular Yorkshireman Paul Ingle at the Manchester Evening
Bush was on fire with five goals for Southend-based Trinity Juniors when they crushed Hawkwell Athletic 14-2 in the Southend Junior League Under-14 A Division. Healey was in top gear with four for the Trinity boys, while Selleck weighed in with a hat-trick
Canvey's Haystack Football Club took a giant step towards claiming the South East Essex Sunday League Division One title after a great 2-0 win at Runwell Raiders. The defeat almost certainly ends Runwell's own hopes of being champions, but Haystack are
More than 3,000 bikers got their motors running and hit the highway to Southend to raise money for Little Haven children's hospice. Young and old motorcyclists roared down to the seafront after covering a 45 mile route from the Ace Cafe on London's North
Trees in Langdon Hills have been vandalised just weeks after they were planted following another attack. Vandals struck again outside the Nightingales shops. Some of the trees have been twisted, others uprooted and left lying on the ground, while three
Robins cinema is to get a £22,000 revamp in a bid to bring the audiences back to the town centre cinema. Midweek prices are also being slashed to as little as 99p for top name films in a move to attract more filmgoers. The Basildon cinema is now under
GABRIEL ROBERTS talks to a snuffling Lenny Henry CBE, on tour with his stand-up comedy act which calls in at the Cliffs Pavilion, Southend on May 26 You would expect comedian Lenny Henry to be cracking jokes and smiling - but instead the poor man is suffering
Promising Colchester United youngster Ian Wiles is out for the rest of the season with a broken arm. The 19-year-old, a first-year professional, fractured his forearm during the U's reserves 2-1 win at Ipswich reserves and he is now in plaster. U's assistant
Chelmsford Swifts depleted squad gave a wonderfully determined performance in the club's first national final before running out of steam to lose 60-39 against Wandsworth in Sheffield on Saturday. The game was preceded by huge controversy when the English
Tireless breast cancer campaigner Tina Wilkinson's name will never be forgotten at Basildon Hospital - not just because of her dedication to the cause, but also through the gowns named after her. Bright yellow Tina Tunics - for women to wear while they
Traffic queues stretched back for miles yesterday as a bomb alert brought parts of the south east's main road artery to a standstill. The M25 was thrown into chaos after the Dartford river crossing was completely shut off during the height of rush hour
The devastated family of a young man murdered outside a pub have spoken of their grief. And they said they would never forgive the man who killed him. Karl Morris, 23, suffered a fractured skull in a fight outside the Queen's Arms pub in Great Cornard
A little touch of the Caribbean has been brought to Canvey's seafront with the arrival of six tropical palm trees. The trees were planted on Eastern Esplanade as part of the Canvey 2000 initiative, to restore the seafront in time for the millennium. Euro
A hospital boss has moved to quell fears that all elderly frail Billericay patients will be forced to travel miles on public transport for treatment. The head of Basildon and Thurrock General Hospitals Trust has spoken out after older patients complained
Four cars and a house were set alight by arsonists along the same road in Chelmsford. Police and fire crews were called to Ravensbourne Drive, Chelmsford, near to Beeches Road, just after 1am today after residents saw the cars on fire. Two fire engines
Trigger-happy thugs have been blamed for a spate of cat killings in Braintree. Three missing cats have been found dead and another had to be put to sleep after a gang used them for airgun target practice. The cats - all from the Mountbatten Road area
As predicted last week the warmer weather has increased the water temperature and the fish have become more active and starting feeding well. The Saturday Fennes open attracted nineteen anglers and Kevin Baker (Browning Trent Tackle) became the first
Hutton & Shenfield junior boys team won the latest of the Essex Junior League competitions when the finals were held at Redbridge at the weekend. Having won their group the boys then beat Great Baddow 5-1 in the semi-final. Then in the final they
A security firm has been branded heavy-handed by football fans after trouble flared between its guards and supporters at Southend United's Roots Hall stadium. Several callers phoned This Is Essex partner paper the Echo in disgust after an incident at
Handbag thief Colin Wallace 20, went straight to a bank when he netted thousands of Italian lira, Sarah Leigh, prosecuting, told Basildon Crown Court. Sneaky Wallace had stolen the money from a woman's bag in the BP garage at Radford Way, Billericay,
An influential local councillor has called on his own local authority to lift the veil of secrecy over the future of North Weald Airfield. Tory councillor Ian Abbey, who is standing down at next month's local elections, told This Is Essex: "Rumour is
The Greater London Leopards host the Sheffield Sharks at the Brentwood Centre this Sunday in the first of a three game series to secure a semi-final place at Wembley on May 1. The Adidas Greater London Leopards won the capital Championship and beat the
Saturday saw another exciting draw for Town fans to savour. Bromley, 21st and struggling to score goals though are a barely average side, and showed little enterprise despite their parlous position. Town, however, contrived to go 2-0 behind and it was
A Bank Holiday Monday crowd of over 700 saw Town ease past their Essex neighbours. There was little of the blood and thunder that has characterised these encounters in recent years, but Town, who had by far the most of the possession, nearly let the points
Town clinched the Senior Division Three Championship on Good Friday following a hard fought victory at Ramsden. Town went into the game without two of their recognised strikers being forced to re-shuffle their starting line-up. Despite having much of
The former St Mary's Hospital site in Colchester is expected to be sold within days. A supermarket, homes and shops will be built by the developer buying the prime eight-acre site. Essex Rivers Healthcare Trust, which owns the land and runs hospitals
Flying from Southend Airport is almost stress free for smokers, according to a lobbying group. FOREST, which stands up for smokers' rights, has commended the airport in a UK-wide survey. Along with Heathrow and Gatwick, Southend has been praised for its
A Wickford man will stand trial on Monday accused of conspiring to import cannabis worth £2.45 million. Loy Pearce, 54, a foreman of Wick Drive, Wickford, will stand trial alongside five other men including Robert Fenner, 51, a haulier from Bedford Road
Three Stanford-le-Hope youngsters were so taken by stories of hard-up Basildon Hospital that they decided to do something about it. Glen, 13, Laura, ten and seven-year-old Kelly Lamb have organised a table sale at the Homesteads Village Hall in Dunstable
Work on a new £500,000 lifeboat station for Southend could start this autumn, the RNLI revealed today. Later this month plans for the new base at the far end of the pier will go before the town's councillors. If given the go-ahead, the new two-storey
Generous staff at a Southend clothing store today helped boost funds at the town's hospital with a bumper cheque for £3,500. Workers at C&A in Victoria Plaza raised the money for Southend cardiac care unit after one of their colleagues was rushed
Tight business bosses were today slammed for shunning a plea for help to send sick youngsters on holiday. Hardworking Hadleigh charity boss Molly Durkin sent out 200 letters to big companies in south Essex in the hope of a little support. A month later
The finishing touches were today being put to a football fun day in memory of meningitis victim Darren Graves. The teenager, from Overton Close, Benfleet, died more than a year ago from the disease and well-wishers have worked hard to provide a fitting
A new business venture was today facing bankruptcy before even opening its doors to customers after thieves stripped the place bare. The owners of the newly refurbished takeaway restaurant in Southend were today too distressed to speak of their shock
A Basildon toy firm is looking to expand and create new jobs thanks to booming international trade. PMS International is hoping to increase its warehouse space by 10 per cent as it extends to accommodate a rising number of products. The Cricketers Way
