Little Ebonie is all smiles after being reunited with Chloe - the cat rescued by firefighters after getting trapped in a car. Heavily-pregnant Chloe fled under the vehicle after being spotted wandering around a building site in Hatterhill, Laindon, last
The four Essex Police horses were yesterday settling in with their new owners. Clouseau, Cormack, Courage and Chichester have now given up a life of fighting crime after the police mounted section, based at Southend, was forced by budget cuts to close
On a dry evening, near St Neots, Ron Keeble, 34 Nomads clocked 2.36 to win the Barnet Veteran's ''10'', with Chelmer's Dave Nock, 21.02, his closest challenger. Other Chelmer times were G Boden 23.42, A Grant 24.15. It was, perhaps, not surprising that
Sought-after Ben Embery has signed a new deal to stay at Maldon Town. The former Tottenham Hotspur defender ended speculation he is on the move by agreeing to stay at the club he has taken from the Essex Senior League to mid-table in the Jewson Premier
A Crown Prosecution Service clerk has walked free from court after a magistrate threw out charges brought against her under the Official Secrets Act. Deborah Cahill, 31, of Eastern Avenue, Benfleet, was jointly charged with Det Con Michael Charman, 46
Childline, the free confidential 24-hour telephone helpline for children and young people in danger or trouble, receives 10,000 calls a day. But resources dictate that only about 3,300 of these are answered and money to run the much-needed service comes
An investigation was launched yesterday after firebugs were believed to have started a blaze at the community centre where the Long Road mental unit public meeting was due to start. The fire was spotted at about 6.30pm on Monday as the Paddocks in Long
A tragic young boy's family wept as they heard their son "should have survived" crossing a dangerous Basildon road. Bradley Hopwood was just 11 years old when he stepped out in front of a car and died in the town's Southmayne. The youngster, of Dewsgreen
Serial sex attacker Richard Baker has told the Old Bailey how he stalked round Southend looking for a victim. Baker - is accused of raping a 15-year-old schoolgirl in Leigh and attacking two other women in the town, just days later - said: "I know I need
If you're a cricket lover hoping to see batting of the highest order, Billericay's Toby Howe Ground at Rutters Field, Blunts Wall Road, might well be the place to visit regularly this term. Billericay started the first ever Shepherd Neame Essex League
Richard Milton finished an excellent 71st in the Inter Counties Fell Running Championships, on Saturday in Derbyshire. He led home the Essex team which also included fellow Springfield Strider, Pat O'Connor who was pleased with his 108th placing. Andrew
Doggetts County Primary School's junior netball team have had a very impressive season. They were victorious in their division of the Rochford Small School League. Then they went on to become runners-up in the Southend and District Junior Netball League
Bolton skipper Mark Fish is a major doubt for the clash at Portman Road after limping out of Sunday's match with a calf injury. Gudni Bergsson replaced the former Lazio man and looks set to take his place again if the South African fails to recover. Trotters
Witham is set to become a "cyber council" using the internet to link councillors with residents and to help attract new businesses into the town. "The initiative is a result of Witham Town Council's investment in the internet for public access", explained
A community bus which acts as a mobile meeting place for people living on estates in Witham is facing the axe. Run by the town's United Reformed Church, the bus is used by youngsters, mothers and toddlers and the elderly -- but it will come off the road
The sterling work done by community-conscious Maldon residents has been recognised in two civic awards. This year's Mayor of Maldon award for service to the community has been given to Elaine Clemence for efforts over 20 years and a special award has
A father has paid tribute to his brave and loving daughter who has died at the age of 34. Julia Bryans "brought cheer and love into the lives of all who knew her" despite coping with diabetes since the age of four. The former Stanway School, Colchester
Two hard-working women have done their bit to dispel the Essex girl myth. Mikaela Martin and Katherine Wood both made it through to the finals of the Women of Achievement Awards, organised by Cosmopolitan magazine. The pair were honoured for their hard
On Sunday, Braintree completed a 39 points haul for the weekend by comfortably deflating Copford by eight wickets. After a slow start to their innings, Copford eventually reached a respectable 180-8 from their 45 overs, with G Broomfield making 71. For
Ooh la la - Southend carp angler Russell Bellamy enjoyed a big-fish bonanza while on a recent trip to the Le Lot region of France. Russell, of Boscombe Road, used semi-fixed rig with Nash bait on a 15lb line to amass some spectacular specimens. He is
The outstanding footballing youngsters at Colchester Sixth Form College have won another top trophy. Simon Fusniak's charges beat bitter rivals Palmer's Sixth Form College 4-2 to retain the Essex Schools' under-19 Cup. Martin Webb hit the first and fourth
The battle for this year's Old Spice Legends Cars Championship intensified at Knockhill with Team Old Spice driver Tick Steward (Colchester, Essex) capturing top honours for the first time this season. Two race wins and a blistering performance meant
Girl power is coming to Harwich. Ann Evander becomes the town's mayor on Thursday and she has chosen friend and former town councillor Val Collins as her mayoress and the Rev Gillian Greenslade as her chaplain - the first woman chaplain to the mayor.
Standards have slumped on the busy Great Eastern railway, it was revealed today. The company - which operates commuter services from Colchester, Clacton and Chelmsford to Liverpool Street - has been given a C grade in the performance figures published
A war of words has erupted between two aid groups founded to support the plight of Kosovan refugees. Organisers of relief agency Just Help today hit back at "silly sniping" by another Balkans support group, 999 to Albania. Bob Finch, chairman of Colchester-based
A girl was today recovering at home after an apparently motiveless attack in Billericay. The 14-year-old was walking up Bell Hill at 10.15 yesterday when she was shoved to the ground by a man on a bicycle who had sped up to her from behind. The attacker
Girls swooned at Storm nightclub in Southend when EastEnders hunk Michael Greco paid a visit to the town. Michael plays Italian brother Beppe Di Marco in the soap and was awarded the title of Most Fanciable Male at the British Soap Awards. He answered
Defiant pensioner Eileen Murphy says she is willing to lie down on the steps at 10 Downing Street to protest at the plan to set up a parish council at Jaywick. A petition opposing the scheme was signed by 111 residents - only one person was in favour.
A man has been ordered into psychiatric care "indefinitely" for a horrific attack at a South Ockendon pub. Brian Bolger was sent to the hospital for what was described as a "quite an extraordinary ferocious and lethal attack." His younger brother Jason
A paedophile who preyed on homeless young boys in Southend was yesterday starting a six-year jail sentence. Ronald Wright, 60, was told by a judge: "You present a serious danger to the public." Over the past 27 years Wright has received a string of prison
A tough new police campaign will see tax dodgers' cars confiscated or even crushed. Squads of clampers will hunt out and target cars parked without tax discs before carting them off to the scrapyard if they are not claimed. The tough message came yesterday
Billericay residents today warned urgent action must be taken before someone is killed on the chaotic road outside their homes. They spoke out after yet another crash on Noak Hill Road which left a 45-year-old man with serious head injuries The street
Fears that Canvey could sink into the Thames because of global warming were today dismissed by a flood defence expert. A new report by the Green Party claimed the island could be submerged as the Earth's climate warms up, melting polar ice-caps and forcing
The fans call him psycho, the players nicknamed him Bam Bam but Richard Naylor wants to be known as Ipswich's goal hero. Naylor scored as a substitute against Sheffield United in the last regular game of the season and had a wonderful chance when he came
With their classic Vespa and Lambretta machines, the members of the Victorians Scooter Club are among the newest regulars at the Victoria pub in Witham. The club was set up around eight months ago in the wake of the popular Mersea Island Rally. Now the
Colchester's millennium mayor was sworn in today at the traditional ceremony at the town hall. Liberal Democrat Martin Hunt was formally voted in and handed the robes and badge of office by outgoing mayor David Cannon. Mr Hunt, who has represented the
The Shepherd Neame Essex League's new Premier Division is planned to provide all-day cricket - but someone forgot to tell Wickford in their opening game. They batted first at their Patmore Memorial Ground home and were dismissed for only 64 runs. With
Dropped first-teamer Richard Swile responded in the best possible fashion - hitting a fine 86 to set up Billericay seconds' victory. Billericay had been put in on a soggy pitch, but, after losing an early wicket, opener Swile helped them defy the difficult
Braintree Rugby Club closed the season during their annual dinner/dance with the presentation of awards last week. Before the awards were made, a ball signed by England prop Jason Leonard was auctioned, raising £750 for this year's chosen charity 'The
Millennium bonus payments for hospital staff in Essex have been set - but they are hundreds of pounds less than health unions wanted. Doctors, consultants, nurses and laboratory staff will get £100 on top of their Bank Holiday pay for working the shift
Wannabe chef Ivana Grebovic has won a place in the finals of the Young Pasta Cook of the Year. The 13-year-old pupil at the King Edmund School in Rochford is busy preparing her pots and pans to compete in the final stage of the event held at the Savoy
Firefighters today urged householders to install smoke detectors after a fire left a Canvey home badly damaged. The blaze, believed to have been started by a youngster playing with a lighter or matches, took hold in a bedroom at the house in Second Avenue
Car enthusiasts were in heaven when 500 classic vehicles turned out for an annual show in Battlesbridge, near Wickford. The event, behind Muggeridge Farm, Maltings Road, is now in its 13th year and proceeds are used to support the nearby Battlesbridge
Motorists on the M25 were hit by jams yesterday as hundreds of truckers began a 48-hour demonstration. Around 1,000 lorry drivers circled the motorway in their protest against hikes in fuel and road tax prices. The hauliers insisted their action is not
More than 100 soldiers left Colchester for Wiltshire yesterday to train for deployment to Macedonia. Troops from 1st Battalion, the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, Combat Service Support Battalion and 19 Regiment Royal Artillery
Plans for millennium festivities in Billericay could be under threat - unless cash can be found from willing sponsors. The town council has circulated a document to possible backers which details ten ideas for projects or events during the year. The authority
A limousine arrived in the pouring rain in the early hours of yesterday morning to take a family off on the first stage of their holiday in the sun. The Theobald family, of High Woods, Colchester, were off to Spain for two weeks thanks to a vast group
More plans to save Brightlingsea waterfront from developers will be unveiled tonight at a public meeting in the town. Jim Lawrence, the driving force behind a campaign to save the waterside and keep it as an amenity for the town, has called the meeting
A father and son were today recovering in hospital after a remarkable escape from a collision with a double-decker bus near Chelmsford. The collision was in Danbury, between Maldon and Chelmsford. It left the bus - carrying six passengers - in a ditch
If it's true that luck evens itself out over a season then Ipswich are owed a penalty, a couple of goals and a trip to Wembley. The Blues did not deserve to lose at the magnificent Reebok Stadium and if referee Mark Halsey had seen what virtually everyone
A sale has been agreed for one of Tendring's most important tourist attractions, it was revealed today. But the new owner of historic St Osyth Priory remains a mystery. Jonathan Veale, senior surveyor at Bidwell's Ipswich office which is handling the
A £10 million jackpot is at stake in Ipswich Town's play-off with Bolton tonight. That is how much Town stand to gain if they reach a Wembley final against either Watford or Birmingham and go on to win Premiership promotion. Blues' chairman David Sheepshanks
Basildon's Dave Venables is aiming to smash a Commonwealth record when he flies out to Hungary to compete in the European weightlifting championships this weekend. The 37-year-old will be joined on the plane by Stanford le-Hope colleagues Peter Oddy and
Essex skipper Nasser Hussain enjoyed one of the greatest days of his career as England kept their World Cup cricket hopes on course with a superb success over Kenya. On a typically English May day in Canterbury - cold and damp with interruptions for weather
Colchester got off to the perfect start in their Shepherd Neame Essex League campaign with a crushing eight-wicket victory over newly-promoted Division One rivals Walthamstow. Skipper Andrew Kennedy won the toss and put the away side into bat on a slightly
David West of Essex Stragglers Orienteering Society has taken second place at the British Orienteering Championships. The event was held close to Lake Windermere and David travelled up for the weekend with approximately 25 members of the club. David competed
Fast and close racing by some of the top riders in the region entertained a good size crowd at Stisted on Sunday at the Braintree and District Motorcycle Club scramble. Stacy Harman made his journey from Kent worth while taking all three ACE four stroke
The Three Rivers Golf Club Ladies Bronze team played at Harwich & Dovercourt on Friday and despite good wins from Julia Billing, Pat Midgley and Dot Curtis, they eventually lost by the narrow margin of 4-3. The final of the Argos Shield Mixed was
Labour's grip on power at Tendring Council has been finally broken after four years of total domination. They lost overall majority at the local elections but were still the largest single party with 23 of the 60 seats. But at last night's annual meeting
A New Zealand student is desperately searching for help to finish his thesis. Trevor Landers is studying at Victoria University in Washington and putting together a thesis on the lives of early New Zealand women doctors. But one of the medics - who has
A young man was today starting a two-year prison sentence for taking part in a "sophisticated" burglary which nearly crippled British Telecom House. The break-in caused hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage to the Southend office's computers
A woman today criticised authorities for not acting swiftly to fill in a dangerous well which almost claimed the life of her dog. German Shepherd Inca spent six hours yelping for help and trying desperately not to drown after tumbling into the 6ft deep
A couple whose evening out ended in the cells are suing Essex Police for damages. Paul and Janet Peters, of Woodburn Close, Hadleigh are making a civil claim against the Chief Constable of Essex Police, David Stevens. They are suing for wrongful arrest
The Rev John Carr is rector of a tiny country church, set on top of a green hill, surrounded by trees and fields. He is also rector of a vast parish of 18,000 frequently turbulent souls in Basildon. He doesn't have far to travel between the two, as that
