Shooting will no longer be part of a Dunmow secondary school's extra-curricular activities. The decision has been taken by governors at Dunmow's Helena Romanes school after a parent's concern that teenagers were able to handle 12-bore shotguns and shoot
Colchester's police chief has spoken out in support of the town's carnival - following claims that by withdrawing backing the force had placed it under threat. Organisers said it could be axed this year because officers will not patrol the route. That
A campaign by Brightlingsea residents to save the former James and Stone shipyard for the town is gathering momentum. At a public meeting in the town on Wednesday night residents agreed to pledge their membership to the Brightlingsea Waterside Action
The Brentwood railway rapist has apologised to his traumatised victim, even after he prolonged her agony by faking a DNA test in a bid to avoid justice. Anthony Chandler, 41, raped the 25-year-old office worker in the station car park on January 3 1992
Ipswich Witches comfortably saw off the challenge of Belle Vue Aces in their Craven Shield fixture, winning 52-38. Polish superstar Tomasz Gollob was in a class of his own and looked like going through the card unbeaten, until he was taken well off the
Bank workers across Essex were today waiting to hear if their jobs are to be axed. Barclays has announced it is to cut 6,000 positions. The news comes as building work reaches its final stages on the Barclays assurance headquarters in Basildon. It is
As part of the LTA's Play Tennis 99 week, Hutton & Shenfield Union Church Tennis club provided free coaching for 40 under 12s on Saturday, May 1. Karen Finch, the club coach, nominated 10-year-old Sophie Adams of Hutton and 10-year-old Frank Claydon
Steve Tidiman of the Essex Roads Cycling club took no fewer than 10 minutes off his best time for 50 miles on Sunday. Riding in the ECCA 50-mile event held on the A12 between Chelmsford and Colchester, Steve recorded 1hr 56m 30s. Another to record an
After their disappointing performance in Saturday's league game, Brentwood had the opportunity to recover their poise in Sunday's match at home to Camberley from the Surrey League. Brentwood did, in fact, emerge victorious after a pulsating limited-overs
Essex are currently engaged in a Championship fixture against Yorkshire at Chelmsford, the match starting on Wednesday. The previous two matches with the Tykes have produced some splendid cricket. At Ilford in 1997, Yorkshire won by two wickets and when
There is a day full of live music for the family coming up in Wickford. Wickford people are good folk. You could say they're all heart, and many of them owe their hearts, or at least the on-going health of them, to the London Chest Hospital. It was for
The Killerwhales were crowned "Top Club" at the Southern Counties Championships at Crystal Palace over the weekend. At the end of the first half of the Southern Championship series all the senior and junior events were finished, and a hurried look at
Brentwood Swimming Clubs were in action at the weekend in the Runnymede Young Champs Gala. Many new personal best times were achieved and some of them swam extremely well to get through to the finals held in the evening. Charlene Glover powered her way
With Peter Such leading the way, Essex bowlers stuck manfully to their task against Yorkshire at Chelmsford on Wednesday to restrict their opponents to 304-7. That's still a healthy total but it threatened to be much bigger as the visitors moved beyond
Tsu-mo-kie Judo Club have had a busy time since Easter. Members from the Brentwood based club attended a week's course in Hemsby studying not only Judo but all other Martial Arts. The course was so successful that Tsu-Mo-Kie have arranged their own course
A brave toddler is fighting back after being born with a crippling disease. Dale Collins was born nine weeks early suffering from a rare disorder with left him low levels of sodium and potassium. He then survived two heart attacks brought on by the loss
The brother of a teenager who died after taking heroin has warned other youngsters to avoid the drug. David Mann's 18-year-old brother Stephen was found in his flat in Coopers Lane, Clacton, on Saturday night. He had been taking heroin for about a year
The owners of a successful Witham satellite communications company with a £6 million annual turnover have sold up in order to devote their lives to God. Entrepreneurs John Rogers, 61, and his wife, Jean, 60, who sold their company, Multipoint, to Silvermines
Cancer patients in mid Essex could face gruelling journeys to Ipswich for radiotherapy treatment if Colchester loses its status as a main cancer unit. Mid Essex now comes under the Eastern health region, rather than North Thames, and cancer services are
A gifted and popular schoolgirl has died after falling from a multi-storey car park. Amy Burgess, 16, of Prince Albert Road, West Mersea, was a year 11 pupil at Philip Morant School in Colchester and was due to sit her GCSEs. She fell from the busy NCP
A man has been jailed for three years after he harassed his ex-wife and threatened to kill her new partner and a policeman. Armed police had to be brought in to protect the woman from her ex-husband. And a policeman and his family also had to be moved
A multi-million pound project to improve Jaywick sea defences is ahead of schedule. The scheme, costing more than £8 million, should be completed in the next six weeks and will protect 2,000 homes from the sea. In 1953 the defences were breached with
Daniel Phillips, 10, a member of Brentwood based Recoil Trampoline Club, bounced his way to gold at a recent trampoline competition held at Harlow. It was only the second competition for Daniel who competed in the U11 Novice group. "We entered a very
On a dry evening, near St Neots, Ron Keeble, 34 Nomads, clocked 28.36 to win the Barnet Veterans "10" with Chelmer's Dave Nock, 21.02, his closest challenger. Other Chelmer times were G. Boden in 23.42, and A. Grant 24.15. The next morning Dave Nock clocked
The Irish Centre, Canning Town, London, played host to the England v Russia schoolboy boxing international. Clacton's Aaron Ball, 16, made his international debut, turning in a superb display to stop Russian Sergei Ognev in the second round. Ognev was
Sunday sees a lot of tough men looking and acting even tougher. Television personality Geoff Capes, who has held the title of the World's Strongest Man twice is in Maldon to host the Home Counties heat of the UK's Strongest Man competition. The former
Billericay Tory MP Teresa Gorman has been forced to apologise to MPs after failing to declare her own company on the list of members' interests. The MP told the House of Commons the omission was an "oversight" after she was forced to apologise to colleagues
An old farm complex could be converted to create a major country and outdoor pursuits centre in the Maldon district. It is proposed to revamp the 70-acre site at Home Farm, Broad Street Green Road, Great Totham by restoring two old Essex barns, creating
DJ Phil 'Catman' Hilldrup has been left devastated by the theft of his unique 300-strong 1940s and 50s original record collection and play gear worth £15,000. The equipment and the "near-priceless" 45rpm vinyl discs were taken from his storeplace at Sawkins
A Great Dunmow mother has pledged to raise £5,000 this year in a solo charity bid. Lorraine Clarke, 35, of Stortford Road, was moved to begin fund-raising after reading about the national charity SENSE, which helps people who are both deaf and blind.
Athletes from Chelmsford AC had their share of success at the recent Essex County Championships. In the Senior Mens events Mark Sandford gained a silver medal in the 800m and bronze in the 1500m. Roger Mills was third in the 3,000m walk. Ian Hewitt was
Police investigating the deaths of two women in a road crash near Braintree on Easter Sunday have released new details in the search for witnesses. They say two cars were seen driving ''erratically'' near the scene of the crash which claimed the lives
Southend Athletic Club's senior men scored their second successive league win against tough track opposition in Portsmouth. The Garon's Park outfit won after scoring 127 points - four ahead of one time superclub Enfield and Haringay. Team coach Roger
Crystal Palace defender Osagyefo Burton-Godwin was poised to sign for Colchester United today (Friday). U's boss Mick Wadsworth revealed the giant Birmingham born, 21-year-old centre back, more commonly known as Sagi Burton, is set to sign a two-year
Contrasting early-season fortunes for Billericay and Wickford come sharply into focus tomorrow when they clash on the second weekend of the new Shepherd Neame Pre-mier Division. Billericay's powerful batting line-up almost earned them victory over Saffron
Stuart Law smashed his first century of the summer as Essex gained a slender first innings lead of 24 over Yorkshire at Chelmsford. While his countrymen were suffering a shock defeat against New Zealand in the World Cup on Thursday, the 30-year-old Australian
This time it is serious - that is the message from Essex skipper Nasser Hussain as he and his England team-mates prepare for Saturday's all-important World Cup cricket clash with South Africa at The Oval. Nasser knows that victory over Sri Lanka and Kenya
Soccer star Martin Allen has revealed that top names Joe Cole, Julian Dicks, Simon Royce and Justin Edinburgh are joining him for his Basildon coaching course. But he has assured people the big cheeses will not be getting an easy ride. Allen has lured
It's a big weekend on the South-East Essex Mini-Soccer scene with the League Cup finals all going ahead at Great Wakering Rovers' Burroughs Park ground. Sunday's action starts with the under-10s at 10.15am and continues throughout the day until the under
Joe Dunne was today celebrating his runaway success as the Colchester United Player of the Year. The popular former Republic of Ireland Under 21 international defender, released by the U's at the end of the season, polled almost 30 per cent of the votes
A tesm from Clacton has been dubbed the cleanest in the country after going through the season without picking up a single booking. Clacton Town A, who finished third in the KeConnect Internet Division Three, went 18 league games and another half dozen
Basildon Post Office stamped their authority on the Southend Wednesday League Cup with a 2-1 final suuccess over Rayleigh Police in the final at Cupids Country Club. Matt Brooking's fourth-minute goal was a great start for the lawmen, but Russell Saggers
Belfairs Ladies Guest Day saw visiting captains Maureen Rowson (Rochford) and Barbara Ridgewell (Thorpe Hall) win on 53 points in the aggregate competition. Jackie Dowding and Louise Bryan were runners-up on 51. Barbara Lee and Gloria Goldring took the
James Brown has today confirmed he will be appearing at the award-winning V festival in Chelmsford's Hylands Park for the second year running. The legendary soul star enjoyed himself so much at V98 he has agreed to pay a return visit and will be headlining
Schools in Harwich and Clacton are through to the next round of a Government initiative to improve standards in education. The schools bidding to become Education Action Zones will now receive up to £20,000 to continue developing their plans which must
Serial rapist Baker chose sites for his attacks that suggested he knew the area well: 1. The sickening rape of a 15-year old schoolgirl by Baker was so horrific it stunned even the most experienced of detectives. The teenager was pounced on as she walked
Baker's youngest victim - a schoolgirl who has just turned 16 - knows exactly how she feels about her attacker. "I hate him. I want him put away for a very long time. In fact, I want someone to do to him what he has done to me." Sitting in the coffee
Good-looking DJ Richard Baker was jailed 11 years ago for raping a 19-year-old girl he and his brother lured into a sex trap. Baker was sentenced to six years imprisonment for the offence after pleading guilty at Exeter Crown Court in November 1987. His
Baker was arrested in the early hours of the morning about to board a plane to Spain at Heathrow Airport on December 16 last year. Operation Monarch officers confronted Baker as he got off the coach. They are believed to have been tipped off by a family
A Basildon couple with a 14-year old son and a 13-year old daughter were fined just £25 with £5 costs each for failing to ensure both attended Laindon's James Hornsby School. The boy had missed 50 out of 156 days' schooling and the daughter 101 of 156
The head of a village primary school has appealed for community support after it was heavily criticised by Government inspectors. Yvonne Potter, head at Great Bentley Primary School, sent out the rallying call following an Ofsted inspection which confirmed
Colchester's Millennium Mayor has urged his colleagues to invite him to meet the people they represent in their own wards. Martin Hunt urged fellow councillors to organise an event in their wards to give him the chance to meet the people of Colchester
A playful toddler got more than she bargained after sticking her hand inside in a video recorder. The child, aged between 12 and 18 months, was playing at home in Lakeside Walk, Canvey, when she became trapped by the machine. Her frantic mum tried to
Billericay police are considering stepping up patrols around Lake Meadows after a crazed flasher chased a pair of terrified children from the park and through the centre of the town. The two girls, aged nine and 11, were walking through Lake Meadows Park
A thorough investigation was yesterday launched into where to teach up to 40 Basildon children. Parents were warned by education bosses their children may not get a place at the school of their choice even if they live within the catchment area. The message
Clearview ladies opened their 1999 National Club League programme with an exciting and narrow win over Cardiff on Sunday. They entertained the Welsh club and won by the narrowest possible margin. The match score was 3-3 and the tie was decided on a shoot
Colchester United reminded fans to take advantage of their special pre-season offer by purchasing season tickets before June 11. Anyone doing so can make a saving of between £5-£30 on the various season tickets that are available. A normal adult's season
Brentwood-based Ford team Mondeo's scored its second podium finish of the year in the Autotrader British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch last weekend. After a superb qualifying session for the 25-lap sprint race the Mondeo pair of Alain Menu
Ballards Gore's Ian Brogan, who won the competition last year and enjoyed a great trip to Portugal as a result, is out of the 1999 Evening Echo Sunshine Challenge Golf Tournament. Brogan, who plays off four, had home advantage in his first round match
A grieving mother has criticised council chiefs after her son's grave was "trashed" during a routine turfing procedure. Ena Dorney accused Basildon Council workers of ruining son Daniel's grave at Pitsea Cemetery - and of forcing her to relive her ordeal
The parents of a young brain tumour victim proved British medical experts wrong when their daughter was saved by an American surgeon. Holly Crisp, eight, of Writtle, Chelmsford, is back home having received a successful operation to remove a tumour on
Black Notley is back on the map - with the publication of a new parish map. The map, part of a five-year initiative by Black Notley parish council to improve its footpath network, was designed by Bruce Long and Chris Fell to reflect the history and character
A Burnham company's showroom in Belgrade has been wrecked by NATO bombers. The premises, run by a Serbian local partner for Abbott International, was damaged in one raid and destroyed in another. Later, Abbott learned that the rented office and showroom
Sex monster Richard Baker's youngest victim has revealed how she hopes the DJ dies in prison for his sickening reign of terror. The plucky 15-year-old Leigh schoolgirl is still picking up the pieces of her shattered life knowing that the pervert who raped
Bomb disposal experts were called in when a fishing trawler netted an antiquated torpedo off the coast of Southend. The boat, called the Hornet, dragged up the torpedo near Maplin Sands, a large sand bank off the coast of Shoebury, at 9.40am on Wednesday
A man died yesterday after his car collided with a parked trailer. Police were today informing relatives and next-of-kin of the man, in his 60s, who was driving a blue Ford Sierra down Bramston Link in the Southfields industrial area, Laindon, towards
Three police officers have described how they hit a man at least six times with batons in a bid to arrest him. One officer told a jury that she swung her baton at Paul Peters "like a baseball bat" and hit him as hard as she could, but with little effect
It's the big date of the year on the youth soccer scene on Sunday when the Southend Junior League's annual cup finals are staged at Roots Hall. From 9.30 in the morning until late in the evening, those going along will see a galaxy of up-and-coming soccer
Nikki Lidstone, skippering Mike McCarthy's Yachting World five-tonner Elfreda, won Maldon Little Ship Club's annual ladies' race on Saturday. Five boats competed in the race, which was sailed in a brisk north-easterly wind on a course which took the fleet
All players and clubs are reminded that the annual meeting of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League will be held on Thursday, May 27 at the Old Chelmsfordians Club, Roxwell Road, Chelmsford, starting at 7.30pm. It is a league rule that all
Felsted rider Rowena Ockendon-Day celebrated her birthday by finishing second in the Young Show Jumper of the Year Awards. Her placing at the Royal Windsor Horse Show at the weekend has earned herself a place in the final to be held at Olympia at Christmas
Braintree's Simon Williams is a man with a mission - to compete in the World Karate Championships. Simon, 25, was close to becoming the new National Champion last week, when he failed by just 0.1 of a point and had to settle for runners-up position after
Chelmsford Chieftains have appointed Erskine Douglas as their head coach for next season. The club, impressed with Erskine's contribution after his appointment halfway through last season, and are confident that with his connections and knowledge he will
Chelmsford Golf Club were hosts to Thorpe Hall in the second round of the Thornton Cup. The morning foursomes were biased towards Chelmsford well into the second nine but Thorpe Hall pulled back the deficits to finish the five morning matches three up
Spartan were Harold Park's visitors to Raphael Park on Saturday, and in a reversal of last season's corresponding fixture, it was they who were pleased to settle for a draw. Losing the toss, Park were sent into bat first and were soon in trouble. Opener
The most satisfying aspect of the recent Essex match at The Oval was the fine century by Paul Prichard. At one stage, it appeared that his 103 against Surrey would underpin a second Championship win of the season for Essex although ultimately that was
Essex Seconds enjoyed an eight wicket victory over Kent in the Second Eleven Championship match at Maidstone. Kent won the toss and batted first, Essex took two early wickets, but then had to work hard to dismiss the batsmen. David Thompson took a wicket
I'm staying. Kieron Dyer fired the defiant message as Ipswich's hopes of a Premiership place evaporated at an emotionally-charged Portman Road. The England under-21 international scored twice as Ipswich won 4-3 on the night but lost out to Bolton on away
Matchroom boxer Michael Ayers will be defending his IBO lightweight title in London on Tuesday evening. Ayers will be topping the bill at a dinner show at the prestigious Hilton Hotel in Park Lane when he meets South African Mkuseli Kondile. Unbeaten
They gave their all - but in the end, it wasn't enough for Ipswich, who saw their Premiership dream slip away. In one of the most exhilarating and exciting games ever seen at Portman Road, Ipswich played their hearts out only to have them broken on the
EastEnders' star Ross Kemp, who plays Cockney bully boy Grant Mitchell, will wow fans when he appears tonight at a Canvey nightclub. Ross, who recently won best actor at the British Soap Awards, will be turning up at Kings Club at Kings Park on Canvey
Braintree Council is being asked to allow housing on the site of Tabor High Middle School in Panfield Lane. An Essex County Council outline planning application, lodged this week, includes the provision of roads onto the site. A spokeswoman for County
So you find shopping a bit of a drag? Saturday will be a real drag at Lakeside, but not the boring kind. Two of the fastest cars in the world will be on display on the stage on level one in the shopping centre, from 8am to 7pm. There will also be a chance
Essex-based Concord Auto-grass Club held their second meeting of the season at their Boreham track on Sunday. After three sets of qualifying heats, the Class 1 Minis got the finals underway. Steven Lodge, from Dunmow, continued his good form with another
Changes will be made at Ipswich in the summer vowed Town chairman David Sheepshanks. The Blues supremo paid tribute to the players and fans after their gallant play-off failure for the third successive season. While Premiership vultures hover for the
Colchester United will be well represented in next weekend's three Wembley promotion play-off finals. Former U's FA Trophy winning hero Scott Barrett - a double penalty saver against Rotherham in Wednesday's semi-finals - keeping goal for Leyton Orient
Mick Hutson was the only Southend Wheeler in the ECCA 50-mile time trial on the E5 course based at Boreham. He made the top 12 with a new personal best of 1 hr 55 mins 21 secs - a seven-minute improvement on one of the fastest days of the year so far.
A drunken plumber became so violent when he was asked to turn off porn he was displaying on his laptop computer it took six people to restrain him, a court has heard. Ian Bottomley 36, of Larch Grove, Witham, eventually had to be sedated and handcuffed
Bogus electricity workers have stolen a pensioner's life savings. The fraudsters went to the 81-year-old woman's home in Harwich Road, Colchester, at 12.15pm yesterday. One of them said he was from the electricity board and asked her to pull out the plugs
Michael Cottee has one of the most important roles during the current bombardment of Serbia. The Chelmsford man is aboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Invincible, part of the UK task force. The 30-year-old former pupil of Moulsham High School works
A 41-year-old Chelmsford man died from an overdose because he was hoarding prescribed drugs to binge on once a week, an inquest heard. Stephen Chapman was found dead by his wife at his home in Dorset Avenue in January. Mr Chapman, a former drug addict
This is Ben Earnshaw. Doctors gave him three months to live when he was diagnosed with the rare liver disease Alagille syndrome. He is now 16 months old and his parents are raising cash to fly to the United States to discover more about the disease. Ben
The hunt for the fiend dubbed as one of Britain's most prolific sex attackers fell onto the shoulders of Det Supt David Bright, Essex Police's longest serving senior investigating officer. Here, in his own words, he describes how this has been an inquiry
DJ Richard Baker - initially dubbed the A13 rapist - was today (Friday) convicted of three rapes and a string of other sex offences. The Old Bailey jury of nine women and three men delivered a unanimous verdict after eight hours and 20 minutes of deliberations
Evening Echo Motor Show, Sunday May 30 and Monday May 31, at Southend Airport. Gates open at 9.30am. Admission £3 adults, £2 children. Attractions include classic and new cars on display and in cavalcade, airplanes at the airport specially for the airport's
