Southend United coach Mick Gooding spelt out a few harsh home truths to his players following yesterday's weak Avon Insurance Combination League defeat at Roots Hall against Swindon Town. Goals from Robins strikers Charlie Griffin and Guiliano Grazioli
The Osborne Cricket League has taken the unprecedented step of banning players for the non-payment of fines. The league, which involves teams from 46 clubs in north and mid Essex, took the decision after the late withdrawal of Colchester side Pirates.
Barclays bosses have told a stunned village: "We are pulling out - and there is nothing you can do to stop us." Save Our Bank campaign leaders met for talks with Barclays chiefs last night. They pleaded with executives to spare the threatened Sible Hedingham
A long-term aim to deter all Colchester motorists from commuting into town is gathering pace. Colchester Council has appointed consultants to look at the viability of introducing a major park-and-ride scheme. If seen as an option, it could mean drivers
A Chelmsford shopping centre manager has attacked a decision to build an amusement centre in the town. Mick McDonagh, manager of the High Chelmer precinct, said yesterday an amusement centre in the Grade II listed building in High Street, would "devalue
My pick of the bunch It's the time of year when all footballers up and down the country have to vote for their fellow professionals in the annual player of the season awards. Everyone has to pick a divisional team comprising the best opponents they have
Detectives investigating an armed robbery in Colchester are renewing their appeal for witnesses. The robbery took place in Chapel Street North at about 2.45pm on Monday when two men entered a flat and demanded money from the two men inside. One of the
There were more than 850 exhibits on show when Stanford-le-Hope District Scouts staged their annual handicrafts exhibition and competition. Entries at Allott Hall, in Park Road, ranged from Beavers creating aliens from vegetables to scouts designing internet
This Is Essex partner the Evening Gazette has just presented its 36,000 name petition fighting to keep cancer services local to North Essex Health Authority. Chairman Alec Sexton accepted it from one of our ardent campaign supporters, Phyllis Richardson
The devoted parents of brain damaged Jodie Nicholls have been given hope for her future after they appealed for help to secure the treatment they feel is vital for her happiness. Brian and Debbie Nicholls, of Clare Avenue, Wickford, are staggered by the
High heart death rates, more than double the national average in one part of Harold Hill, have prompted ambitious remedial action from health bosses. Barking and Havering Health Authority is giving itself 10 years to cut the number of fatalities from
A headteacher today thanked This Is Essex partner the Echo for its help after a unique garden for deaf and blind children was restored to its former glory just days after being ransacked by vandals. Dorothy Ainsley said she had been overwhelmed by offers
Volunteers and managers at a dog welfare centre today told of their horror after two thieves stole an Alsatian on the pretext of adopting it. The theft was branded as "disgusting" by Alpine Rescue Centre co-owner Alan Wheatman. Visitors to the registered
Battle lines were today being drawn over plans to build new homes on green belt land between Southend and Rochford. Cabinet councillors vowed to object to proposals to build affordable housing on the Cherry Orchard brickworks off the new B1013 access
Colchester soccer stalwart Roy Rogers has died at the age of 64. Known as Ginger because of the colour of his hair, Roy had been involved in the running of the Colchester and East Essex League - currently sponsored by Ke-Connect Internet - for more than
Tiptree snooker star Ali Carter progressed to the second round of the £400,000 Regal Scottish Open on Tuesday. He beat fellow Englishman Lee Gilbert 5-0 at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre. Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001
It was a long time coming but worth the wait - Witham beat Loughton convincingly to win the Eastern Counties Division Four South title. Three previous cancellations by the home team meant the possiblity of a thrilling end to the season - not helped by
A mobile phone mast may have to be pulled down - because it could be in breach of planning law. Residents in Manningtree fighting to have the mast removed have discovered it is more than two metres too tall. The structure was built without planning permission
The Towngate Theatre in Basildon could see live performance returning to its stage, but Conservative councillors are warning it could be at the expense of massive subsidies from district tax payers. The possibility of the major town centre venue reopening
Be careful - big brother is watching you! That's the message to vandals who may be thinking of causing trouble in Old Leigh. Fishermen, Southend Council and Leigh Town Council have got together and installed five CCTV cameras, at a cost of £9,000, around
James Taylor, 14, has high hopes for his future. It could hold a career in Formula One or as a TV presenter. He is part of a team who have got through to the finals of Pump It Up, the Children's ITV game show which pits teams of youngsters against one
Passing motorists using a heavy-duty jack pulled a car driver alive from beneath a blazing truck after a smash on the A12 early yesterday. The car driver had stopped to help a lorry driver whose cab had caught fire on the road at Mountnessing at 6.20am
Practise makes perfect! Eight-year-old David Watson was one of a group of hopefuls hoping to make it into the Southend team for the BAA Stansted Essex Youth Games. David joined other schoolchildren from the borough at Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre
Angry children and parents are calling for the reinstatement of three coaches following an internal bust-up at Basildon Swimming Club. Chief coach Steve Ham, assistant coach Mike Adams and teaching co-ordinator Debbie Maxwell all quit following a parents
It's the big one tonight as arch-rivals Clacton and Wivenhoe clash in the East Anglian Cup at the Rush Green Bowl. After weeks of hype, the match they've all been looking forward to kicks off at 7.45pm with a big crowd expected. With many players having
The world's largest catamaran which was damaged during trials for a round-the-world trip will be back, its Benfleet sponsors said today. Musto, based in Linden Road, has spent around half a million pounds backing the bid by the catamaran named Team Phillips
COWARD CUP FOURTH ROUND A late winner from Steve Champ put Templar through 4-3 against Galleywood, a game in which Templar were never behind. However, Division Four side Galleywood matched their Premier Division opponents every step of the way after an
The funeral of a couple killed in a road accident will be held tomorrow. Walter Reed, 77, and his wife Gladys, 84, died when they were in collision with a car while crossing Church Hill, Ramsey, after leaving a prayer meeting at St Michael's Church on
Police fear traffic chaos if proposals to cut Easter Bank Holiday cover by three-quarters go ahead. Traffic police in north Essex today raised concerns their strength over the period could be cut. They understand management is considering just three cars
An elderly cyclist died after hitting plastic pipes which had been thrown about in an underpass. The 79-year-old man fell from his bike and smashed his head on a concrete floor after he hit the piping in the underpass at the Galley's Corner roundabout
Colchester United fans will have to pay more to watch their team in Football League action at Layer Road next season. The club revealed today that an extra £1 is being added to admission prices across the board with the exception of concessionary tickets
A heateacher has urged parents to help rid his school of one of the worst attendance records in Essex. Already this term, John Bramston School, Witham, has 758 unexplained half-day absences on record. Headteacher Ted Rowley has vowed to crack down, despite
If Saturday's child works hard for its living, Terri Hawkins' children could well start their own business boom. Her fifth child, Robson, followed in his four siblings' footsteps when he was born on Saturday. Miss Hawkins, 31, and partner Ian Osborne
With seven players missing through injury, Braintree Town manager John Bennett had to do some last minute shopping for new signings before the transfer deadline takes effect. So it was a somewhat unfamiliar line-up that Iron fielded for the visit to bottom
Police are hunting a motorist who knocked over a ten-year-old boy and drove off without stopping. Police are appealing for help to find the male driver who struck Luke Moran, of Thorpe Road, Great Clacton just after he left nearby St John's Church Hall
A motorist was dragged to safety after a blazing lorry fell on top of him. He had stopped on the A12 at 6.20am yesterday to help a trucker whose lorry cab was on fire when the good deed turned to disaster. The trucker called the fire brigade for help.
Braintree's season of woe continued unabated at Beckers Green Road as they were totally outgunned by a young and mobile pack. Skipper Matt Wadforth made no excuses for this latest reverse in a campaign littered with misfortune. Once again the black and
A fight to keep community midwife teams in Colchester and Halstead has been won. The future of the Iceni and Valley teams facing the axe has been secured, North Essex Health Authority agreed yesterday. And their method, where mothers have continuous care
A worried mother claims she is risking her life and those of her twin sons by taking government advice and walking them to school. Mrs Julie Hindley, 44, of White Hart Lane, Hockley, is shocked by the daily danger she faces with her five - and-a-half
A heartbroken dog owner is offering a £1,000 reward for the return of his beloved Jack Russell, Fly, who went missing last Friday in South Weald Park. Stephen Porter says he and his son Ricci, 12, are desperately missing the six-year-old family pet, who
Poodle Billy gave a dog warden the slip and then trekked a mile across country to his owner's mother's home - where he had never been before in his life. Billy's owners, Donald McCormick and his partner, Mandy Smith, were frantic when he went missing.
He speaks with a broad Lancashire accent, but he's an Essex boy now through and through. And when he's not skippering the county on the cricket field, he loves nothing more than to get away from it all with "Mrs Ronnie" - his wife Lorraine - and "Little
An unremarkable game on Saturday saw the teams gain a point each even though they created barely a handful of chances between them. Stafford Browne for Town, however, had a decent chance to score just before the break and a strike at that stage might
Essex Trophy finalists Essex Arms progressed to the Final of their Divisional Cup for the second year running after a well contested derby against Warley Hospital at The Drive and they will now play Thorndon Park in the final on May 7. Warley started
Both teams needed maximum points from Saturday's match at Spa Road, Hungerford to make sure they are safe from relegation, and Witham in an attempt to catch the teams above them but they had to settle for one each and Witham are now almost certain of
It was a long time coming but worth the wait as Witham beat Loughton convincingly to win the Eastern Counties Division Four South title. John Clark's men knew a win would mean the team winning the divisional title outright. Witham opened the scoring with
Colchester United goalkeeper Simon Brown is celebrating the news he has been waiting for all season. But there was gloomy news for the U's former Welsh international midfielder Geraint Williams who has been forced to end his playing career because of
Ipswich Town are using their ten-day break from action to heal some of their war wounds. Town have a number of injury concerns and were dealt another blow when Jim Magilton pulled out of the Northern Ireland squad because of a thigh injury. He joins Fabian
Shopkeepers blame bus lanes for hitting trade in Colchester town centre. Plans for a protest demonstration have been put on hold, but as further bus lanes and pedestrian zones are proposed traders warn of a looming crisis. A meeting of North East Essex
Virgin has defended its decision to build a multi-million pound leisure centre in Thundersley. The company hit back after Castle Point MP Christine Butler wrote to Virgin and suggested it look at alternative sites in Rayleigh Weir. However, Virgin bosses
The 1999-2000 Braintree District Indoor Cricket League season has just ten matches left in it, the final eight League matches from the top two divisions this Sunday and then the two Cup Finals the following Sunday, all the games being at the Braintree
Snooker ace Ali Carter romped into the third round of the Regal Scottish Open with another fine win yesterday. Carter, from Tiptree, beat Dean Reynolds 5-0 and has still to lose a frame in the tournament. Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001
A Colchester schoolboy is jumping for joy after securing a national title. Matthew Aspinall, from Marks Tey, was competing in the finals of the UK Schools' Trampolining competition in Newcastle. The 14-year-old St Benedict's School pupil was competing
Campaigners fighting for improved rail services in Essex were disappointed by Railtrack's 12-year finance plan announced today. Plans for the Stansted Airport to Braintree link are not mentioned in its newly-published report and other cash is earmarked
If one thing can sum up Southend then it is the pier. CHARLIE MELLOR explores what councillors will be told tonight about the longest pleasure pier in the world as they bid to get a public consensus on plans to rejuvenate the landmark. The review spearheaded
Police have seized an air pistol which was taken into school by a 14-year-old boy. The boy approached Clacton County High School head John Clay after the school had warned children to be on the lookout for suspicious characters after air weapons had been
Plans to exclude the public from discussions about a proposed multi-million-pound barrage across the River Blackwater has caused an outcry among traders. The proposals have already been discussed by the three area planning sub-committees of Maldon District
Police are growing 'increasingly concerned' for the welfare of a Doddinghurst teenager who has not been seen since leaving for college at the weekend. Amy Nawagamuwa, also known as Amy Nam, left her Doddinghurst Road home for the railway station on Saturday
Terrified residents plagued by vandalism and noise could soon be put out of their misery by housing chiefs. People living on the Bartram Road estate, Braintree, have claimed they are being subjected to "socially unacceptable and loutish behaviour". The
Two deaf and blind people have received awards to help others. Annette Bodsworth, 45, of Beatty Gardens, Braintree, is deaf and partially-sighted and Russ Palmer, 41, of Connaught Avenue, Frinton, is the only deaf and blind qualified music therapist in
The Government was today urged to axe Basildon College principal Chris Chapman. Union leaders have written to education minister David Blunkett to demand the under-fire principal goes. The college lecturers' union Natfhe said unless there were "exceptional
Three people had an incredible escape from their car after an accident on a busy road between Colchester and the coast. Their Rover 820 ended up on its roof in a ditch on the A133 at Clingoe Hill just before 8.10am. Essex Police spokesman Norman Hicks
A pioneering support group which offered a vital lifeline to hundreds of Billericay and Brentwood cancer sufferers has decided to call it a day after 15 years. East Essex Cancer Care was set up in 1985 to provide what was then an almost unique source
More than 1,000 women in south Essex are being urged to get screened for hepatitis C. The women are among 2,500 former hospital patients throughout the country at potential risk after being operated on by a surgeon found to be carrying the virus. By coincidence
