Archive

  • Thorpe, Clacton: Murder charge man bailed

    A man accused of murder has been released on bail by Colchester magistrates. Lee Smith, 21, of Seymour Road, Clacton, is accused of murdering Justin Chant at Guy Wright House, in Byng Close, Thorpe le Soken. The alleged murder is said to have taken place

  • Maldon: Second raid on supermarket

    Police are appealing for help after a raid at Budgen's supermarket in Maldon on Saturday. It is the second raid to hit the High Street store in less than six months - this time around £2,000 worth of cigarettes were snatched. Now the store is urgently

  • Soccer: Thanks very much my U's

    Colchester United boss Steve Whitton was in a jubilant mood today after his injury-hit squad handed him an early 40th birthday present with victory over Notts County. Whitton, who celebrates his big milestone today, will be making sure it's cream cakes

  • Angling: Macey angles for more TV stardom

    Canvey hero Dean Macey has been in the spotlight again - but it has nothing to do with his athletics prowess. This time it was the 23-year-old decathlete's angling skills that were being filmed as Sky TV brought their cameras to Hockley Angling Club for

  • Soccer: Shrimpers can't shake off goal hoodoo

    Southend United were gifted a golden opportunity to get off to a flyer at Hartlepool, but struggling forward Martin Carruthers continued his recent poor run of form by fluffing an early penalty. Left-winger Scott Forbes won the spot-kick after just two

  • Soccer: Cup ban blow for Gulls' Bods

    Christmas has come early for Canvey Island defender Mick Bodley - and ruined his chances of playing in his side's biggest match ever against the Southend United club he once captained. The Islanders were all set to play their FA Cup second round tie at

  • Stansted: Airlines cash in on chaos

    Passengers are letting the plane take the strain following the Hatfield rail crash. Stansted low cost airlines Ryanair and Go have both recorded increased passenger numbers to Scotland since the Hertfordshire incident on October 18. Irish carrier, Ryanair

  • Colchester: £15,000 heroin haul

    Police have seized heroin with an estimated street value of £15,000 from a Colchester estate. Officers from the force's undercover drug unit swooped on the house in the Monkwick area of the town. A quantity of what officers believe to be crack cocaine

  • Soccer: Billy the kid is a born Canvey fan

    Young Billy Overall is one of Canvey FC's biggest fans - and one of the youngest at just two-years-old. Billy is no stranger at Canvey's Park Lane ground as he went to his first match when he was two days old. The toddler has his sights set on playing

  • Soccer: Tilson's loyalty lies with Gulls

    Southend United's Player of the Millennium, Steve Tilson, insisted there will be no divided loyalties when his Canvey Island club go head-to-head with the Blues in the FA Cup second round on Saturday week. Wickford-based Tilson, who left Blues on a free

  • Soccer: Furtherwick Park enjoy Reds event

    The year seven football team from Canvey's Furtherwick Park School have really been seeing red. For they proved to be tops in a competition organised by Manchester United. Furtherwick's head of PE Richard Mcilwraith said: "Manchester United have been

  • Clacton: Teenager convicted of baby's manslaughter

    A Clacton teenager has been found guilty of the manslaughter of his four-month-old stepdaughter. David Sandiford, 17, showed no emotion as the jury of nine women and three men returned their verdict on Thursday after one hour and ten minutes of deliberation

  • Chelmsford: Hospital plans approved

    Plans for a £71 million development scheme for Broomfield Hospital have taken another step forward with endorsement for the proposals from Mid Essex Hospitals Trust. At a meeting last Thursday the trust's board gave its approval to the scheme to centralise

  • Essex: County backs care home sale

    Half of the county's care homes for the elderly will be sold off or leased, while the rest will still be owned by the county council. But councillors agreed that none of the 25 homes in Essex should close. As angry pensioners protested on the steps of

  • Colchester: Revamp for New Town likely

    Future regeneration of a run-down part of Colchester is expected to be given the green light. The ambitious plans to revamp Magdalen Street and Barrack Street in New Town will be considered by councillors this week. Councillors will be asked to adopt

  • Canvey: Cash damages for patient 'an insult'

    A Canvey man has turned down an increased offer of damages after he was unlawfully locked up in a mental hospital. Gary Huzzey is claiming compensation for false imprisonment after winning a High Court battle over his "unlawful and irrational" detention

  • Basildon: Man killed, five injured in car crashes

    A man was killed and five people seriously injured in two separate car crashes in Fobbing over the weekend which brought misery and chaos to the area. In the first tragedy a man died and his son was seriously injured when their car left the road at the

  • Chelmsford: Radio link aids police

    Chelmsford's crime-fighting Publink radio system has had a successful first year. Just a few hours after its launch, there were arrests for drug and car offences. Now, just over a year on, the system which links pubs, clubs and cafs directly with the

  • Braintree: Calling out for phones

    Ring in the changes over the festive season by recycling outdated mobile phones. Braintree Council is appealing for clubs and businesses to help people recycle old mobiles. National charity Child Advocacy International , which provides medical support

  • Cross country: Silver show for runners

    The two Southend Highs plus Rayleigh's Fitzwimarc all looked for the silver lining with considerable success in Yorkshire on Saturday. They were battling for glory in the 20th English Schools' Cross-Country Cup final at Tadcaster Grammar School and the

  • Soccer: Gulls suffer a Cup hangover

    Canvey's preparations for next Sunday's big FA Cup second round derby with Southend United at Roots Hall were given an extra burden by this draw at Division One Harlow. For Gulls must replay this FA Umbro Trophy second round tie at Park Lane tomorrow

  • Soccer: Moore saves Town in battle with Hastings

    Billericay Town's own battle of Hastings will have to wait a little longer for conclusion after they fought out a 2-2 draw in their Carlsberg FA Trophy second round clash at New Lodge. It was the visitors' first ever visit to Town - ironically they return

  • Colchester: Driver attacked by dog owners

    A motorist was taken to hospital with head injuries after he was attacked by dog owners The incident happened after there was an accident involving the motorist and a dog. Three men were walking with a dog along Old Heath Road, Colchester, opposite the

  • Chelmsford: Plan to extend CCTV to out-of-town areas

    Plans to extend closed circuit television (CCTV) are being considered at sites in Great Baddow, Melbourne, Moulsham and Kings Road and the Boarded Barns estate areas of Chelmsford. A 700 name petition for CCTV has already been presented to Chelmsford

  • Eastwood: Man killed in road horror

    A man was killed in the early hours of Sunday morning when he was hit by a car as he sat in the middle of a busy road. The 30-year-old man - who is from the Rayleigh area - is believed to have been drinking with friends at a nearby pub in Rayleigh Road

  • Colchester: Boy hurt in hit and run

    A teenage boy is in hospital after being knocked off his bicycle in a hit and run accident on Friday night. The 13-year-old was left lying in the road after being thrown over the top of a car which failed to stop. Police are appealing for witnesses to

  • Essex: Urgent need for long-term foster carers

    Nearly 80 children need foster carers who can offer them permanent homes for the rest of their childhood, says Essex Social Services. The department's children's placement manager, Sue Cook, said, "Many foster carers look after children for just a few

  • South Essex: Nursing boost for region

    Patients in Brentwood, Billericay and Wickford are set to benefit from a boost in the number of nurse consultants for the NHS Eastern Region. The move to create a further 22 posts, raising the total in the region to 35, was announced by health minister

  • Colchester: Councillor blames "complete confusion" after crash

    The controversial new traffic system at Middleborough, Colchester, claimed its first victim on the afternoon it came into force - Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Tim Young. Mr Young has blamed "complete confusion" among motorists after he

  • Southend: Hit-and-run probe

    A Southend man has been left seriously injured after what is believed to have been a hit-and-run accident. Police are appealing for witnesses to the crash which happened in the early hours of yesterday morning in Canvey. The man, who has not been named

  • Thundersley: Savage teenager loses his appeal

    A Thunderlsey teenager who attacked his victim so viciously he ended up looking as if he had been in a car smash, failed to get his prison sentence overturned at the Court of Appeal. The 17-year-old from Queensmere, who cannot be named for legal reasons

  • Basildon: Town bans reptile show sales

    A highly controversial reptile show is set to be banned from Basildon next year. A report will be submitted to Basildon councillors within the next month, which is expected to change the authority's policy on live animal exhibitions. A row erupted in

  • Basildon: Ghyllgrove gets glowing report

    A Basildon school is celebrating after being given a glowing report by Government inspectors. Ghyllgrove Community Junior School, in The Gore, was described by Ofsted as a good school with "outstanding" provision for hearing-impaired pupils. Inspectors

  • Tendring: Concern for sea birds

    Sea birds caked in oil have been found along the Tendring coast. The guillemots have been coming in at a rate of about one a day since last week, when the first birds were found at Jaywick, Clacton and Harwich. Now one environmentalist has said she thinks

  • Maldon: Change of heart on CCTV bid

    Maldon district councillors have had a change of heart over closed circuit TV for the town. Officers had recommended to the cabinet committee that a bid to the Home Office should be dropped because of high running costs, lack of partnership funding and

  • Essex: Speed cameras project success

    A scheme to make speeding motorists pay for more speed cameras is already reaping benefits. Elaine Beckett, Essex County Council's road safety officer for Braintree, spoke at a meeting of the Braintree Division Police and Community Consultative Group

  • Colchester: Housefire averted by window cleaner

    A quick-thinking window cleaner was praised for his actions after saving a house from going up in flames. Martin Hastings, 22, was cleaning windows at Maldon Road when he spotted smoke billowing from a customer's house. The owner had gone out and accidentally

  • Westcliff: Post office robbery

    A post office manager was left shaken after a robbery at his store in Eastwood Boulevard, Westcliff. Two men asked to buy chewing gum and cigarettes. As manager Tony Moltino, 42, went to serve them he was punched in the face. One leaned over the counter

  • Soccer: U's show team spirit

    When the going gets tough, the tough get going! And when the chips are down - as they were for Colchester's injury and illness-ravaged squad going into this intriguing encounter with Notts County - team work and team spirit counts for a lot. Manager Steve

  • Clacton: New chest pain clinic open in February

    A new chest pain clinic aimed at making a swifter diagnosis of heart disease will open at Clacton Hospital in February, it has been revealed. Funded by Tendring Primary Care Trust, sessions will initially be held on Tuesday afternoons and Thursday evenings

  • Thurrock: Meeting with c2c bosses demanded

    A South Essex council is to demand an urgent meeting with c2c rail chiefs to discuss the "woeful" service between Shoebury and London. Thurrock Council has backed a call from councillor John Kent for "senior management of c2c to meet members and officers

  • South Essex: New trains on track

    Train company c2c says it is hopeful passengers will start seeing the new Electrostar trains back in service by the New Year. Spokesman for the company, Alan Wheeler, admitted the unexpected problems with the promised Electrostars meant the company only

  • Southend: Death verdict stuns family

    An angry family fighting to learn how a Runwell Hospital patient died are considering legal action. A Chelmsford inquest concluded that Mrs Dorothy Allen, 89, died from natural causes. However, the jury was directed to the verdict by coroner, Mrs Caroline

  • Essex: Anger over new train fares rise

    A rail users' group has attacked a fare price increase announced by train operator First Great Eastern - while passengers face misery from emergency timetables. The Rail Passengers Committee of Eastern England said the rise of up to 3.3 per cent in some

  • Chelmsford: Train doors open 30ft above town

    Sliding doors on a rush-hour commuter train were opened on a viaduct 30 feet above Chelmsford last Friday evening. The driver stopped the busy train four coaches short of Chelmsford station because he momentarily forgot that it was 12 coaches long. David

  • Colchester: Estate computer scheme success

    A scheme to bring computer training to residents on a Colchester estate is proving a success. Residents on Greenstead have been able to take part in free IT courses on their doorstep. Organised by Signpost, the advice service for unemployed, and held

  • Essex: Christmas train problems

    Using the train in north and mid-Essex could be a difficult business over the Christmas period. The urgent engineering work following the Hatfield crash means that train companies which run the main line routes from Colchester will not be going into Liverpool

  • Manningtree: Home and its staff still on knife edge

    The chairman of the Friends of Foundry Court Day Centre Shirley Horrigan said today the delay in making a decision about the Manningtree home was "demoralising" for the staff and residents. "They don't know what is going to happen to them. They are on

  • Colchester: New women's refuge

    A new women's refuge is planned for the Colchester area because of an increase in the numbers of domestic violence victims coming forward. The building would cost just under £1 million to complete and would offer accommodation for 12 women and their families

  • Colchester: Severalls vision finally unveiled

    A draft masterplan for a complex development including a new Colchester United stadium has just been completed. The result of years of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the masterplan outlines development of council-owned agricultural land at Cuckoo Farm

  • Mountnessing: Green light for plan to develop scrapyard

    The Government has finally given the go ahead to a scheme that will see a derelict Mountnessing scrap yard disappear beneath an ambitious new development. For almost a decade, the residents of Lower Road say they have had to put up with living across

  • Brentwood: Adoption services get thumbs up

    The job of finding new families for Brentwood children who cannot live with their own families is in safe hands. This is the conclusion of Essex County councillors from the Health and Social Services select committee. As a result, the chairman, Cllr Pat

  • Mid-Essex: Survey aims to cut accidents

    An escalating number of accidents and traffic queuing problems are due to be targeted in a new safety offensive along a major mid-Essex road. The best ways to beat the traffic problems on Braintree bypass are being investigated. A firm of consultants

  • Rugby round-up: Colts cut Oaks down to size...

    NEW ASH OAKS COLTS 5 WESTCLIFF COLTS 60 Good work by the Colts enabled Westcliff to run out convincing winners against a team made up of a combination of Sevenoaks and New Ash Green players. The visitors were 14 points up with only nine minutes gone and

  • Tendring: Double Blue Flag bid

    Two prestigious European Blue Flags could be flying high over Tendring's beaches within three years. Dovercourt looks set to get one next year and after an encouraging set of water quality results, Clacton could follow suit by 2003. Last year, Clacton's

  • Soccer: Colchester back on track

    A missed penalty cost Southend dear but Colchester secured three valuable points against Notts County at the weekend with a 2-0 win. On-loan York player Barry Conlon wrapped up the points for Second Division Colchester United in the 78th minute, adding

  • Soccer: Views on the Blues from Howard Southwood

    Thank god the police insisted that Canvey Island switched their dream FA Cup 2nd round tie against Southend United to Roots Hall. The Ryman Premier League outfit were determined that the "Essex Cup Final" should be played on their tiny Park Lane ground

  • Soccer: Bloodied Barry keen to stay

    Colchester United's blood-stained hero Barry Conlon is hoping he has done enough to earn another loan spell with the U's - or to sign for the Layer Road club permanently. Scorer of the all-important second goal that finally killed off Notts County - his

  • Colchester: Roadworks are put to the people test

    The temporary signs have finally gone, the barriers shepherding pedestrians in the right direction are no more and the Middleborough roadworks are finished. Motorists and pedestrians have faced agony since July when work started. Colchester Council hoped

  • Pitsea: Don't dice with death says star Scott

    Pop star Scott Robinson has warned youngsters about solvent abuse following the death of a 14-year-old Pitsea girl. Asthma sufferer Stacey Moore - a pupil at Chalvedon School, in Wickford Avenue, Pitsea - died instantly of asphyxia after inhaling from

  • Brentwood: Drivers face pollution threat

    Major Essex roads may be producing pollution above national targets. Brentwood Council has been carrying out a review of air quality within the borough and has discovered that the M25, A127, and A12 all have levels of pollutants which may be exceeding

  • Halstead: Pensioner injured by conman

    An elderly woman was pushed to the floor and left with a broken arm after bogus callers struck at homes in the Braintree area, stealing hundreds of pounds. In the first incident, a male with black curly hair and a grey jumper called at a house in Braintree

  • Layer: Cyclist lucky to be alive

    The mother of a teenage cyclist who was the victim of a hit and run driver has spoken of how lucky he is to be alive. Stephen Hill, 13, was knocked off his bike and left lying in the road after the accident in Layer de la Haye at 9.30pm on Friday . The

  • Rayleigh: Man killed as he sat in road

    A family was today mourning the death of a man who was hit by a car as he sat in the middle of a busy road. The 30-year-old man from the Rayleigh area was believed to have been drinking with friends in the Brookside Tavern, in Rayleigh Road, Eastwood,

  • Basildon: Road death witnesses questioned

    Detectives probing the death of 17-year-old Steven "Bobby" Simpson have discovered vital witnesses after stopping more than 200 drivers in the spot where he was killed. Bobby suffered massive injuries and later died in Basildon Hospital after being hit

  • Maldon: Driver escapes car plunge

    A car veered out of control and down a railway embankment near Maldon. A woman travelling from Maldon to Hatfield Peverel drove over a railway bridge near the B1018 at Langford at 6.40am today (Monday). She used her mobile phone to call the emergency

  • Colchester: Tribute to "true gentleman"

    Pensioners across Colchester will today be remembering with great affection the "true gentleman" who relentlessly fought to get a better deal. Cyril Williamson, chairman of the Colchester Pensioners' Action Group, has died, aged 75. And today, his wife