Campaigners have welcomed Basildon Zoo's decision to stop keeping dangerous animals. The business, run by the Surcouf family in London Road, Vange, will lose its "zoo status" from November 12, meaning the rehousing of its big cat collection. Basildon
The idea of a town centre manager for Braintree has received strong support from town centre traders. Russell Everard, Braintree Council economic development manager, who raised the idea at the Braintree Area Forum on Wednesday night, said Braintree Town
A 34-year-old Chelmsford woman rescued from the bedroom of her smoke filled home at the weekend praised Chelmsford firefighters...and a burglar alarm for saving her life. "The fire brigade were brilliant - and I also have the alarm fitted by the previous
Four men were yesterday (Thursday) charged with drug smuggling offences after cocaine worth £32m was seized at Southend Airport. The men were from Somerset, North Yorkshire, West Sussex, and Lagos, Nigeria. Customs officers were still questioning a Serb
The future of the Thameside complex in Grays is still in doubt - but the councillor responsible for the building says he promises to do all he can to keep it or all the services it provides going. It was in November last year that it was revealed the
An angry businessman is threatening to sue Anglian Water over its pollution leak into the River Crouch. Roy Hart, who owns a ski shop in Battlesbridge, has accused the water company and Government watchdog the Environment Agency of "playing down" the
Council chiefs are holding crisis talks after the Tilbury to Gravesend Ferry management closed down its operation for good on Tuesday. The move followed strikes by six employees from Saturday to Tuesday, in protest at not being paid wages and redundancy
A £750,000 boost could be coming to Maldon in recognition of a school's special artistic talents. The Plume School is to apply for specialist status in music, art and drama which could land it supporting payments over the next four years. Headteacher
Tendring is still one of the safest places to live in Essex, according to new crime figures. Officers have had major success in reducing house burglaries, but still aim to do better. Chief Insp Craig Robertson said burglaries were down by ten per cent
A heavily pregnant woman was yesterday (Thursday) recovering in hospital after being assaulted by a burglar in her home. The 27-year-old woman found the intruder in the house in Kiln Road, Benfleet. When she confronted him, he assaulted her, grabbed some
Babysitter Alan Wagg is planning to flee the Basildon area after being cleared by a jury of breaking a little boy's leg. Mr Wagg, who could not explain the five-month-old Rayleigh baby's injury, had become the target of a hate poster campaign in the town
Terry and Humphrey are enjoying a feast of new fresh grass - but their appetites have not won favour with everyone. The sheep have been enjoying grazing among the gravestones in St Mary's churchyard, Little Bromley. Now leaflets have gone out asking those
A major £100m redevelopment is set to create a whole new face for an important part of Chelmsford town centre. As Anglia Polytechnic University vacates its six acre central campus between Victoria Road South and Park Road to locate entirely on its Rivermead
Essex Police have warned that anthrax hoaxers would be hunted down after eight alerts across the county. They also appealed for calm in the wake of the panic which has followed the confirmation of anthrax cases in the US. Hundreds of workers were evacuated
FLAGS are flying at half-mast at Stansted Airport while long queues of passengers wait for extended check-ins Managing director John Stent said airlines had introduced a second set of security checks beyond the X-ray conveyor belt for hand luggage and
COLCHESTER student Elisa Tidswell and her 31-year-old sister were in Manhattan when tragedy struck and they are still in New York waiting to come home. Miss Tidswell, 21, and her sister, Alison Bate, were in Manhattan when the two planes crashed into
Parents in Basildon have lost their five-year campaign after a top-level report rejected calls for a new secondary school in the town. The Essex County Council study, ordered by education cabinet member Iris Pummell, concluded that enough school places
Charitable Chelmsford people gave 44 tons of food in just five weeks for a mercy mission to Eastern Europe. The 2,800 boxes of food aid have all been donated as part of this year's Harvest for the Hungry campaign and were donated by 36 churches and 32
A loving mother this week paid tribute to two remarkable children who are helping her through a living nightmare. Tragic mother Kerri Emptage, whose sons Ricky, Lewis and Jack perished in a house fire, says she would still be in the darkest depths of
Members of a disabled swimming club will be left high and dry if vital equipment cannot be found. Blackwater Barracudas Club must move from Maldon's Blackwater Leisure Centre during development work there next year. And the group's search for a new venue
Thirteen guards, fresh out of training school, were being sent out on to the frontline by c2c today (Thursday), in an effort to boost strike-hit services. The firm was reacting to a sixth 24-hour strike by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union on the
Vandals have daubed Mistley's famous swans with paint. The swans which grace the River Stour have been painted in gold, red and turquoise. Alex Smith, of Swans in Need, said: "At first I thought perhaps some paint had been spilled from one of the ships
Vital touch - Kem Izzet prods the winning goal home Colchester United 1-0 Swindon Town (LDV Vans Trophy) Colchester United are on the LDV Vans Trophy trail again. They swept aside last season's beaten semi-finalists Swindon Town in last night's (Tuesday's
Chelmsford Borough Council's refuse collection fleet was hit by an extensive attack from vandals in Wednesday night. A total of 14 collection vehicles were subjected to serious vandalism at the Baddow Road depot and the damage, including broken windows
WORKERS at an Essex insurance office were today hoping 500 of their colleagues working in the World Trade Centre will be found alive Staff at Marsh UK at Grove House, Witham, were appalled to find their American parent company was one of the worst affected
