The head of a Victorian primary school has welcomed a decision by planners to finally give the go-ahead to long-awaited improvements, including a new hall that will end a dangerous walk for the 98 pupils. Stephen Young, Head of Stisted Church of England
A woman has claimed her car has been damaged as a direct result of the mess caused by building work near her home. Out of pocket - Eileen and Morris Gough are angry after a stone smashed their windscreen. Picture: TERENCE BUNCH FUEF52 Councillors have
Micky Stockwell goes into Colchester United's FA Cup first round tie against Chester City tomorrow hoping to write another new chapter of his history. The evergreen former Ipswich Town favourite has been as far as a fifth round replay against Liverpool
Heybridge Swifts are battling on two fronts ahead of their massive FA Cup first round clash against west country giants Bristol City. Waterlogged - the Scraley Road pitch has been struggling to cope with recent rain Three of Dave Greene's key players
When the first kick of Heybridge's match against Bristol City - the biggest ever game in their 120-year history - takes place their chairman Mick Springett is going to be on the otherside of the Atlantic. The man who has guided the club's finances through
Community champions, local heroes and people who have braved adversity were hailed as true stars at the Essex Achievement Awards ceremony. Eddie Rex was commended in the community champion section The awards, held by the Essex Chronicle Series in conjunction
Ashley Smith is gearing up for a serious challenge on the Kent Championship karting title this weekend. The Thundersley schoolboy is leading the standings at Buckmore Park circuit by 146 points and is hoping to distance himself even further from his rivals
Mechanical problems have defeated two south Essex heroes trying to ride 7,000 miles across the Sahara for charity. Trip aborted - Lance and Duncan FCF693 Today they face a struggle to drive home after one motorbike broke down again and had to be towed
Shopkeepers have launched a protest against plans to upgrade a town centre, saying it will ruin the local economy. Traders in Walton say they will lose money and business if the £1 million regeneration scheme for the High Street goes ahead as it will
Soap star Nicholas Schofield, the lead in Basildon's Towngate Theatre's Christmas production, returned to his roots in the town - and went back to school. The 21-year-old, who plays Ryan Harper in ITV's Night and Day, paid a visit to his old school, Lee
Brentwood's population is shrinking - it's official! Councillors refused to initially believe census figures when they were reported in October and demanded officers checked the statistics. The figures sparked controversy as they showed the population
A couple who have campaigned to alert people to the dangers of aspirin have welcomed Government proposals to bar the sale of it to under-16s. Clifford and Audrey Harrington have waged a 20-year-campaign to warn people about the drug and its possible links
An elderly couple were airlifted to hospital by the Essex Air Ambulance after a crash which blocked the London bound A12 for over an hour. Their car overturned after hitting the central reservation at Rivenhall at 9am last Friday. They were not seriously
Grays are being encouraged to make more noise by player-manager Mark Stimson. Blues might be in-form, but Stimson feels that if he isn't out on the pitch then it can go a bit quiet. Stimson, who is 50-50 to start at Hayes tomorrow, said: "It's not that
Tendring Credit Union is being voluntarily wound up. The committee which runs the union asked for advice from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) after suffering cash flow problems It is now going through the process of a voluntary winding-up procedure
Joe Royle admitted having mixed feelings after Ipswich Town's UEFA Cup exit at the hands of Slovan Liberec. Jermaine Wright and Finidi George were guilty of penalty misses as the Blues crashed out 4-2 on spot-kicks. Liberec had equalised just two minutes
A Wickford man was lucky to escape with his life after he was hauled from his flaming car by a hero motorist following a horror crash. The accident happened at 4.50am on Saturday when the 38-year-old's red Ford Sierra burst into flames following a collision
Firefighters were tonight due to go back to work after their 48-hour protest over pay. Standing together - firefighters on the picket line. Green goddess crews have attended more than 1,200 incidents across the country since the strike began. In Clacton
Bookworms are being encouraged to get their teeth into Zadie Smith's celebrated novel at a special meeting. Basildon Library's talk group Shelf Life will be discussing the book at its meeting on Tuesday, December 3, at 6pm. Winner of the Whitbread First
Archaeologists from around the world are descending on Colchester for an annual conference. More than 600 people are visiting Colchester Castle for the Society of Museum Archaeologists 2002 conference. Colchester Museums and the award-winning castle are
Chelmsford striker Dave De Prez continued his fine goalscoring form by striking twice for the second week in succession, this time to sink Brooklands at Chelmer Park last week. Although Chelmsford welcomed the points as they sought to move up the Division
A disgraced Colchester solicitor has been jailed for life for smuggling £5m-worth of ecstasy. Under surveillance - Neale pictured by Australian police in Sydney, prior to his arrest. Former hockey star James Neale, 56, was arrested in Australia after
Striking firefighters left their picket to attend a flat blaze - only to discover hero police officers had already carried out the rescue. Modest - PCs Daniel Jordan and Ian Hardy dragged the woman from the blazing flat Picture: STEVE O'CONNELL FVH3C2
An appeal has been made for the return of Percy, the parrot - who may have been snatched by thieves. Percy's owners discovered their pet was missing when they looked in his aviary. Now Percy's mate Elsie is pining for her missing parrot pal. Carole Ratcliffe
Antisocial behaviour in Basildon is twice the problem it was six months ago, according to new figures. Basildon Council has received 1,253 complaints about antisocial behaviour between April and September, dwarfing the previous six-month figure of 584
A special constable was crushed to death in a tragic farm accident in Little Bromley. Kevin Smith, 48, of Elton Walk, Tiptree, leaves a 12-year-old daughter Aimee and wife Dawn. Mr Smith was delivering grain to Mulley's Farm, Bentley Road, on Wednesday
An organist collapsed and died during a funeral service in Colchester. Mourners were left shocked as they realised the man had been unexpectedly taken seriously ill as they attended the funeral of John Hamblin, a friend of the organist. Colchester GP
Police in Thurrock have appealed for help after a series of three car-jacking attacks in the last two weeks Officers are linking the attacks, the latest of which happened at around 9.50pm on Tuesday, on the A13 London-bound carriageway. A married couple
Mental health units in mid and north Essex are to close temporarily as part of a cost-cutting move. The North Essex Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust says the closures until the end of the financial year in April are intended to reduce £500,000 spent
Residents are relieved as plans to shut a 150-year-old level-crossing were put on hold. Railtrack, the company which operates the main train line between Colchester and London, said earlier this year is was proposing to shut the crossing at Chitts Hill
Shock results of a new survey published this week show that a buyer would need to earn more than £20,000 a year to purchase a one-bedroom flat in Braintree or Witham. That figure would rise to £27,000 a year to pay the mortgage on even a small terraced
Chalvedon Boxing Club's Joe Blake powered his way into the semi-finals of the National Association of Boys Club's Championships in Chatham. The 15-year-old easily outpointed J Callaghan (Wales) 14-3 on the computer count following their under-48 kilos
A strike committee has been established by union members at Stansted Airport. The move is part of the normal procedure in an industrial dispute, said Transport and General Workers' Union spokesman Alan Brkljak. He said the TGWU committee would formulate
Talented musicians from Billericay are celebrating following a outstanding performance at this year's Southend Music Festival. Great display - cellists at the Chantry Way music school. Picture: TERENCE BUNCH FTDRJ3 Eight cellists, who are all taught at
Harwich and Parkeston play host to Diss Town in high spirits on the back of a mid-week win away to Ipswich Wanderers. It was the Shrimpers' second win of the season and was Steve McGavin's first since taking over the managerial hot-seat at the Royal Oak
A woman has told of her outrage over vandalism that left her car a write-off. Angry -Natalie Deasy's Ford Escort is a write-off after yobs smashed the windows and dented the doors. Picture: MAXINE CLARKE FUFWU6 Natalie Deasy, 26, of Canvey, drove to work
A bizarre succession of accidents resulted in three ambulances being called to assist a Danbury heart attack victim last week but, tragically, it was impossible to save his life. The first ambulanceman, from Burnham, broke his nose walking into a glass
A primary school site will be considered for community use once pupils move into their new premises, it has been confirmed. Harwich County Primary School is moving from its site in Main Road, Harwich, to Barrack Lane. That will mean its current home is
Vandalism and under-age drinking have been monitored by Castle Point police in two areas in Benfleet. Residents had complained people were vandalising an area of fencing, and stones on a footpath and cycleway at the back of their houses were being used
Local tennis star Helen Crook suffered a heart scare as she prepared for the National Tennis championships held at Bolton just a couple of weeks ago. The week before the championships Helen, the British number seven, was competing in Southampton in a
The long-awaited start of work on a unique scheme to help children with learning disabilities has begun. Jointly with Southend Mencap, St Christopher's School, in Moundale Gardens, Leigh, launched the Christopher's Cottage scheme five years ago. The £1.3million
A new major junction on the M11 in the Sheering area could have devastating effects for Essex, a councillor has warned. Cllr Gerard McEwen, who represents Ongar on the county council, intervened during a debate at Tuesday's county cabinet meeting which
Colchester United must beware one of the most prolific marksman in non-league football tomorrow when they entertain Chester. Daryl Clare has plenty of experience in the Nationwide League, having played for Grimsby, Northampton and Cheltenham. But it was
Police are warning film buffs to watch out for stolen DVDs after a film projectionist has his entire collection of movies stolen. The 29-year-old projectionist had returned home with his partner to his ground floor flat in Witchards, Basildon, on Tuesday
Heybridge Swifts keeper Kingsley Banks is not prepared to sit on the sidelines for this weekend's FA Cup first round clash with Bristol City. Banks was a Scraley Road player when the Swifts qualified for the legendary cup competition for the second time
Police are drafting in extra officers for tomorrow's FA Cup first round match between Ryman League Heybridge Swifts and Division Two Bristol City, but have no plans to change their tactics. Inspector Kevin Jacobs, of Maldon police, said that they had
Shipping giant P and O has welcomed new arrangements for public inquiries into its plans to build the UK's biggest container port at the former Shell Haven refinery. The Planning Inspectorate has announced that three separate applications connected to
Despite the fact that their hosts have beaten them just once in ten attempts, Canvey soccer boss Jeff King fully expects a difficult task at Purfleet tomorrow. Winning send-off -- that's what Gulls' John Kennedy wants before heading off to play for the
Colchester United's boss has joined forces with Heybridge Swifts as the mid-Essex minnows bid to plot a major FA Cup shock. U's boss Steve Whitton - no stranger to the odd giant-killing himself - has teamed up with Swifts chief Dave Greene to plan the
Southend United boss Rob Newman has his eye on an FA Cup hat-trick - starting with a win over tomorrow's first round Roots Hall visitors, Third Division leaders Hartlepool. Kevin Maher -- back from one-match ban and likely to go straight into Rob Newman's
South Essex has been declared one of the worst areas for hoaxes in the region as another night of false alarms kept Basildon's only Green Goddess busy. Emergency - a Goddess crew tackles a blaze in York Road, Southend. Picture: STEVE O'CONNELL FVH3C5
Schools in mid and north Essex have been urged to cut out the risk of fires and that could mean changes to lessons. A document has been put on the schools intranet by the local education authority, Essex County Council. It ranges from ensuring they have
Steps are already being taken by Essex Ambulance Service to try to prevent a winter crisis. It has announced it has already begun to use the ambulance reserve which will work throughout the winter pressure period. Richard Lane, acting director of operations
An Essex ambulance worker has launched a scathing attack on striking firefighters, claiming they are being "greedy". Emergency - a Goddess crew tackles a blaze in York Road, Southend. Picture: STEVE O'CONNELL FVH3C5 The man, who wished to remain anonymous
It was a quiet night for Army crews standing in for striking north and mid Essex firefighters. Callouts last night were mainly to minor incidents or false alarms. Yesterday an unknown caller telephoned a radio station saying Tiptree retained fire station
A star appearance at Earls Court in London is on the cards for the Essex Dog Display Team which trains in Brentwood. The team has been invited to take part in the Discover Dogs event this weekend which has been organised by the Kennel Club to promote
A new £2m scheme which could create 200 extra jobs has been drawn up to develop a vacant hospital site in Tendring. Oaktree Care Group wants to set up special assessment and treatment units for people with learning difficulties at Tendring Heath Hospital
