Sprightly William and Signe Featherstone have signed up to a new health club - at the ages of 82 and 77. The couple are the oldest among 700 people who have become members of Xpect Health and Fitness Club, when it opens in Braintree. The couple, of River
The Basildon belltower's days of ignominy could soon be over. The solicitor for Mowlem Construction - owed £750,000 for its part in the building of the structure at St Martin's in 1999 - believes a positive decision on the debt is imminent. The Echo revealed
Santa made an unscheduled stop in Laindon and was greeted by local students who had made a special grotto for him. Children have been queuing up to get a glimpse of Father Christmas to ask him for the presents they would like to see in their stockings
Title favourites Tamworth proved their Championship worth on Saturday, hammering Paul Parker's Chelmsford City at New Lodge. The Lambs have won nine out of ten matches on the way to their leadership of the Dr Martens Premier, and they were soon into their
Southend's police chief has vowed to safeguard front-line work in the community with a new £2million station on the outskirts of Leigh. Chief Supt Mick Thwaites spoke as plans moved swiftly ahead for the new base for the west of Southend, near Leigh fire
As you go Christmas shopping, spare a thought for Sue Sharman who says she has already received the best present of all from her husband John - the gift of life. Mr Sharman, 57, of Armond Road, Witham, helped save his wife's life by giving her one of
A teenager was slashed across the face with a knife by muggers who stole his wallet The attack took place in the area of Pier Avenue and Rosemary Road, Clacton, at about 5pm yesterday. The 14-year-old had been shopping in the town centre and had bought
A day to forget for Hammers defender Tomas Repka saw them slip to defeat at Old Trafford. The Czech international had a hand in the first two United goals, separated by barely a minute early in the first half, before Sebastien Schemmel's own goal rounded
A Southend firefighter today told how a burning porch fell on him as he tackled a major blaze. Mark Dibbons, from Southend, needed hospital treatment after debris burnt through his headgear at a fire which destroyed a family's home in Bulwark Road, Shoebury
Quick-thinking firefighters have been praised after saving a man's life. Crews from Grays and Orsett rushed to a home on Saturday morning and found an end-of-terrace house ablaze. They needed breathing apparatus to get into the building to find a distressed
A family rift led to a woman harassing her estranged adoptive mother. Magistrates in Colchester heard Deborah Clark had repeatedly phoned and tried to visit her mother Margaret Waddington following the breakdown of their relationship Clark, 36, whose
A man who smacked a three-year-old girl three times on the back and bottom has been jailed for two months. David Jones, 34, claimed the girl, who lives with her mother in Tilbury, was being naughty, Basildon Crown Court heard. Jones, a lodger at the Crooked
A young man tried to abduct a 12-year-old girl on her way to school The youngster, who has not been named by police, was on her way to Colbayns High School in Clacton with a friend. They were walking along Old Road when the man went up to them and accused
Creekfarers have given a big thumbs up to new jetties installed at a country park marina. The new flexible jetties are part of an on-going process to raise standards for the 80 boat-owning licensees at Wat Tyler Marina, in Pitsea, as well as the thousands
Unfestive thieves ruined the run-up to Christmas for a family when they stole their tree complete with lights and decorations. The Oxley family, of Saville Street, Walton, woke up to discover a trail of mud down their path and an empty pot where their
Clacton could become home to the world's largest offshore wind farm. A bid for planning permission has now been put before Tendring Council for 30 giant wind turbines to be built 7km out to sea on the narrow Gunfleet Sands. The turbines would produce
Motorists were left counting the cost after a spate of car crime in Braintree and surrounding villages on the same night. Owners discovered the damage when they woke up on Friday morning. In Rana Drive, Braintree, a Ford Transit van'swindow was removed
An 81-year-old man was stabbed by a robber who forced his car door open while he was trying to drive off, police revealed today. The man was getting into his car in York Road, Southend, when the attacker pulled his car door open and demanded his car keys
Modest Southend United defender Leon Cort paid tribute to his team mates after netting a stunning hat-trick of headers during Saturday's 4-2 Roots Hall win over Boston. Front-runner Mark Rawle got Blues' other goal, with Richard Logan and Mark Angel replying
A pervert who was not listed on the sex offenders register - despite a 44-year history of paedophilia, including offences in Chelmsford - has been given a life sentence. Harold Smith, 61, of Bergh Apton, Norfolk, was jailed after being convicted of raping
A gas explosion was narrowly averted after firefighters broke their way into a home saturated with fumes. The level of gas at the Westcliff flat in a four-storey block was so high that had crews arrived minutes later it would have caused an explosion.
Essex has again lost out to other parts of the country in a cash handout by the Government. The county's rural roads will receive £2.5 million less next year than in 2002 from Whitehall, despite many of them needing urgent repairs and many other areas
Animal rights are to be given a high profile by Essex County Council following a successful motion put by the Labour group to last week's council meeting. The council, while acknowledging that there were some "excellent" policies to protect animals already
Shrimpers centre-back Leon Cort scored a hat-trick this afternoon as Southend picked up their first home league win since the 1-0 victory over York City on October 12. Cort opened his account in the sixth minute when he headed home skipper Kevin Maher's
Two goals from a player who might have joined them sentenced Wakering to another Ryman Division One North defeat that sees them perilously close to the relegation zone in 19th place. Matt Harrold turned out for the village side in a pre-season friendly
Rovers took their unbeaten run in the league to nine games as they hit Somersham for six of the best. The last time Stanway lost in the league was at the end of September when Halstead beat them 1-0 at Rosemary Lane. But that has been long forgotten as
Police were today hunting for a man they believe was responsible for commiting two obscene acts in front of women in Clacton. A 19-year-old was in the area of Marine Parade West and Collingwood Road in the town just before midnight last night. Car headlights
A council has apologised for a leak of chlorine which killed hundreds of fish and said it deeply regretted the pollution it caused. Thurrock Council blames systems failures at Corringham Leisure Centre for the chemical discharge and has spent thousands
Officers at Essex Trading Standards have warned shoppers to keep their festive till receipts. They get large numbers of complaints each January from people unable to exchange unwanted presents. But unless shoppers have a receipt, cheque stub, credit card
Rochford Hospital was today set for a £22million revamp as a mental health centre - 11 years after it was shut down. The proposal, just lodged with Rochford District Council, will lead to services at Runwell mental hospital transferred to the town. Up
A woman has been named as one of the bravest in Britain through her work to safeguard young people from child abusers. Shy Keenan, 39, of Colchester, was voted among the country's top eight bravest women in a competition run by Best magazine. Using her
The Dockers sunk without trace against a Thame side who always seem to be something of a bogey outfit for them. Jon Gardner and Mark Avery gave the visitors a 2-0 lead before Louie Evans pulled one back from the spot. But two goals apiece from Enzo Silvestri
A fundraising group has joined forces with Santa Claus to raise money for charity. Basildon Round Table is providing caped collectors and knowledge of the area as Santa makes his way round town to get some money together for good causes. Santa's causes
The funeral of a former policeman from Wickford has taken place at Chelmsford Cathedral. PC Darren Pike, 30, who served with the City of London police, died after a motorcycle accident in Cambridge last month. He had previously served at Basildon and
The U's fought back from 1-0 down to take all three points at Kenilworth Road. The home side took the lead through Andrew Fotiadis but conceded an equaliser just before half-time - Karl Duguid firing home a free-kick. Luton had dominated the first half
South Essex went Christmas crazy this weekend as shoppers flocked to get festive gifts for their nearest and dearest. David Shakespear, manager of Canvey's Knightswick shopping centre, said: "It is just getting busier and busier here as the big day gets
Firefighters battled a blaze which swept Charfleets Tyre Service, on Charfleets industrial estate, Canvey. Crews tackling the fire from inside had to withdraw as part of the building started to collapse around them. There were difficulties in bringing
Chelmsford police officers have been invited to the opening of their "sister town's" new police station in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, later this year. The invitation came in the wake of a spontaneous visit by Sgt Jon de Vries and special constable Doug
A public meeting is to be called after problems with nuisance youths in Black Notley reached a peak when they threw dog mess around a street. John Ray Garden resident Norman Reid said the bin in his road had been emptied and bags of dog mess thrown around
Rail commuters using c2c have been given an early Christmas present - the price of annual season tickets is to drop by up to £40. The fares are to be lowered across the board from January 5. The majority of ticket prices will be slashed across the board
This game between two relegation candidates might have been a nightmare for managers from a defensive point of view, but it provided plenty of entertainment to warm the fans. Darren Bethell gave the visitors the lead, but Steve Harrison's header from
Friends and colleagues have paid tribute to Castle Point's much-loved first mayor, who died at the weekend. Vera Elworthy, who served for more than 30 years, had been in Southend Hospital since September following a second stroke. Bob Spink, MP for Castle
A shop assistant was caught stealing £5 by his employers when they hid it underneath his keyboard. Magistrates in Colchester heard bosses at Miller Brothers in Tollgate, Stanway, Colchester, had marked the £5 and later found Simon Margerison had it. Margerison
Planning experts in Colchester are to scour plans for a new telephone mast - outside their office. Mobile phone firm Orange wants to install an 8m mast on a pavement outside the Lexden Grange offices in Lexden Road. Lexden Grange is the base for Colchester
A scout group who sang Christmas carols in the street has raised more than £200 to buy presents for elderly residents. The fifth Wickford group wrapped up warm and sang their hearts out in Wickford High Street. Kind shoppers donated £106 and this was
A pensioner has been jailed for 30 months for indecently assaulting young girls. Harry Addison, 72, had denied seven indecent assaults, dating back more than 40 years, but was convicted on six charges after a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court last month
Essex made their mark in the South-Eastern AA inter-counties cross-country championships at Banbury, Oxford. Despite Hampshire being the dominant force with four team wins, Essex enjoyed three successes with Southend AC's Mark Bailey being the county's
Proving a point can be a satisfying to say the least. That was exactly what Ipswich Town and their goalscoring heroes did at Portman Road on Saturday against Watford. Lamented for their lack of firepower this season, the Blues turned in a four-star show
One of the county's major routes was closed last night when a lorry and five cars crashed. The London track of the A12 Kelvedon bypass was shut for about 30 minutes while Essex Police traffic officers dealt with the aftermath and managed to move all those
A man was hit in the face after a child shot at him with an air weapon. The carpet fitter was outside a house where he was working in Queen Elizabeth Way, Monkwick, Colchester, when the youngster fired the BB-gun. It damaged the victim's glasses but he
A group of teenagers on Canvey have gathered a petition of 2,000 signatures backing their call for a skate park. James Cawfield, 15, of Protea Way, who is head of a 12-strong committee, said: "People have never been happy about skating in the town centre
Police hunting two men involved in an accosting incident have renewed their appeal for witnesses. Two women, one aged 23 and the other 27, were walking home when a black sports car stopped alongside them in Arterial Road, Purfleet. Two men in the car
A shopworker was lucky to escape serious injury after he was thrown on to the bonnet of a van driven by a shoplifter fleeing from a DIY store. The 21-year-old man was trying to stop the thief as he tried to get away from the Homebase store at Tollgate
Essex has been leading the way in showing the rest of the country how to run adoption services. A special open day has been held in Chelmsford for adoption groups to find out how Essex has improved the way it helps children and families looking to adopt
After three successful mini-camps, Essex Spartans American Football club are looking forward to starting their pre-season campaign in the new year. The Basildon-based club recommence their weekly sessions on the Gloucester Park Astroturf on Sunday, January
Tommy Miller today insisted Ipswich Town's play-off dream is still very much alive after routing Watford 4-2. The midfielder opened the scoring with a rasping 25-yarder during Saturday's morale-boosting win at Portman Road. And, reflecting on his first
South Woodham Ferrers Town Council has backed a request from police to make the town centre a non-alcohol area. Paul Betts, chairman of the town council's environment committee, said: "The town council is in favour of the suggested action to address a
Police today launched a manhunt after an 11-year-old was abducted from Colchester. The boy told police he was snatched in Princess Drive, High Woods, at 3.30pm on Friday, before being found safe more than 14 hours later. Police had been alerted to the
Title challengers Harlow put themselves back in the promotion picture on Saturday with a 2-0 home win over Essex rivals Great Wakering Rovers. New man Matt Harrold's double in the second half maintains 3rd spot for the pre-season tips, with Wealdstone
A man went into a burning barn to rescue two horses. Chris Butler, of Greenstead Farm, Greenstead Green, rushed into the burning barn at his farm at 4.10am today. He burnt his wrist as he rescued the second horse and had to receive medical treatment.
A pensioners' action group has slammed proposals to raise the price of concessionary travel passes. At a meeting of Braintree Council's executive last Monday members agreed to increase the amount users of the Fare Paid Travelpasses pay for the pass from
Club captain Scott Fitzgerald said 'it's time to make our move' as Colchester United are sitting happily just seven points away from the Division Two promotion play-off race. The former Republic of Ireland Under-21 international stepped out of the injury
South Essex went Christmas crazy this weekend as shoppers flocked to get festive gifts for their nearest and dearest. Basildon's Eastgate Centre was packed with bag-laden buyers and Southend has gained such a reputation for Christmas consumption that
Thieves have been described as "heartless" after they stole guinea pigs bought as a present for an eight-year-old boy's birthday. Cindy Stocking said her children were devastated after the three guinea pigs were taken from a hutch outside their home in
A total of 255 people from Essex will appear in court this month for failing to buy a TV licence. This new figure is 100 more than was quoted last week when TV Licensing bosses warned the county's telly addicts there will be no hiding place for licence
