A rugby referee ended a Braintree match ten minutes early after he was hit by a snowball. The Black and Ambers game went ahead despite heavy snow on the Beckers Green Road pitch, but ended in controversy. To the players' puzzlement, the match referee
More than half a million new homes could be built in and around the county as part of a multi-million pound expansion, the Government announced today. The main areas for development are on greenfield sites near Stansted Airport and in parts of south Essex
A fourth post office in Colchester could face closure under a scheme to make the remaining town branches more cost effective. Bergholt Road post office was added to branches in East Hill, Hythe Hill and Butt Road, being considered by the Post Office for
South Woodham Ferrers possibly has the most popular swimming pool that never was! Residents have campaigned for nearly three decades for the facility and several plans have started and stalled over the years. As early as March 1975 Woodham Ferrers Parish
Colchester United favourite Micky Stockwell said today he wants the Layer Road manager's job. The evergreen U's midfielder revealed exclusively to the Evening Gazette that he has added his name to more than 50 applications already received by the club
A group of high-flying business friends who met at North Weald airfield are on the lookout for sponsors as they aim to become the world's first private aerobatics team. Kenneth Lyndon-Dykes, Chris Hudson, Mark Grimshaw and Keith Hartley come from all
Better air quality and less noise is on the cards for shoppers visiting Colchester's town centre. Colchester Council has drawn up measures to make the town centre a nicer place to visit. They include a proper park-and-ride scheme for the town, improving
Brentwood based marketing consultancy Target Group, run by Keith Brown, has restructured into four companies to broaden services: Target Communications for advertising and PR support; Target Enterprises for development and upgrading of web sites; Target
Police in Wickford are urging residents and businesses to be on their guard following a spate of thefts in the area. Thieves forced open the kitchen window of a house in Friern Gardens, Wickford, and stole a Philips DVD player and jewellery worth £1,400
A schoolboy has objected to a planned mobile phone mast, claiming it is against his human rights. George Noble has written a letter objecting to Hutchison 3G UK's plans to use the Kingsway Hall, Dovercourt. Protest - George Noble in front of the Kingway
Southend United assistant manager David Crown was one of a host of Football League representatives at Canvey Island's Park Lane ground to see non-league soccer's hottest striking property in action. But they all had something of a wasted journey as 22
A Thundersley church is trying to entice youngsters to Christianity by showing them that it isn't all about sermons and songs of praise. The Congregational Church in Kenneth Road holds monthly fun nights for the children and they have been going from
Witham is ready to persuade rail bosses to reinstate multi-million pound improvements on the line to Braintree. Plans to build a loop line so more than one train could use the branch, longer platforms and a bridge at Freeport have been shunted aside indefinitely
A new High Street pub opens next week...with no pool tables and a ban on music. The J D Wetherspoon chain has spent £1.1million and seven months developing the Roebuck on the site of the Oriental Inn restaurant in Rayleigh High Street. New - the Roebuck
The search is on to find new locations to take part in the borough's Heritage Days in September. Last year, 12 churches, museums and buildings of historical or cultural interest opened up especially for the weekend and it is hoped even more will come
The Essex History Fair could bring the past to life in the centre of Braintree next year Essex County Council is considering Braintree for the biennial event to be held as a street fair which could open up the town to new visitors. It could bring together
Electricity company 24seven continues to let customers in the Braintree area down it was claimed today after another power cut. About 1,000 customers in the Black Notley area lost power at 11.10pm last night until 12.15am this morning. Roger Walters,
A terrified young woman was slashed across the face and robbed after withdrawing money from a cash dispenser in Basildon town centre. The 18-year-old, from Canvey, was forced to a dark corner near a multi-storey car park and cut on the cheek before her
Blind welfare group Pathfinders is celebrating after getting more than £12,000 in lottery funding. Cheers - Pathfinders chairman Colin Tarn and treasurer Amy Dowd share a teacup celebration over the success of the group's lottery bid Picture: MAXINE CLARKE
A rare horse trap and a Dutch carriage, worth £7,000, were stolen from a house in Sandon, into which the owner had only moved six months ago. Between 9pm on Saturday and 9am on Sunday the burglars cut down two large conifer trees to the Mayes Lane property
Steve Tilson was full of praise for the Shrimpers reserves after they drew with Queens Park Rangers last night. Midfielder Stuart Thurgood put Blues ahead midway through the second half with a great 20-yard half volley. Rangers responded with a 20-minute
Hopes that missing teenagers Chantelle Watson and Kelly Monk are alive and well were raised after a friend spoke to them by phone. Chantelle, 13, and Kelly, 15, who are neighbours in Locksley Close, Southchurch, have not been seen since Saturday night
Kart racer Ashley Smith picked up his Kent Championship minimax trophy and immediately turned his attention to contesting the British Super One series. Thirteen-year-old Ashley, from Thundersley, won the Kent competition at Buckmore Park, Chatham, by
Police are working to trace burglars who stole a 91-year-old woman's £1,300 savings. The thieves made off with the cash after breaking into her house in Leslie Close, Leigh, while she slept upstairs. They removed a glass panel from the roof of a lean-to
Braintree's first indoor karting track is on target to open in less than a month. Kozmic Karts, in Charter Way Industrial Park, next to Freeport, will open its 290 metre track to the public on March 1. Testing - Robin Stone gets behind the wheel. Picture
An 87th minute goal has set Grays up for two games in the space of four days against Essex rivals Canvey island. Gulls go to Gray Rec on Saturday in the Ryman Premier and then visit Park Lane next Tuesday for a Bryco Cup quarter-final. Grays, managed
Thieves drove away a dumper truck from a Westcliff building site in the middle of the night. The £9,000 Peljob dumper was taken from the McAlpine site at the junction of Hamlet Court Road and London Road. It had been left locked and with the shovel part
An ambitious plan to convert two acres of unused allotments into recreational facilities was launched today. Great Wakering parish council has been concerned about the increase in the number of empty plots - more than half in the west side of Little Wakering
Billericay's bid for glory in the Ryman Bryco Cup ended last night in this fourth round replay in Hertfordshire. The New Lodge club's small first team squad was fully stretched for this attempt to win a home quarter-final date with Yeading, with Paul
A tight rein will have to be kept on hospital spending if it is to meet its targets by the end of the financial year. Essex Rivers NHS Healthcare Trust, which provides hopsital services in Colchester, has overspent by £1.09 million this financial year
A warehouse full of boxed teddy bears went up in flames this morning. Fire crews battled through barred windows and locked doors to save the building, on the Grainger Road industrial estate, Southend, at 3.15am today. Southend station officer Daron Driscoll
An eagle-eyed neighbour has returned vital college work to a mother-of-four who was set to fail her entire course. Teresa Peters, from Rochester Way, Basildon, was distraught after thieves stole a rucksack from her car parked outside her house. The material
Friends and family of a popular former vet have paid tribute to his memory by supporting his favourite charity. The donations, in lieu of flowers at the funeral of Mike Vadden, raised more than £2,000 for Castle Point Crossroads Young Carers Scheme. Mr
A Tilbury taxi operator has been ordered to pay almost £2,000 after being found guilty of running unlicensed private hire cabs. James Pastfield, who owns Civic Cars based in Civic Square, did not attend the hearing before Grays magistrates. He was found
Braintree District Council was this week backing a bid by the RSPCA to slow the growing menace of feral cats. The local authority is supporting a visit by the charity's neutering clinic which will offer cut-price operations in a bid to keep down the population
A specially-designed series of leaflets aimed at helping Ongar and North Weald residents have a say in the running of the district has been produced by Epping Forest Council. The leaflets - which are available free from libraries, information centres,
A bomb disposal squad was called in when an unexploded mortar bomb was found by workers at the Shoebury Garrison building site. The experts from Colchester sealed off the former military site and made the bomb safe. A spokesman for developer Gladedale
Long, uncertain waits for buses are a thing of the past, thanks to hi-tech bus stops in Southend. The new town centre stops have electronic monitors to tell passengers when the next bus is due. The project forms part of the multi-million pound transformation
Teams of police burst into two Colchester town centre bedsits today in the latest Operation Tralee drugs raid The officers struck at 7.30am, making the 13th arrest in the ongoing drive to tackle class A drug dealing in the town A Colchester police response
Five Castle Point karate stars achieved big success when competing in the English International Karate Championships at Crystal Palace. They were up against opposition not only from the United Kingdom but also France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Latvia
A Tiptree man has been jailed for six months for a string of offences, including what magistrates described as "very unpleasant" assaults. Thomas Briggs, 22, of Cedar Avenue, had been convicted of three assaults in Anchor Road, Tiptree, on April 27 last
When you wake up in the morning the last thing you expect to find on your doorstep is a puffin. But that was exactly what faced Heybridge's answer to Dr Doolittle when all she was expecting to find was a bottle of milk. A bird in the hand - Poppy the
Brave commuters saved a woman from being crushed to death this morning after she fell off the platform in front of a train. The woman is believed to have slipped off the London-bound platform on to tracks at Rayleigh station just as a train was pulling
Customers today hit out at plans for a new benefit payment system that could see the demise of thousands of urban post offices. Part of a new Government shake-up of the service will see sweeping changes in the way benefits are paid. This new streamline
Any fears that Canvey might suffer a hangover from their FA Trophy demise were soon dispelled at Park Lane last night as Jeff King's troops moved up to second place in the Ryman Premier title chase. Former Braintree striker Ollie Berquez took advantage
A booming Southend hotel is planning to acquire a nearby former care home as an annexe giving it another six rooms. The Ilfracombe House Hotel, in Wilson Road, already has 20 rooms which are all en suite. A report to Southend Council's development control
Two companies have been criticised by health and safety investigators after an 87-year-old man fell down an open lift shaft. The man fell one floor on to the top of the lift at Nevyll Court, in Station Road, Thorpe Bay, last month while the doors had
Mersea Island could become home to a new heritage site - dedicated to chalets. Coopers Beach Chalet Society is hoping to create a "chalet heritage site" on a plot of land off Broman's Lane, East Mersea, next to Cudmore Grove Country Park. The aim is to
Southend United manager Rob Newman is hoping to tie up a deal for a striker before Bristol Rovers visit Roots Hall on Saturday. The Blues chief is keeping tight-lipped about who his targets are but one is believed to be a Second Division player and the
Every possible effort will be made to protect Walton Backwaters as a site of European significance and look after its value to the local economy. That's the promise from Tendring councillors, who are concerned a scheme to carry out works at Horsey Island
A driver became a "dishonest fool" and stole £1,777 worth of property which he should have delivered, a court heard. Paul Rowe, 28, of Hope Close, Mountnessing, admitted eight charges of theft and one of possessing cannabis. He received 100 hours community
A Chelmsford mother, whose 12-year-old son has ADHD, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, is appealing for other parents in a similar situation to contact her. Fiona Hogg from Great Baddow said that she has faced enormous difficulties in obtaining
A 24-year old man was left shocked when robbers threatened him with a knife and then stole two bracelets worth £500. The robbery took place in Carlton Road, Clacton, just before 9pm yesterday. Insp Alan Beckett, of Clacton police, said the victim was
The Thameside Family History Group is due to meet on Friday at Grays Adult Education Centre, in Richmond Road. Speaker Peter Park will give members an insight into the research of bigamy during his illustrated talk entitled In Good Faith and Truthful
A former youth leader in Marks Tey has died from cancer, aged 57. Alison Robson returned to her native Northumberland eight years ago, having lived the previous 20 years in Colchester. Mrs Robson was one of the village's Brownie leaders from 1981 until
Burton Albion boss Nigel Clough has ruled himself out of the Colchester United managerial hot-seat. The Conference League manager has been linked to the position following the dismissal of former U's boss Steve Whitton last week but Clough strongly denied
Relief and pleasure are two emotions running high among a group of villagers who successfully fought off a phone mast. And they would do it again. Telecommunications company Orange has had its application to site the mast opposite the entrance to Keepers
The oldest engineering company in Colchester is selling off half its office space but jobs won't be lost. The Brackett Group is selling one of the two buildings which houses its water filtration system manufacturing business in Severalls Lane. A spokesperson
Anna Whitfield will be flying the Essex flag with Natasha Bailey when they contest the English Schools Cross Country Championships next month. The Basildon AC member was called up into the Essex team for the March 8 event, despite finishing tenth at the
Detectives from Sussex travelled to Southend today looking for a man in connection with a serious assault on a colleague. Police have taken the unusual step of naming and issuing a photograph of Clive Anness, 32, thought to be living in the town, a week
More than £1,000 of fishing equipment has been stolen from a shed in Caro Road, Canvey. The theft happened sometime during last week. If anyone saw or heard anything they should call the island's police on 01268 511212. Published Wednesday, February 5
There were some bright performances from local youngsters when the Essex Schools' ABA Championship finals were staged at Basildon Sports Centre. Around 20 bouts were staged in a feast of pugilism lasting more than four hours and the winners now go through
Essex businesses will receive 24 hour advice from an online mentor to be launched by the Government this month. The scheme,aims to help businesses to flourish for longer, will match firms with an advisor who will help them overcome barriers to growth
