Arena Essex reversed Good Friday's scoreline as they recorded their first Elite League win of the season when they overcame Peterborough 47-46 after a last-hear decider at the Purfleet Raceway. With the aggregate scores level, Mark Loram then won a run-off
Racing driver Fulvio Mussi from Layer-de-la-Haye is taking another step towards his Formula One dream. The 18-year-old started in the ELF/BTE Lawline Renault Clio Cup season on Sunday. He was in the thick of the action at Thruxton in front of MotorTV
Hadleigh firefighters are hoping burly rugby players are going to be gentle with them when they lock heads in a charity match in May. The Hadleigh crew are teaming up with Leigh firefighters for gruelling training sessions for the match with top-of-the-league
Supermarket giant Asda is to plough £9.5million to build its new flagship store in Basildon's Eastgate Centre. The investment will go towards making the giant store one of only 12 Asda Wal-Mart Super Centres in the UK. There was a jobs boost for the area
Vandals on holiday from school targeted South Woodham Ferrers town centre over the Easter weekend, causing thousands of pounds' worth of damage. In 12 separate incidents, windows were smashed in houses, telephone kiosks, at NatWest Bank, a travel agency
More than 300 homes left without gas are still to be reconnected a week after a workman's blunder severed a supply pipe. According to Transco, 500 houses in Laindon have now been reconnected leaving 335 without any gas. Engineers have been working until
Crouch boats brought in plenty of roker, whiting, dogfish and the first eels. Twenty roker per man plus dogfish and smoothhounds were caught by the Bradwell boats and Southend's vessels also found a good number of roker along with codling, whiting, dogfish
Fight fans had a night to remember at Canvey Boxing Club's latest show. As well as four Eastern Counties ABA youth finals, spectators at the Monico club in Eastern Espanade got to see some of the junior and senior action. The bout of the night pitched
Customers at a Southend store got a helping hand packing their shopping bags from young adults on a YMCA scheme. Help - a YMCA volunteer packs a shopper's bag Picture: Robin Woosey XZDFM2 About a dozen 16 to 24-year-olds manned the counters at the Co-op
A scheme which pairs pupils from Maldon up with adults to learn about the world of work has been praised. Plume School is one of only 50 in the UK to scoop a prestigious award for its "mentor" scheme. It sees pupils join a volunteer in their workplace
A Hi-tech system to track child abusers and prevent them from offending has been rejected by the Government. The Phoenix Survivors, a group representing victims of child sex abuse, has been trying to get the Government to adopt a tracking system to monitor
The family of a recovering heroin addict who died in a flat fire said he had everything to live for. Andrew Martin, who grew up in Basildon, was found dead in a house in Norwich after a blaze which is being treated as suspicious by police. His father,
Essex will be pinning their hopes on the shoulders of Graham Napier to form an integral part of their desired success in 2004. Already holding a merited reputation as a hard-hitting batsman and talented bowler in the limited-overs game, the career of
An Essex woman has been found guilty of the murder of a teenager who was covered in petrol and set on fire in an argument over a boyfriend. Deborah Carne, 17, was left burning in an isolated layby near her home in Sible Hedingham in July 2002. Tests showed
A rare blow-up from Spartans special teams cost them at least a share of the points against highly-rated Kent Exiles. Touchdowns from Paul Simpson and quarterback Aaron Griffiths went unconverted, meaning the Exiles sneaked home by the narrowest of margins
The gloves are well and truly on as James Foster sets out to regain his place behind the stumps in England's Test team this summer. Given a helping hand - James Foster is hoisted on to the shoulders of Essex team-mate Ashley Cowan during the media day
Wardens will be drafted in to Castle Point to clamp down on motorists who try to dodge the law, it has been revealed. The highways and leisure committee agreed last night to adopt a decriminalised parking scheme in the autumn, taking responsibility from
Paul Ring showed plenty of confidence to capture the first major Essex amateur golf prize of the year, the Keating Trophy, in fine style. Boyce Hill's Ring enjoyed a real seaside special at Clacton where 16 golfers had qualified for the matchplay stages
Shoebury golf professional Richard McEvoy had an early start to his bid to reign in Spain when the inaugural Seville Open got underway. McEvoy was among the trio who were first off from the 10th tee in partnership with Miles Tunnicliff and Gary Murphy
Forum A haven't given up the chase in the Premier Division of the Southend and District Table Tennis League. They consolidated their second place in the League table with a 7-2 win over Hullbridge A thanks to hat-tricks from Charles Sweeny and Tony Halling
The Harwich School is to have its own full-time community police officer. PC Mark Talbot, who has been stationed at Mistley for the past nine years, will be working from an office within the school in Hall Lane, Dovercourt. The Harwich School is the third
A host of sports heroes will put a Billericay golf club's youngsters to the test next week. Rugby World Cup winner Matt Dawson will join former soccer stars Lee Dixon, Pat Jennings and 1966 World Cup winner Martin Peters at Stock Brook Manor on Monday
An Essex woman has been found guilty of the murder of a teenager who was covered in petrol and set on fire in an argument over a boyfriend. Deborah Carne, 17, was left burning in an isolated layby near her home in Sible Hedingham in July 2002. Tests showed
A temporary portable building is to become Rochford District Council's new reception area at its main offices. The new building is needed so the council can comply with new legislation on disabled access. At present, the council offices are in historic
Ambitious plans by a developer to revive Southend's "second pier" have been sunk by Southend Council. Businessman John Cross wanted to turn the delapidated and decaying jetty into a shopping mall, bistro-style restaurant and a specialised apartment-style
Plans for a multi-million pound football stadium in Basildon have been put back in the melting pot. Government planners have decided to once again examine controversial plans for the stadium in Gloucester Park, fuelling protesters' fears the scheme may
Young athletes from north Essex will be hoping to emulate their Olympic heroes when they compete in trials to represent Colchester and Tendring in the Essex Youth Games. The trials, on Saturday, April 24, will give young people the chance to gain coaching
Drivers are being urged to work from home or car share this summer when 18-weeks of work are carried out to a crumbling south Essex flyover. Castle Point motorists driving up to London over the Pitsea flyover on the A13 are set to face diversions and
A group of young people taken on an Army training course by the police have been taking part in a gruelling week of tough training and harsh discipline. All 30 boys and girls from the troubled Templars estate, Witham, where youth crime has reached a new
Tributes have been paid to a former long-serving shop manager who died after falling ill at the wheel of his car. Mick Gwynn, 71, had returned to Clacton to visit family with his wife, Joyce, over the holiday weekend. He was driving along Cloes Lane,
New powers to crack down on youths behaving badly are to be used on a trouble-plagued Chelmsford estate. It is the first time such powers have been given in the Chelmsford area. Police at Melbourne were granted a dispersal order covering the Trent Road
A top sports club is folding because members cannot afford the rent for their base of 20 years at Braintree's Towerlands Centre. Club captain Malcolm Stark commented: "I wouldn't say we were kicked out, we just weren't encouraged to stay." Unable to agree
Racing driver Fulvio Mussi from Layer-de-la-Haye is taking another step towards his Formula One dream. The 18-year-old started in the ELF/BTE Lawline Renault Clio Cup season on Sunday. He was in the thick of the action at Thruxton in front of MotorTV
Picturesque gardens behind Colchester's Mercury Theatre could one day be turned into new rehearsal studios. The popular theatre is growing short of rehearsal space for productions, according to chief executive Dee Evans. One option, Ms Evans said, was
Rochford Hundred's Lucy Clarke, a student at the Stock Brook based Sports Academy, made a perfect start to her golfing season. Getting the line right - three players from the Essex Girls Championship at Hanover Golf Club, Rachel Graves, Lucy Clarke and
Town centre shopkeepers and residents are joining a councillor's crusade to stop Clacton from turning into what they believe will be a ghost town. Two weeks ago, Tendring councillor Roy Smith appealed for shops, businesses and residents to write to John
When Tom Makey and Jonathan Kimber decided at the end of last season to team up for this year's Cadet dinghy campaign they could hardly have expected to have made such promising start. In their first race together and after very little practice, the pair
The killers of a blameless teenager were today branded "selfish, evil kids" by her parents. Seventeen-year-old Debra Carne's burnt body was discovered in a quiet country lane in Castle Hedingam in July 2002. After 26 hours of deliberations a jury yesterday
An extra 45 jobs are on the cards for a mid-Essex firm - if it is allowed to expand. Braintree Council's area committee approved Esco Business Services' outline plans to build office and storage units on the former hospital site in Sculpins Lane, between
A former school playing field in Rochford is to be developed to provide 66 sheltered apartments for frail elderly people. Rochford Primary School in Ashingdon Road used the field until recently, when a new play area was created behind the school. District
Plans for Chelmsford City Football Club's "home-coming" to Melbourne Stadium were formally handed over to borough council planners this week with the hope that the club will be playing there before the end of the year. Plans to convert the stadium, at
"If everyone is fit and everybody is available, then Essex can be successful this season." Those were the reflections of England bowler Darren Gough who became an Essex player during the winter in a high profile move from Yorkshire. "One-day cricket realistically
Vulnerable and disadvantaged Dunmow residents are to benefit from grants and facilities given to groups committed to improving their quality of life. The Dunmow-based group responsible for training volunteers in the area has been given £10,000, while
A speeding driver collided with a parked car when he spun out of control in a quiet street where children were playing. Written off - Catherine Avery's Renault Picture: RON POULTER Mum-of-two Catherine Avery, of Burnham Road, Hullbridge, was sitting in
Port owners have addressed outstanding issues ahead of a public inquiry into major expansion plans. Hutchison Ports UK has provided more information about its application to build a new container terminal at Bathside Bay, Harwich. The material has been
Andy Flower's decision to put Worcestershire in to bat at the start of Essex's two-day friendly looked to have backfired at lunch today. The former Zimbabwe star, leading the county in the absence of regular skipper Ronnie Irani, decided to bowl at the
Firms are queueing up to move in to Tendring. Companies from London and the Midlands are keen to relocate to the district which is seen as the major gateway to Europe. However, there are serious concerns that there will not be enough commercial or industrial
Chris Duffy is the latest player to pledge his allegiance to Canvey Island Football Club as Gulls prepare for their entry into the Nationwide Conference. On the dotted line - Canvey's Chris Duffy signs his new contract watched by club secretary Frances
People living in a Braintree road are angry that maintenance works have made the surface dangerous. Disgusted - Shirley Shreeve is angry at the big hole left in Stephenson Road, Braintree, by Transco workers. Picture: ROB SAMBROOK (35124-3) People in
It wasn't a case of mistaken identity as first feared by a distraught grandmother - more a case of mistaken hair piece. Betty Rodgers, 64, of Little Searles, Pitsea, thought vandals had struck for a third time after she found a black "wig" stuffed into
Southend United manager Steve Tilson is urging his Shrimpers side to continue their recent resurgence until the end of the season. The in form Blues have lost just one of their last ten league games to climb to 12th in the table, but Tilson is determined
Train operator First Great Eastern provided a better than average service in its final month of existence. That was the verdict of Witham and Braintree Rail Users' Association, whose monthly performance report said that 14.5 per cent of First's services
The mood at Essex County Cricket Club is optimistic for a successful season in 2004 with belief that the county can regain their place in the County Championship First Division and add a one-day trophy to the list of honours. That is a view endorsed by
Postal services are suffering delays following a switch in delivery arrangements, it has emerged. Royal Mail has admitted there have been difficulties in implementing the new one-delivery-a-day system, with posties having to go back out for an unofficial
Two prizewinners have handed back £1,000 each to a Thundersley charity caring for terminally ill children. Generous - bond winner Patrick Isaac hands back his £1,000 prize to Buddy, the Little Haven hospice bear Picture: RON POULTER Francis Baker, from
A rare blow-up from Spartans special teams cost them at least a share of the points against highly-rated Kent Exiles. Touchdowns from Paul Simpson and quarterback Aaron Griffiths went unconverted, meaning the Exiles sneaked home by the narrowest of margins
Detectives have said a stabbing victim would be dead if it had not been for the two coats he was wearing when he was attacked. The 27-year-old had a five-inch blade plunged into his intestine during an argument with two men in Kiln Shaw, Laindon. His
Southend United goalkeeper Carl Emberson has been released from his Roots Hall contract by mutual consent. The 30-year-old shot-stopper made just seven appearances for the Shrimpers after signing from Luton Town during the summer. The former Colchester
The Evening Gazette has revealed the mystery runner in the race to set up a betting shop in Frinton's posh town centre. Britain's biggest independent bookmakers, Don Brothers, which has more than 400 shops nationwide is bidding to move into the High Street
An Essex woman has been found guilty of the murder of a teenager who was covered in petrol and set on fire in an argument over a boyfriend. Deborah Carne, 17, was left burning in an isolated layby near her home in Sible Hedingham in July 2002. Tests showed
A woman has been banned from keeping horses for five years after admitting causing unnecessary cruelty to a pony in her care. Suzanne Ohlsen, 45, of Stalin Road, Barn Hall, Colchester, was given a deprivation order by town magistrates yesterday. It means
Funding to assist in tackling neighbour disputes across the Braintree district has been approved by executive members of the council. Councillors have backed recommendations from the council's scrutiny panel to continue funding of £12,000 per year to
