Long-awaited primary school area changes have been drawn up. It ends years of uncertainty over which schools Braintree children should attend. Headteachers said the proposal would help families whose children would have gone to Chapel Hill Primary, which
Colchester United defender Pat Baldwin has become the latest player to scoop a U's player-of-the-month award after a series of superb displays in November. The classy centre-half has bounced back from a tough campaign last season to become a virtual ever-present
A body has been discovered at a village boatyard. It was discovered in a boat by a man at St Osyth Creek boatyard yesterday. A spokesman for Essex Police said the body was a man, thought to be in his 40s. The death is not being treated as suspicious and
A community stadium for Colchester has taken an important step towards becoming reality with a design proposal submitted to the Government. A planning application has been handed in to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which was hailed as "an exciting
A couple who saw their wedding plans destroyed by a hurricane have had their preparations blown back on course thanks to a generous Bocking landowner. Nicola Holmes and Vernon Brooks, both 41, were forced to cancel their wedding in Grenada on September
The death knell has sounded for swimming at Maldon's Promenade Park. Emotions ran high at last night's Maldon District Council meeting as, after months of wrangling, members overwhelmingly voted to let the axe fall on the century-old tradition on swimming
Taunting yobs poured white spirit over a 12-year-old girl then held lighters up to her body. The group surrounded the youngster as she walked home from school to her home in Dilbridge Road, Colchester. Police recovered the empty fluid bottle from the
Runaway horses caused an articulated lorry and a 7-tonne truck to collide on the A12. The accident on the Ipswich-bound track of the Colchester bypass at 12.47pm yesterday led to a two-mile tailback, as far as the Spring Lane junction. The driver of the
A popular BBC television programme has chosen a north-Essex village to host its Christmas celebrations. Viewers will see 16 families who featured on the hit documentary Little Angels enjoy their festive celebrations at Kelvedon's Crabb's Barn. The programme
Mersea Island are back on the Twickenham trail tomorrow when they entertain Powergen Junior Vase favourites Old Dunstonian (kick-off 1.15pm at East Mersea youth camp). Victory could see Mersea win through to the sixth round of the competition for the
Students have been learning how to cope in the cut-throat world of business by playing games. It's all a game Thurstable School, Tiptree, students Adam Lofthouse and Rebecca Siddle show they mean business. (40084-3) Aspiring entrepreneurs at Thurstable
The frame has started to be built on the new Two Village Primary School in Ramsey. Hard at work - builders have laid the foundations of the £3 million Two Village Primary School in Ramsey. (40092-a) Work on the £3 million project started in October and
A youth shelter could be built in a village for young people to meet there. A planning application will be made to put a shelter in Parkeston Welfare Park. The project is being overseen by Harwich and District Crime Prevention Panel. Ramsey and Parkeston
Students have been learning how to cope in the cut-throat world of business by playing games. Aspiring entrepreneurs at Thurstable School, Tiptree, played interactive business game Leverage. The Essex Education Business Partnership competition teaches
A teenage girl grabbed by a stranger as she walked along at night fought back, punching him in the face. The 17-year-old victim was in Port Lane, in New Town, Colchester, just before 9pm yesterday, when she was grabbed around the waist by a man. He tried
A top mid-Essex swimming club claiming an overcharge of £41,000 for the use of Witham's Bramston swimming pool is furious after being given a "derisory" £100 compensation. The Witham Dolphins, which trained Commonwealth 50 metres champion swimmer James
Police today condemned "appalling" hoax letters trying to trick elderly people out of cash. Clacton police have received five reports from elderly people in the area who have received the disturbing letters, which claim to be from clairvoyants and demand
Colchester garrison has escaped unscathed in the latest round of defence cuts. Four infantry battalions including one from the Parachute Regiment are to be axed in a major restructuring of the Army, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon announced yesterday. The
Fagan is not willing to stop being a winner. The tenacious Colchester United forward does not want to ease off on his commitment on the pitch despite his discipline record suffering as a result. The striker has bagged 11 goals this season for the U's,
Revellers could be risking their safety by using unlicensed taxis. Maldon District Council has issued an urgent warning to partygoers planning to arrange a lift home from Christmas or New Year's Eve bashes to make sure they know whose car they are getting
Police are searching for a 14-year-old boy who has been missing from home since Saturday. Phong Dai Hoang, who is of Vietnamese origin, left his foster home in Elmhurst Road, Dovercourt, and has not been seen since. Concern is now growing for the teenager
Sponsors of this year's competition to make Witham greener and cleaner have been thanked for their efforts. Financial backers of the 2004 Witham in Bloom competition were invited to a lunch at the town hall and presented with certificates commemorating
MERSEA ISLAND are back on the Twickenham trail tomorrow when they entertain Powergen Junior Vase favourites Old Dunstonian (kick-off 1.15pm at East Mersea youth camp). Victory could see Mersea win through to the sixth round of the competition for the
Costs of maintaining a row of derelict houses have run into tens of thousands of pounds, the Gazette can reveal. Heavy price - the row of derelict houses in Brook Street have cost taxpayers £600-a-week since coming under Colchester Council control (36881
Joe Royle has signed on the dotted line and pledged his future to Ipswich Town until the summer of 2007. The Blues chief yesterday signed a two-year extension to his current deal along with assistant Willie Donachie and spoke of his delight with the agreement
Tributes have been paid to a driver who died in an accident. Lorry driver Steven Drewett, 39, of Colchester, died when his Vauxhall Astra car crossed the central reservation on the A133 between Colchester and Elmstead Market on Wednesday. Mr Drewett was
Safety cameras will be installed on the A120 in the new year. Moves are being finalised to put cameras in several locations along dangerous spots in the road. The idea was first introduced almost a year ago when the Gazette's sister paper, the Harwich
A crook fled after he was caught stealing meat from the Co-op Food Hall in Old Heath Road, Colchester. The man was challenged by security staff outside the store at 5.30pm on Wednesday. He threw the beef joint, worth £7.04, on the ground, making off in
The stars came out in the children's ward when a pair of international footballers and their Ipswich Town team-mate brought some Christmas cheer to the young patients. Present time Jason De Vos, Shefki Kuqi and Aidan Collins meet Lauren Alexander and
Youngsters are counting their pennies as part of a new scheme to help them save money. Penny pinching - Liz Kearley, of Essex Savers Net Credit Union, with eager Frobisher Primary and Nursery School savers. (40028-1) Frobisher Primary and Nursery School
Five men had a lucky escape today after a multiple pile-up on the A12 which caused huge tailbacks. A van and four cars were involved in the smash which happened on the London-bound track at Boreham. Three of the vehicles suffered extensive damage and
A superstore hopes to have something to sprout about. Sprout sage - Safeway produce manager Gary Hockley. (40095-b) The Safeway store on the Waterglade Retail Park, Old Road, Clacton, is hoping to hold on to its crown as the leading sprout-selling Safeway
Brentford's season so far has been a complete contrast to the nightmare of last term. The Bees are currently buzzing at the top end of the Coca-Cola League One. Their last campaign, though, almost ended in disaster. They had to clinch victory on the last
Feeding the swans at Mistley Walls has always been a popuar pastime. Sticking out the black swan swims among his new white swan friends at Mistley Walls. (40096-e) But there has been an added attraction in recent weeks with the arrival of a black swan
