A superb unbeaten knock of 114 from Devang Gandhi saw Hadleigh and Thundersley celebrating their first Division One success of the season - but he got great support from a number of team-mates. Hadleigh skipper Adam Fleming won the toss and put Chelmsford
Essex skipper Ronnie Irani pulled off a masterstroke to help Essex to a 39-run victory over Worcestershire at New Road to keeps them on top of the totesport League table. For much of the afternoon, the county had looked decidedly second best. Their modest
A group of friends had a lucky escape after a car demolished the front of a house. Clearing up - Christine Hamilton outside her house after the crash. Picture: ROB SAMBROOK (43458-2) Just minutes earlier, the group had been playing cards in the front
The Echo's latest voteline on whether Southend should become a casino resort has again showed a majority against the council proposals. A total of 360 voted against a supercasino resort in Southend, with 64 in favour. Council leader Anna Waite said: "
Fears that a Thundersley petrol station had closed for good look unfounded after it was revealed the garage is undergoing a facelift. Many drivers from Thundersley have been puzzled since the White Heather Service Station, in Kiln Road, closed last month
Travellers living on an unauthorised camp in Pitsea could be forced off after council chiefs agreed to take action over the site. Basildon Council is issuing enforcement notices against the unauthorised stationing of caravans and a mobile home at land
A Group of cricketers had a lucky escape after their pavilion was set on fire while they were inside. A fire is believed to have been started under the door of the wooden building in Chalkwell Park, Leigh, at 10.30pm on Saturday. The building has only
Frightened residents today told how "animal" yobs were conducting a campaign of terror which has seen a series of attacks on pensioners' homes in Pitsea. Yobs have targeted properties in Oakwood Grove, a sheltered housing estate, and nearby Travers Way
Two teenage boys needed hospital treatment after they were punched in the face with what is thought to be knuckle duster in a pedestrian underpass. The 16-year-olds, from Basildon and Wickford, were attacked while walking along the Roundacre Roundabout
Andy Flower was in full bloom as Essex carved out an easy 55-run triumph over Gloucestershire at Chelmsford to continue their title assault in the first division of the totesport League. Action - Will Jefferson (right) faces up to Gloucestershire's James
A book of Wickford Memories is due to be published this month. Jim Reeve, 69, from West Hanningfield, felt such a connection with the town after he was evacuated there he decided to compile a book of people's memories. He said: "The purpose of the book
Friends and family choked back tears as they remembered a warm, happy and caring mother-of-two who was found murdered in the back of a car. Dozens of people attended a memorial survive for Inga Losiene, 32, at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic church in Leigh
Gallery bosses rubbed shoulders with Hollywood stars and the glitterati of the art world, on a taxpayer-funded trip to Venice. The all-expenses-paid jaunt to the 2005 Biennale was arranged on the grounds it would promote Colchester's new visual arts facility
An actress who originally hails from south Essex is wowing audiences on both sides of the Atlantic in a popular sci-fi thriller. Amanda Tapping can be seen on the small screen series Stargate SG-1, which is now into its eighth season. She has played the
A pilot averted disaster when he landed his troubled plane at Earls Colne Airfield minutes after take off. The man, who was flying a Cessna 172 with his wife as a passenger, made the precautionary landing yesterday because he was worried about an engine
Plans to build a new eco-friendly waste treatment plant at Pitsea landfill site could be given the go-ahead this week. If accepted by Essex County Council, the plans would see the new facility use air, water and leachate, liquid produced by decomposing
Wickfordat last pulled off their first Premier Division win of the season at the sixth attempt - leaving former Essex star Chris Gladwin to exclaim: "I'm glad to prove that I wasn't talking out of my backside." Gladwin had insisted that his side should
Anyone who feels the need for a furry companion should give Basildon Cats Protection a call. The charity, based in Brempsons, Basildon, has more than 15 adult cats and 25 kittens waiting to meet prospective owners. The group holds regular homing fairs
Clacton got into top gear yesterday as classic car lovers flocked to the coast. All shapes and sizes - showing off their Messerschmitt KR200 are Joseph, Peter and Lisa Steele. (43456-5) They were going to see the hundreds of shining exhibits at Clacton's
A Police investigation is under way after a group wrote to the Echo claiming responsibility for vandalising Labour councillors' cars and arson attacks on an Islamic centre. Forensic tests are being carried out on a handwritten letter posted to the Echo
Tributes were today paid to a 19-year-old woman from Stanway who died in a car accident. Samantha Ross, known as Sammy, died after her car left the road in Peldon on Friday afternoon. Her parents, Mark and Joanne, said: "We miss her. We will always love
An accident on the A12 led to the road being shut off for nearly four hours at the weekend. Three vehicles were involved in the crash, which happened at the Witham south interchange early on Saturday morning. Police were called to the Ipswich-bound road
Billericay Town will receive nothing financially for finishing runners-up in the Ryman League Premier Division last season. For cash under the sponsorship from Ryman was swallowed up by the league's legal fight with the FA over the restructuring of Steps
JOANNE Hoare is living a remarkable double life. She is a midwife and busy mum of eight-year-old twins living in Grays. She is also the Thurrock Area Representative for Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a human rights charity involved in many countries
Southend won the Essex Youth Games for the fourth year running at a blazing hot Garon Park on Saturday. It is the third year that the Eastern Avenue venue has hosted the annual sporting competition and the Southend park has proved happy hunting ground
Gold-medal winner Terry Howlett is still in a spin after helping his England team to the top prize at the European Grand Masters. Hat-trick hero - Terry Howlett blasted a treble against France, plus another goal versus Scotland, as England won the European
A Delegation from Southend will be making another attempt tonight to gain more funding from the Government to stave off further cuts in council services. Council leader Anna Waite and town clerk Rob Tinlin, together with the town's two Tory MPs, David
A couple watched helplessly helplessly as firefighters tackled a blaze which swept through their home. Neighbours called the emergency services after a fire started at the bungalow in Cedar Park Close, Thundersley, at 4.10pm on Saturday. Firefighters
An up and coming footballer returned to his old school to present awards to sporting students and winning teams. West Ham reserves footballer Tony Stokes, 18, left Castle View School, on Canvey, in 2003. He signed up to the club - which has just won promotion
A fishing boat has trawled up four unexploded bombs. The Second World War shells were discovered yesterday at 11.15am by a boat in the River Stour. Coastguard authorities were immediately called by the Harwich Harbour Authority and a team from the Explosives
Basildon was hit by carnival fever when the annual extravaganza descended on the town's sun-drenched streets. Crowds lined the pavements to catch a glimpse of carnival queens and princesses during the parade of floats which started off at Chalvedon School
Sarah Claxton's superb win for Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the European Cup First League helped secure the women's team promotion back to the top flight. After relegation last year, the country's best female athletes were determined to win the
A man was set alight in Colchester when a group of males squirted a flammable liquid on a 21-year-old man's neck and ignited it in the early hours of yesterday morning. "He was able to put the flames out himself and did not suffer serious injuries," a
A project to cure flooding problems in Heybridge has been knocked down the priority list. Bigger communities with chronic flooding problems, such as Carlisle, have pushed back the Heybridge engineering scheme by at least a year. It had been due to start
TILBURY will start their campaign in the Westview Essex Senior League knowing that a position in the top three, and possibly the top five, is likely to guarantee them immediate promotion back to Step Four football. A major reorganisation of the non-League
A Gang of four robbers is thought to have held up two bookmakers in the space of 30 minutes, threatening staff with a blade and making off with thousands of pounds. One woman member of staff, believed to be in her 50s, was taken to hospital suffering
Southend schools may have to wait until 2011 to benefit from a Government scheme to refurbish all buildings. The Government claims it will refurbish every secondary school in the next 15 years and half of all primary schools from 2008 to 2009. However
THURROCK boss, Colin McBride, has made three new signings to re-inforce his attacking options ahead of his side's assault on next season's Conference South. McBride has snapped up forwards Boniek Forbes and Craig O'Connor along with free-scoring midfielder
A MUM and dad from Stifford Clays are in a race against time to stop their baby being left with a potentially serious condition which could affect the rest of his life. The family need an individually made £1,700 corrective helmet to put right their youngest's
It will soon be one-way traffic in a south Essex town centre thanks to an injection of people power. An accident blackspot in the middle of Stanford-le-Hope sparked strong public opinion more than two years ago. Now Thurrock Council has taken action by
A NEW warning had gone out to old and vulnerable people in south east Essex who are targets of callous traders. Over recent weeks Thurrock Council's trading standards department has received enquiries about unnecessary and unsatisfactory work being carried
A Notorius rapist who left a trail of traumatised victims is suing Essex Police over photographs they handed to the press. Richard Baker, from Cornwall, was jailed in May 1999 after being found guilty of three rapes and a string of sexual assaults around
A fire ripped through a social club, gutting most of the building. Destroyed - Braintree Constituency Labour Party chairman Tony Bennett looks at the damage cause by the blaze. Picture: SEANA HUGHES (43474-c) Firefighters were called to the Labour Party
Thirteen people were trapped for more than an hour in a packed, sweltering lift at Southend's new multi-million pound Pier Hill development. Brian Speller, 68, of Exeter Close, Shoebury, allowed a toolkit given to him for Father's day to be used to smash
A "rustbucket" bandstand left to wrack and ruin for more than 25 years has been revamped in time for the summer season. A total of £4,000 in lottery cash has been spent on Canvey's seaside bandstand, in Eastern Esplanade. The makeover, organised by island
Pupils gave an overwhelming "oui" to frogs legs and snails as they tucked into French fare at their school. Great Wakering Primary spent the day celebrating French culture and the molluscs were just one of the dishes on offer. Heather White, the teacher
A major consultation has been launched into how hundreds of millions of pounds could be invested in East Tilbury and Linford. Development company Thamesgate Regeneration, acknowledge their plans to enlarge the two communities are controversial and they
Basildon AC's Kim Wall played a winning part as the British women regained their place among Europe's athletics elite in Leiria, Portugal, yesterday. Wall, 22 and currently studying for a Masters degree at Loughborough University, ran second in the 4x400
Southend West MP David Amess has vowed to continue fighting to clear his son's name after an appeal against his conviction for assault was lost. David Amess Jnr won a cut in his prison sentence from four years to three but judges rejected claims that
A grieving woman today paid tribute to her 18-year-old boyfriend who died suddenly, leaving their 12-week-old son Alfie. Sadness - Fay Le Goupillot with the couple's son Alfie. Picture: SEANA HUGHES (43475-b) Ricky King died three days after collapsing
The glories of Rome were brought to Colchester. Tall these Romans - Oliver Seymour, 3, meets Centurion Ian Baalham. Picture: STEVE BRADING (43288- b) A Roman theme marked the Young Children's Festival, held in Castle Park on Saturday. As well as a fun
A Pensioner walked free from court after being cleared of raping a schoolgirl at his home and indecently assaulting two other teenagers. John Gentry, 65, of Exeter Close, Basildon, had been on trial after pleading not guilty to raping the 14-year-old
