IN last year's We Wanna Make You a Star competition there were a handful of those auditioning who had the talent, but not the experience. Rather than turn them away completely, they were offered a place on the one-year foundation course at Whitehall College
Straw bales were sent flying after a tractor was involved in a collision with a car. Mayhem - vehicles at a standstill after the accident in Harwich Road, Colchester, yesterday. Picture: STEVE BRADING (47952-b) Traffic was brought to a standstill after
CONTROVERSIAL plans to build a seven-storey block of flats in Leigh have been recommended for refusal. Residents of Grand Par-ade were outraged by a proposal to flatten the house at number 31 and build a futuristic-looking block of six flats in its place
Lewis Price is determined to keep his place in Ipswich Town's starting line-up for tomorrow's showdown with Burnley. The Blues goalkeeper was pitched back into the team for last week's 2-1 derby success at arch rivals Norwich City. But he knows Shane
AN elderly people's charity has claimed pensioners may have to "choose between eating and heating" if Essex County Council decides to increase the cost of its meals-on-wheels service by 52 per cent. Under budget proposals announced this week, the council
A GROUP of teenagers playing basketball were robbed at knifepoint in a busy Basildon park. The six youths were in Northlands Park, Eastmayne, at about 5pm on Tuesday when they were approached by three men. One man - described as fat with a "droopy face
THE Palace Theatre has been rescued. After a round of private discussions, Southend Council has announced it has picked the company HQ Theatres to take over the running of the Cliffs Pavilion and the Palace. It will mean the small Edwardian theatre, in
A drunk thief came unstuck when the brakes failed on the moped he had stolen. Unemployed Daniel Kain careered through a garden wall and into a camper van after driving off on the bike when the owner left it outside a shop, a court heard. He suffered a
A driver was taken to hospital after a three-car crash. The injured driver, a 35-year-old woman from Frinton, suffered neck injuries and was taken to Colchester General Hospital. She was released after treatment. A man in another car escaped without injury
Garry Richards believes his luck is in. On the ball - Garry Richards takes control at training. (43706-22) Colchester United's youngest and newest hard-man in defence has just penned a two-year contract with the Layer Road club that will keep him tied
Anti-Irish songs sparked a brawl between Colchester United and West Ham fans, a court heard. The groups met up at a London pub to team up for an organised fight against Tottenham Hotspur supporters. Instead, they brawled among themselves when a Colchester
They make them tough in Frinton. At the age of 70, most people would settle for enjoying the London Marathon from the comfort of their armchair. Keep on running - Brian Johnson, 70, is getting ready for the London Marathon, which he plans to run for the
STAFF at Southend Hospital hope patients will feel reassured by a new cleaning regime being drawn up. A tailor-made cleaning programme is being created for each clinical area. The hospital has a specialist emergency team ready to undertake a deep clean
THE winners of a young writers competition have been in the spotlight. Young authors who came top in the Winter Writing competition were given their prize at the Leigh Young People's Art Centre. The competition - which attracted more than 80 entries -
A motorcyclist was travelling at 90mph when he clipped a kerb and was thrown more than 30 metres in the air, an inquest heard. Derek Hibbert was trying to avoid a police car parked in Brightlingsea Road, Thorrington, close to its junction with School
A NEW £500,000 pavilion on King George V playing fields in Rayleigh is gradually taking shape. The roof has now been installed on the revamped pavilion. Most of the old pavilion was demolished in November last year. Rayleigh Town Council is spending £500,000
Charity shop staff blamed scavenging car boot-salers for a blaze which destroyed a new skip. Anger - PDSA shop manager Brenda Economou, with the skip. Picture: ROB SAMBROOK (47738-1) Bosses at Colchester's PDSA shop spent £700 on the Biffa skip, to stop
Ian Westlake is burning with ambition - and ready to turn a negative into a positive. The Ipswich Town midfielder admitted it was agonising to be named among the substitutes for Sunday's East Anglian derby at Norwich City. And he wants to make sure his
Rowdy youths at a party on a Chelmsford estate have been captured on camera by a new crack police unit operating in mid-Essex for the first time. The Forward Intelligence Team was called in to break up a group of drunken troublemakers after a party got
A pupil was excluded from school after he shot another child in the back with a BB gun. The incident happened at the Harwich School, in Hall Lane, Dovercourt. Both pupils are in year seven. A pupil was not injured but suffered a red mark on his back.
A MAN who survived a 150ft fall down a lift shaft has won nearly £1million compensation. In March 2001, Gary Smith, 40, from Stanford-le-Hope, was working as a lift engineer 11 floors up at Canary Wharf Tower, London, when the supporting rope of the maintenance
Colchester United ace Karl Duguid still pinches himself every day to prove he is not living a dream. Bowled over - Karl Duguid, enjoying a team bonding session with his clubmates at Colchester's Superbowl yesterday, wants to lead the U's to glory. Picture
The father of a miracle baby is giving an amazing gift to other disabled children. Against the odds - brave Patrick Monk, who is now fighting fit, pictured with his mum Katy. Picture: SEANA HUGHES (47738-a) Patrick Monk was born 11 weeks early, weighing
