TEENAGER Vickie Bristow is preparing to return home from Hungary after the first phase of treatment to help her achieve her dream of walking. Cerebral palsy sufferer Vickie, 14, was sent to the renowned Peto Institute in Budapest five weeks ago for specialist
Proud Phil Parkinson paid tribute to his team and their support after their amazing clash against Chelsea in the FA Cup. Fantastic support - U's fans cheer the side on at Stamford Bridge. Picture: STEVE ARGENT (48003-10) The U's lost 3-1 at Stamford Bridge
Unbelievable, unreal and unforgettable - the magnificent Colchester United fans matched their team's efforts with a fantastic show of support. In control - Chris Iwelumo tries to breakthrough the Chelsea defence. (48001-q) They sung throughout and turned
WEST Ham's goalless draw at Bolton may not have been the greatest of games, but manager Alan Pardew was satisfied with the outcome. The result ensures Hammers were in lunchtime's quarter final draw and keeps alive Pardew's hopes of crowning a triumphant
Objectors are trying to halt moves to sell a seaside golf course. Tendring Council has declared Clacton golf course surplus to requirements and hopes to raise cash for other projects. But now it has got eight objections to the proposal to sell the 120
GRAYS are sweating on the fitness of skipper Stuart Thurgood ahead of Tuesday's dress rehearsal for Saturday's FA Trophy quarter-final against Dagenham and Redbridge. Thurgood failed a late fitness test ahead of Saturday's defeat at Halifax after picking
A website charting Colchester's political life is being investigated by the police after a complaint about alleged racist content. The material, which is understood to have made comments about Muslims and civil partnerships, has now been removed from
A SOUTH Essex businessman has made a surprise £10million bid for an airport on one of the Channel Islands. Terry Holding, 72, who owns HBC salvage company on Charfleets Industrial Estate, Canvey, has had talks with the Department of Public Services on
THURROCK will be looking to break a goal drought that has lasted a mammoth 558 minutes when they travel to Conference South high-flyers St Albans on Tuesday. Boss Colin McBride has tried everything to improve his shot-shy squad in recent weeks, but despite
A notorious accident blackspot has again been the scene of a serious car accident in which a woman was thrown out of her car. The B1019 Maldon Road between Heybridge and Hatfield Peverel is known for the number of collisions which occur there. Last year
CILLA Black would certainly be envious of the Echo's match-making skills. These lovebirds found one another through our personal ads and now plan to marry in December. Neither Denise Long, 43, or Rob Rayner, 51, ever dreamt of finding their perfect partner
In typical forthright style, Joe Royle picked three very different words to describe his post-match mood - delighted, mystified and floored. Delighted after such a committed, fluent performance from his Ipswich Town side. The least they deserved was a
CANVEY boss Jeff King was a much relieved man as a much improved Gulls performance earned a 1-1 draw with high-flying Hereford. Gulls answered ex Cardiff-striker Stuart Fleetwood's 14th minute opener with a Neil Gregory penalty within two minutes to share
A teenager's repeated criminal damage against a newsagent has left the owner's 80-year-old mother too scared to be left in the home above, a court heard. Jamie Marshall, 18, caused hundreds of pounds of damage to Reed Newsagents, in Wellesley Road, Clacton
A father is angry his teenage son was almost choked as he was treated for meningitis. Waiting for answers - the Teagle family, of Ramsey, above, are demanding answers from Colchester General Hospital bosses after son Ed, was nearly choked while being
MORE than 250 cars were destroyed as a huge blaze engulfed a family-run breakers' yard in Rochford. Brothers Tony, Paul and Andrew Brown watched in horror as the fire took hold at Nevendon South East Cars on the Purdeys industrial estate at 4.15am Saturday
Braintree Town Football Club is hoping to spend more than £1 million redeveloping their stadium. The club, based in Cressing Road, is to submit a planning application to Braintree Council to make the improvements it needs to move up in the league. At
Everyone in Colchester can stand tall today. The nation watched as the town's team stepped up to the mark and made a name for themselves. The performance of a team that consisted of just two paid-for signings against a squad of multi-million valued players
Record numbers of youngsters signing up for courses at colleges could help plug Colchester's brain drain. Colchester Institute said it has had 1,000 more applications for courses than last year. Other further education colleges across the county have
BILLERICAY'S hopes of making the play-offs are still alive after a 1-0 success over relegation threatened Hendon in front of a 447 crowd at New Lodge. Midfielder Leon Hunter bagged the only goal but Matt Jones' side are still five points away from the
ANGELA Smith has taken up the challenge of walking 10,000 steps a day to raise money for the British Heart Foundation. Young Millennium Volunteers, aged 14 to 16, challenged the MP for Basildon and East Thurrock to take part in the pedometer-a-thon, which
THE Government has bowed to overwhelming public pressure and launched a review into the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's (DVLA) policy of handing over personal information to car park enforcement companies. Both the Gazette and Basildon and East
FORMER Southend Council leader and ex-mayor Howard Briggs is to stand down at this May's local elections, he revealed today. This will mean there will have to be a by-election in the safe Tory seat of West Leigh, where his term of office was not due to
The first step has been taken to return swimming to Maldon's Marine Lake. Spearheading the campaign - Robert Wyness says it is a 'historial right' to be able to swim in Maldon's Marine Lake. Below, supporters listen to his point of view at a recent meeting
A FIREFIGHTER was engulfed by a fireball as he tackled a blaze in a car. Martin Gilbert was battling a blazing Ford Fiesta when a gas cylinder in the boot exploded sending a searing hot fireball through the air. He only escaped serious injury because
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho described Colchester's display as 'courageous' after seeing his side pushed all the way at Stamford Bridge. Cool character - Jose Mourinho watches from the touchline as his Chelsea side do battle with the U's. Picture: STEVE
A NEW third road off Canvey today took a giant leap forward. Essex County Council is to plough £200,000 for a study into a link to the Shell Haven site at Thurrock cutting the journey from 13 miles to just three. The move will be seen as the county council's
