Let's make it a Derby double. Colchester United assistant manager Mick Harford has urged the U's players to repeat their inaugural Coca-Cola Championship victory when they take on his former side on Friday. Colchester registered a thrilling 4-3 victory
Ipswich Town winger Darren Currie is heading to the USA and could be lining up in the same team as David Beckham. Witham-based Currie is flying out to Los Angeles today for a two-week trial with LA Galaxy - the Major League Soccer side which grabbed
Police are today hunting a sex pest who indecently exposed himself to a string of women. The incidents happened around the Castle Park area of Colchester and are all believed to have involved the same man. Police today released an e-fit of the suspect
The East of England is the favoured destination in Britain for people coming from Eastern Europe looking for work. Home Office figures show 91,740 people have applied to work in the region since Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania
Residents are answering the call to preserve one of the oldest working cinemas in the country. The Harwich Electric Palace appeal was launched in November, in a bid to make vital structural repairs to the King's Quay Street building. Almost £1,000 has
An eagle-eyed walker spotted four dead birds over the weekend - but wasn't able to report it for almost three days. Philip Growden, of Boleyn Way, Jaywick, was walking his dog on Friday evening when he saw a dead seagull on the beach. He decided to
More than £5,000 was raised in a single sparkling day by caring staff and shoppers at Co-op stores across Essex. Generous donations at Fiveways Store in Manningtree, during the Glitter-up-for-Charity day on December 8, totalled £765. All the money is
McDonald's in Clacton has applied for a late-night premises licence. The fast-food chain hopes to increase its opening hours on Fridays and Saturdays to 5am - and says that the application is "catering to the individual needs of the community". At the
The bill for repairing vandalised toilets has reached £5,500 this year. Tendring Council is having to pay out £600 a week to clear up after people damaging public conveniences in the district. The latest incident came on Monday afternoon, when vandals
An explanation is being demanded over the "disrespectful manner" a decision to hold an historic council's election vote outside its town was dealt with. Candidates up for election on Harwich Town Council, which is proud of its history and dates back
A pet shop owner is the latest businessman to get upset about trade in Clacton town centre. Mel Christmas, owner of High Street outlet LMT Petfoods, said the store has been under siege with parking restrictions, display regulations and roadworks in the
Oscar-winner Dame Helen Mirren could have a bank holiday named after her - in her native Essex. It is the brainchild of Essex County Council leader Lord Hanningfield. He wants to create an official Dame Helen Mirren Bank Holiday to celebrate her Academy
Thanks to reader Ron Hooper, who sent in this picture of one of our more enterprising feathered friends. He wrote: "Travelling down Colchester High Street today, I stopped at the traffic lights at the end of the High Street (opposite the Castle) waiting
A talented young designer from Colchester has launched her debut collection at London Fashion Week. Hannah Marshall, who gained a first class degree from Colchester School of Art and Design in 2003, was chosen from hundreds of applicants to exhibit her
Town hall chiefs are planning a £500,000 blitz on dirty streets in Colchester. Council bosses are more than doubling the number of street cleaning vehicles in the borough. Seven new vehicles are being added to the fleet at a cost of almost £460,000.
Relatives of three men arrested in Cyprus have told how they were denied food and water in "appalling" conditions in custody. Witham men Julian Harrington, Michael Binnington, Luke Atkinson and James Goodwin were arrested last August in connection with
Youngsters have successfully netted more than £10,000 in funding for improved facilities. A new youth shelter and basketball post will be installed on Mill Road recreation ground, in Mile End, Colchester, thanks to the work of a group of ten to 16-year-olds
Plans for a controversial Cross Valley Road Link in Chelmsford have been put on hold for up to two years. A report to go before Essex County Council's cabinet next week recommends Option D of the north east Chelmsford bypass should go ahead. The report
Retained firefighters have been put off-duty because of fitness standards they have labelled too harsh. Witham fire crews plan to enter a grievance, calling in the Fire Brigades Union, because they want to be out on the frontline - or being retrained
Hooray for Hollywood Hollie! Especially as Colchester's Hollie Kemp may be on the cusp of the scooping the role of her life. The former Sixth Form college student is in Los Angeles talking with agents about a possible part in a new sitcom. Secrecy surrounds
Police are searching for the people behind a hoax bomb alert at a hotel earlier this week. The four-star Marks Tey Hotel had to be evacuated during a bomb scare on Monday afternoon. Army bomb disposal teams spent more than seven hours searching for
A woman has been told she will be jailed for causing death by dangerous driving. Deborah Riches died after she was involved in an accident in Colchester in May 2005. The 21-year-old lifeguard at the town's Leisure World was wheeling her bike along a
Drivers were today criticised for continuing to cause a danger on the roads by breaking mobile phone laws. Ten motorists - including a tipper truck driver - were arrested around Colchester yesterday, on the day laws surrounding the use of hand-held mobile
