Police investigating the discovery of a body in a field off Colchester's Cowdray Avenue have ruled out foul play. A post-mortem yesterday proved inconclusive but officers said they were satisfied there were no suspicious circumstances. The case has
The parents of missing teenager Natasha Coombs have admitted they are living in constant fear of "what tomorrow will bring". The 17-year-old, of Dovercourt, vanished after boarding a late-night train from Ipswich on July 27. Her parents Gary and Joanne
Alan Lee has admitted it was never in my mind' to quit Ipswich Town - despite a summer of uncertainty about his future. The Blues striker has been repeatedly linked with moves away from Portman Road, with Hull City having two bids rejected for the Republic
Colchester United chairman Robbie Cowling has said it is imperative that the club stay in the Coca-Cola Championship. The U's are about to embark on another season in the second tier of English football, with their opening match at Sheffield United only
MARK Pettini has not given up on his England dream, despite missing out on selection for England's Twenty20 World Cup squad. The Essex captain was named in the initial 30-man squad for the tournament, only to be left out of the final 15 after enduring
Chloe Rogers will be looking to achieve three personal goals when she turns out for England in the Euro Nations Women's Hockey Championship at Manchester in just over a week's time. The Dunmow-based 22-year-old former Buckinghamshire University student
Designs for Colchester's new bus station and retail centre are to go on public show next month. Some of the country's leading architecture firms have been invited to submit ideas for key components of the Vineyard Gate development at St Botolph's Street
When it comes to major new developments, planning can be a long-winded, turgid affair. Take Heathrow Airport's Terminal Five, for example. That has taken ten years to go through the planning process. As for Harwich's multi-million-pound Bathside Bay
A maze of pipes and cables under Colchester's roads is proving a headache for a water company. Anglian Water was planning to lay a new mains water pipe in Bergholt Road to serve the new housing development on the former Flakt Woods site. Maps suggested
A doomed college could be turned into a hotel in a bid to ease Colchester's beds shortage. Grey Friars is on a shortlist of buildings earmarked as possible locations for new hotels in the town centre. The college is due to close next year after it was
A taxi firm was plunged into chaos after a power cut knocked out its phones and computers. Hundreds of customers were left stranded on Monday when the blackout wiped computerised records of bookings. Christie Wettasinghe, of Hawaii 5-0 and Five-4-One
Parents have posted flyers through 2,000 letterboxes as they fight to save Colchester's Alderman Blaxill School. They have written to 5,000 businesses in the Shrub End area - and plan a sustained publicity drive to safeguard the future of the troubled
Police seized a suspected drug stash after swooping on a Colchester home. About 20 uniformed and plain-clothes officers rammed down doors in simultaneous raids at 2pm yesterday on addresses in Portland Road and Fairfax Road, off Mersea Road. A quantity
A post-mortem examination was today due to be carried out on the body of a man found in a riverside field in Colchester. Police have not ruled out the possibility that the dead man was murdered. Officers carried out a forensic examination for several
Soldiers will be able to see their families while they are serving overseas. The Forces Reunited website has launched a webcam feature enabling its 340,000 members to see and speak to each other, whether they are at home in Britain, training in Belize
Flatford Mill is to get a £1.5 million revamp - but bosses have promised that the world-famous view of Constable Country will stay the same. The ambitious project will see new accommodation and classrooms built at Flatford's field studies centre. The
A supermarket will be offering a glimpse of the future when it lays out its plans for a complete redevelopment. The Co-op in Manningtree is holding a public consultation on Thursday, August 16, to give residents the chance to check over the new design
A new dad endured a back wax to thank nurses who cared for his poorly baby girl. Matt Parker-Young's daughter, Evlyn Grace, was born six weeks prematurely and had to spend two weeks in the special care baby unit (SCBU) at Colchester General Hospital.
A top police officer who is leading the search for the missing teenager said it was a difficult and complex investigation. Chief Insp Steve Robinson, district commander for Tendring, said: "Obviously, we are continuing with the physical searches both
Post-war Mersea and its characters are brought to life in a new book by first-time author and lifelong islander Pixie Farthing. In her autobiography, From When I Can Remember, the mother-of-five writes about the events, family and friends which shaped
A retired signwriter is renovating rare tiles which honour people who have died at sea. Dennis Munson, 71, has so far spent 60 painstaking hours restoring the tablets at All Saints' Church in Brightlingsea. The frieze lines the nave wall and contains
An innovative £800,000 scheme to protect a special environmental heritage site has been presented to campaigners. Plans for the Crag Walk project, which will protect a section of the cliff at Walton and a listed 18th century navigational tower, were
A couple were trapped in their bedroom when a fire broke out in their home while they slept. After raising the alarm the 23-year-old man and his 58-year-old wife, of Harcourt Avenue, Dovercourt, waited for rescue teams to save them. Two crews from Dovercourt
A football club hit by falling attendances have sent out a plea to occasional supporters to return to their ground. Ipswich Town have seen a steady fall in their gate figures since dropping out of the Premiership, and now their manager, Jim Magilton,
The foot and mouth crisis in Surrey has forced the cancellation of one of Clacton Carnival's star attractions. The winner of television's One man and his dog, Tom Longton, was due to headline the arena attractions at the Sunday Show. Mr Longton, a dairy
Police are appealing for witnesses to an alleged sexual assault to come forward. Harwich Police are urging a group of people who were in Cliff Park Gardens when the alleged incident took place to help them with their inquiries. They also want to hear
Coastguards and lifeboat crews have criticised a "reckless" man for jumping off Walton pier. The incident comes only four weeks after two men, John Castleman and Kelvin Rothwell, died after jumping from Clacton pier. The man, who is from the Walton
