Charity groups hoping to get a day centre once threatened with closure back on its feet are appealing for volunteers. Foundry Court Day Centre, in Manningtree, was closed down for three days a week after Essex County Council bosses said it was no longer
About £4,500 a month of NHS money is being spent on weight loss courses in north Essex. NHS North East Essex provides packs of vouchers – costing about £35 – for Weightwatchers classes or for its own Shape Up scheme. The vouchers give access to 12 weeks
A community fireworks event, which has attracted thousands of people for almost a decade, is in danger of completely fizzling out. The annual Wix Fireworks Spectacular is marking its tenth anniversary next Wednesday, but after this year organisers have
Unsung heroes from the Second World War are to be honoured. And there is still time to get involved in the landmark event. Tendring Council made an appeal to former members of the Women’s Land Army to attend a presentation at Clacton Town Hall in November
A project to plan the future of Tendring’s open spaces will cost up to £50,000. Tendring Council has assigned consultants Landscape Partnership to produce a strategy for 2012 to 2026. It is hoped the project could lead to a country park
At 8pm tonight millions of viewers will finally find out whether Colchester couple Michele English and Russell Clement have realised their dream of opening a restaurant with top chef Raymond Blanc. While filming of the BBC series The Restaurant
A shop owner has praised a new scheme which gives town centre customers daytime parking for just £2. The Day Out in Colchester offer allows visitors to use the Colchester Council-run Britannia car park, near the town station, to pay just £2 if they
Developers are looking to build a business park next to major tourist attraction. It is hoped about 130 jobs will be created through the scheme on the site of Elmstead Garden Centre, bordering Beth Chatto’s Gardens at Elmstead Market. Mrs Chatto has
More than £700,000 will be spent in a bid to stop sensitive data about Essex residents from falling into the wrong hands. Following a series of high-profile cases nationwide, Essex County Council has agreed to buy software which will encrypt information
Former Clacton MP Ivan Henderson has launched a new interactive website to conduct polls on local issues. Mr Henderson, who has been selected as the Labour Party’s prospective parliamentary candidate for the constituency, is seeking residents views on
Doctors and pharmacists in north Essex should get together to save a vital service, according to GPs’ representatives. Dr Gary Sweeney, chairman of the North Essex Local Medical Committee, said GP surgeries should work with pharmacies to protect
Safety experts have been dishing out lifesaving advice and high-visibility clothing in a bid to drive down road deaths. Clacton was one of five places chosen to host Essex Casualty Reduction Board’s winter roadshow. A total of 91 people were killed
A father who took part in a gruelling mountain marathon which was called off due to treacherous weather has spoken of the “worst day” he has experience on the race. Martin Sellens, of Mersea Road, Colchester, told The Gazette about the horrendous conditions
A Mersea motorbike man is on his way home today with two broken ribs after completing a gruelling 1,000-mile endurance trip in South Africa, alongside princes William and Harry. Cycle shop owner Paul Davis, 54, completed the Global Enduro challenge in
One in ten people in Colchester contacted the town’s Citizens Advice Bureau for help last year. The advice charity dealt with 16,000 inquiries in 2007-08 and, with the credit crunch biting, chief executive Richard Aldridge said there was “no sign of
FREE-SCORING WIVENHOE TOWN thrashed Blue Square South club Thurrock 5-0 to progress in the Essex Senior Cup. The emphatic victory took the Dragons’ recent-scoring spree to 31 goals from their last five games. Lee Underwood and Alessandro
A DEVOTED stepdad gave a lifeline to his daughter – creating an eternal bond between them. Robert Garrard, 68, of Spring Road, Tiptree, donated a kidney to his step-daughter, Melissa Waters, 38, earlier this year, proving you do not need to
A woman has called for more staff at train stations, after two young children were trapped inside a train without their mother. June Ingham, of Kings Parade, Frinton, was on a day trip to Colchester with her sister-in-law, Julie Gregory, and her children
A MINISTRY of Defence laptop was stolen from a car in Colchester. Thieves smashed a window in a black Mitsubishi car, parked outside the married quarters at the barracks in Aisne Road. A laptop computer, owned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), an
A trial to allow taxis to use one of Clacton’s main shopping streets during the day will last for four months, it has been revealed. The Gazette revealed earlier this month that Essex County Council highways chief Norman Hume had agreed to temporarily
A CHINESE acrobat was on hand to dazzle young and old alike at a library. A host of families enjoying half term and older residents visited Colchester’s town centre library yesterday morning to watch acrobat and entertainer Ling perform a ribbon dance
A GRIEVING family today made a heartfelt plea to burglars who stole a computer containing pictures of their late daughter. Teenager Emma Brown, who suffered a lifelong battle with a rare disease, died on Friday and her family is more desperate than
COMMUTERS faced delays of up to 40 minutes as they travelled into London. Train services on the Norwich line into London Liverpool Street were delayed after two separate incidents on the route. People travelling from Colchester were
The biggest shake-up of secondary schools in Colchester since the 1970 Education Act brought in comprehensive education is on the cards – if Essex County Council gets its way. Here, in his own words, council leader Lord Hanningfield explains why closing
A WOMAN had to be cut free from her car after a collision in Colchester. The crash happened on Westway at about 9am yesterday and involved a silver Mini Cooper and a red Ford Fiesta. The Mini driver had been travelling towards the town, with the Fiesta
A VAN is set to be pushed across Essex to raise money for soldiers. A fundraising procession will converge on Colchester Garrison to present welfare packages to be sent to troops, and cash for the Help the Heroes charity collected from across
POPPY appeal fundraisers hope residents will go the extra few yards to remember the sacrifices made by our servicemen and women. Organisers are concerned the location of the Clacton poppy fund shop – 39 Jackson Road – will not prove as popular as previously
A CHARITY that provided a vital lifeline for parents with disabled children has been forced to close after seven years. The chairman of the Parents Supporting Parents charity today said she was “saddened” by its decline but was forced to close the charity
POLICE are seeking a group of youths who threw fireworks at an oil refinery. Harwich officers were alerted when the culprits were spotted near the Petrochem Carless oil refinery, in Parkeston. Sgt Paul Chandler, of Harwich police, said: “We are more
