THOSE that say there is little evening entertainment in Witham have obviously never been to Capitol Square. The Freebournes industrial estate turns from a business hub by day into the place to be at night, especially on the first Thursday of every month
DAVID Cameron gave his backing to plans to create an academy in Colchester during a question and answer session in the town. The Conservative leader made Colchester the 28th stop on his Cameron Direct tour. His meet-and-greet along the High Street was
HOUSING bosses sent a family of four cleaning fluid to wash their walls after they complained about mould – and gave them a dangerous toxic liquid by mistake. Sarah Long and her partner Brad Adams discovered they needed overalls and a mask to use the
TWO grandparents will tackle a 630-mile coastline walk for charity. Ron and Anne Crawford, of Sudbury Road, Halstead, will follow a route around the south west peninsula, from Poole to Minehead, to raise money for Cancer Research UK. They chose the
A RARE sports car vandalised during a 24-hour rampage will never be the same again, according to its devastated owners. Ann and Alan Catten, of Main Road, Dovercourt, discovered their Esprit series 3 Lotus sports car was one of 12 vandalised during a
THERE are no plans for a prison in Colchester, it has been has announced. Justice Minister Jack Straw revealed prisons will be built in Beam Park West, in Barking and Dagenham, and Runwell in Essex – but said there were no plans for further prisons in
A TROUBLED college has been told it is still improving – paving the way for it to form an academy. Bishop’s Park College, in Jaywick, has passed its fourth consecutive Ofsted monitoring report since it was placed in special measures in October
A LITTLE girl with severe health problems is on her way to taking her first steps, thanks to a fundraising drive for a piece of equipment. The Black Notley community joined forces to raise money for a specially-made tricycle for Amy Bennett. The four-year-old
RAIL enthusiasts could hold the key to finding cable thieves who caused four-hour train delays. Fifteen trains were stranded on the tracks between Marks Tey and Hatfield Peverel on Thursday after thieves caused large scale damage when they tried to
THE balance of power on Tendring Council could shift after a suspended councillor lost his appeal. Tendring First councillor Peter Balbirnie was struck off for three months in March after he allegedly swore at council planning officers. An appeal against
POLLING cards have landed on doormats all over Essex in the past few days, and are likely to have been received with a mixture of apathy and bewilderment. While there are plenty of strong opinions about who should win the next general election
SCORES of hopefuls descended on Colchester town centre in a bid to strut their stuff and become the model of the future. Hundreds of men, women and children queued up to be part of Modelsearch, which has been launched by the Gazette and Culver
A TELEPHONE cable was struck during a three-vehicle collision. Police were called to Bromley Road, Lawford, today at 8.50am to the smash which involved a blue Ford Fiesta, silver Subaru Forester and a red Vauxhall Corsa. A telephone cable had ended
A FIRM of estate agents has leapt to the aid of the Colchester Scouts’ Gang Show. The singing and entertainment show appeared to be in trouble when Boydens – which has sponsored the show for the past 20 years – said it needed to share the burden due
AN ENDLESS supply of coffee helped a group of friends through a sponsored pool marathon. Shaun Tiddeman decided to play pool at Rileys in Colchester for 24 hours to raise money for charity, after his mum Lorraine was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer
RESIDENTS are threatening legal action in their fight for compensation over a new road. Householders blighted by the Northern Approach Road are urging Essex County Council to pay the tens of thousands of pounds compensation they say they were promised
RESIDENTS barricaded a field with their cars after they suspected travellers were eyeing up the land. About a dozen cars were used to create a barrier between Hazel Close, Thorrington, and a field alongside it, which is due to be turned into a play area
A 11-YEAR-OLD boy has shown he is a real ground force. Nature-lover Jack Cousins is proving himself to be a handy landscape gardener having just designed his own pond. The pupil at Holy Trinity Primary School, in Eight Ash Green, built the stylish garden
A WINDFARM being built off the coast of Clacton has been used as the site to launch a new worldwide competition. A search to find the best new projects to develop the offshore wind industry was launched at the 48-turbine Gunfleet Sands development, four
Colchester United target Jimmy Walker has revealed he would consider returning to the club next season. The experienced West Ham goalkeeper made a huge impact during his three-month loan spell with the U’s earlier this season. Walker looks set to quit
Acting Essex skipper James Foster felt the form of Alastair Cook provided some brightness amid the gloom as Essex’s tour game against the West Indies was abandoned because of rain. Not a ball was bowled on the third day, but Essex had already made their
Sarah Stradling felt she paid the price for a fast start at the Flora London Marathon, but the Colchester Harriers star still ran a personal best time to finish as eighth British woman over the finish line. The 33-year-old from Shrub End finished in
Colchester's brave second-half fightback was not enough to beat a skilful Bury St Edmunds in the Suffolk Cup final. Bury started as favourites, playing their league rugby two divisions higher than Colchester, plus the final was played at the Suffolk
CAUTIOUS but confident. Halstead Town boss Jody Brown is staying cool, despite it being crunch time in his side’s promotion quest. Town play host to lowly Ipswich Wanderers at Rosemary Lane tonight, in their penultimate game of the season in division
DOZENS of bin bags – one containing syringes, spoons and surgical wipes – have been dumped in an alleyway. The rubbish partially blocked the path between Princes Street and Hamilton Street in Parkeston. It was discovered by district councillor John
THE sense of achievement more than balanced the pain and misery for runners from north Essex who went the distance. From dedicated runners to fundraisers, scores of people from the area took part in the Flora London Marathon. Colcestrian Paul Kelly,
A POST office that was closed last year will be reopened and run by the same family. The Pownall Crescent store, off Mersea Road, was one of five Colchester branches shut by Post Office Ltd as part of a nationwide review. But now, thanks
THERE are no plans for a prison in Colchester, it has been announced. Justice Minister Jack Straw revealed prisons will be built in Beam Park West, in Barking and Dagenham, and Runwell in Essex - but said there were no plans for further prisons
