THE schools minister is coming to Colchester to examine claims the town’s education shake-up would leave schools short of places for children. Minister Vernon Coaker agreed to visit after Colchester MP Bob Russell told the Commons a dossier compiled
ONLY student in four applyingfor a place at Essex University will be successful. The number of students applying to start undergraduate courses at the Wivenhoe-based university in October 2010 has risen by almost 25 per cent to more than 12,500. There
SIBLE Hedingham could be the first village in the Braintree district to have its own petanque court. The court could be in place on the village recreation ground by the spring. Gill Massey, a parish councillor, came up with the idea. She said: “We
PARISH councils could see their grants cut if services are not up to scratch under new proposals. Colchester Council expects the Government to cut its £2.3million revenue grant, cash given on the basis of population, by between £115,000 to £460,000 next
PUPILS and staff have celebrated the opening of a £1.2million arts building. St Benedict’s College’s new creative and performing arts faculty was opened by MP Bob Russell. The Colchester school’s new building took two years to plan and a further year
A PENSIONER is taking legal action against a cruise company after being struck down by a serious illness while on the holiday of a lifetime. Margaret MacKenzie, 73, paid more than £2,000 to cruise around the Mediterranean for 14 days with company Fred
A COLCHESTER business leader has welcomed news the UK is out of the recession. The Office for National Statistics said the economy grew 0.1 per cent between October and December, after 18 months in decline. Ewan Dodds, chairman of Colchester
A MAN has claimed he was lured into a trap by robbers who left him seriously injured. Richard Bailey, of Harrow Road, Clacton, said he was attacked by about ten men and women after a night out. He said the group had invited him to a party and tricked
ESSEX soldiers have been praised for carrying out “cracking work” on the frontline in Afghanistan. Some 400 soldiers from 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, which recruits from the county and is known as the Vikings, are halfway through a six-month
VICTORIA Moore is going up against America’s best beauties in a bid to be crowned Playboy’s top babe. Miss Moore, from Witham, is flying to the States tomorrow to compete in a new Playboy competition to find the brand’s number one woman. The bubbly
THE family of an elderly woman who died hours after she was discharged from hospital say she should not have been allowed to leave in freezing conditions. Widow Hazel Jarvis was admitted to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, suffering pain from
HELP! Is Ringo Starr staying somewhere in Colchester? Shoppers in and around the town have stood open-mouthed in amazement after apparently spotting the former Beatle around the borough. He is rumoured to have visited Colchester’s Aldi
CONMEN claiming to be from Colchester Council are targeting residents. The fraudsters are sending automated messages from withheld numbers to people’s phones, claiming the council could pay their bills. Each message names the householder being called
THE Haven Project offers round-the-clock support and therapy to 140 adults with personality disorders in north Essex. Many have had desperately unhappy childhoods, spent years in mental health institutions or have a history of self-harm. But meeting
It's a bit rich of Vincent Pearce, Colchester Council’s planning service manager (Gazette, January 22) to tell Mile End residents what is good for them. Mr Pearce is a council employee, we pay his salary and he should be following our wishes
Your article about St Osyth Priory (Gazette, January 21) was very impressive. However, you should have taken a picture from the road side to see how neglected it is and has been for hundreds of years, including the last ten. I am pleased you
I write regarding the age-old problem of dogs’ mess on the streets of Harwich. Is there a reason why dog walkers in Bathside refuse to clean up after their pets? One of the worst areas is near the railway bridge, where there is a bin for that
I’m looking for my granddad Leslie’s sister, Brenda Hickmott, whom I didn’t know about until a passing conversation with my family six months ago. They lost touch with her 25 years ago and even with the help of the internet, I, too, have not
In reply to the letter (January 20) asking “Was I a Samaritan or connned?”, I’m afraid I think it was a case of the latter. About a year ago, my daughter and I were sitting in her car in North Station Road (in the same area) when a young woman
MILITARY offenders serving time in the glasshouse at Colchester have prepared the ground for green-fingered children to enjoy learning outdoors. A team of five detainees from the Military Corrective Training Centre, in Berechurch Hall Road, helped create
Colchester United manager Aidy Boothroyd praised new signing David Prutton after he marked his debut with a superb goal. Prutton, who has signed for the U’s on a month’s loan from Leeds United, scored with a fine 25-yard effort after coming on as a second-half
GRAHAM Beer was only 49 when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Despite thinking the spots of blood he noticed when going to the toilet would not be anything serious, his worst fears were confirmed in 2006, after a series of tests were carried out.
POLICE donated six bags of unclaimed items to a Colchester charity shop. The town’s police station gets hundreds of items of either lost or stolen property every month. While it is kept during any police investigation, officers cannot keep it indefinitely
FANS of boyband JLS will miss their heroes in concert after the ticket firm they paid did a disappearing act. Colchester mum Sally Fisher planned to take her daughter Charlotte and a school pal to see the heart-throbs at the Ipswich Regent as a
A GYM is offering Gazette readers free use of its facilities – in exchange for donations to the Haiti earthquake appeal. Fitness First, in Petrolea Close, Colchester, is hoping to raise at least £1,000 for the relief effort. Collection
Colchester United saw off promotion rivals MK Dons 2-0 tonight at the Weston Homes Community Stadium. Kevin Lisbie fired them in front in the 18th minute, after Dons keeper Willy Gueret failed to deal with Marc Tierney's long throw. Lisbie missed a
