A MINUTE’S silence is to be held at a school to pay tribute to its catering manager, who lost her fight against cancer. Tracey Switzer, 38, of Littlebury Gardens, Colchester, died at home last Monday after a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer.
A NEWSAGENT says overzealous traffic wardens are damaging his business. Trade has already suffered at News Plus, in East Street, Colchester, due to new nearby automatic railway crossing gates, which cause traffic to back up – meaning drivers take other
A CHARITY helping rape and sexual abuse victims has received £218,774 of lottery funding. The Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse, based in Colchester, was one of three Essex charities to share £971,998 under the Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Communities
DESPERATE residents have appealed for the owner of a flyaway peacock to remove it from their gardens. Jackie Tyrell, who works as a police community support officer in Colchester, contacted the Gazette after the wandering bird settled in the gardens
A SOLDIER with family ties to Colchester has died in hospital after being assaulted just hours after returning from Afghanistan. Signalman David Grout had been the victim of an unprovoked attack outside a social club in Eston, near Middlesbrough. The
PASSENGERS are urging a bus company to improve its services to and from the St John’s estate in Colchester. They say delays, gaps in services and old, smelly buses are commonplace on Network Colchester’s No 2 route. A survey of 200 travellers found
FRIENDS and relatives of a teenager who died in a car accident have made donation to a firefighters’ charity, as a mark of gratitude to the crew which cut him from the wrecked car. Michael Hammond lost his life aged 18 when his friend’s car
A COUPLE have been charged in connection with the neglect of mentally ill patients in Colchester care homes. Daramdeo and Naliny Ramchurn, also known as David and Linda Ramchurn, were arrested on April 21 last year, after a series of dawn raids
COLCHESTER’S contribution to the Poppy appeal has topped £50,000 for the first time. Three collections for the Royal British Legion, linked to the Mercury Theatre’s staging of Spike Milligan’s Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall, sent the annual total
Colchester United have offered new deals to David Prutton and Phil Ifil. The pair are out of contract this summer. But U’s boss Aidy Boothroyd wants them both to be part of his squad for next season. However, Colchester may have
Colchester’s Connor Wickham has been named as Coca-Cola Football League Young Player of the Month for April. The Ipswich Town striker — who was recently linked with a £5m move to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur — was in electric form last month
WORK has started on a new play area designed to bring a fresh lease of life to a Colchester park. The £75,000 multi-use games area, at the Old Heath Recreation Ground, is scheduled to be completed by the summer. The all-weather surface, which will be
Former Colchester United star Richard Garcia is facing a race against time to be fit for the World Cup. Garcia — who made nearly 100 appearances over a three-year stint with the U’s — has been named in Australia’s provisional 31-man squad for next month
I was so disappointed to read the headline “School site being sought” in the Gazette (May 11). The article went onto say Essex County Council (and education provider Continuum) were looking for a site to establish a school for up to 16 special
I am deeply angered by Bob Russell’s decision to continue to be a member of the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition. While we have differing politics, I always thought we were united in our views of the Conservative Party and our commitment to stopping
CHARITY runners added a splash of pink to an otherwise grey day. The Race for Life saw more than 2,700 women take part in two 5km runs around Castle Park, in Colchester, on Sunday, to raise money for Cancer Research UK. The charity hopes
WHILE house sales are picking up, Colchester is suffering from a new symptom of the recent recession – an abundance of flats. People are finding it harder than they did two decades ago to secure the money needed to buy their First home.
A NATIONAL charity has joined residents in a battle to prevent historical oyster sheds being turned into an upmarket restaurant. The Victorian Society said the proposals to convert the old oyster sheds, in Coast Road, West Mersea, into a 48-seat seafood
A REMORSEFUL Witham teenager had a punch-up with his pal over a £10 debt, and left him with serious head injuries. The brawl started outside South East Essex College, Southend. It led to the 16-year-old victim hitting the ground and cracking his head
ONLY ten businesses have benefited since the launch of the Bank of Essex last year. Essex County Council launched Banking on Essex in a blaze of publicity last April, and followed it with a promotional launch six months ago. A total
A PUBLICAN has hit out at police plans calling on pubs, bars and clubs in Colchester to give drinkers a half-time style break during the World Cup. Police have provided licensees with a list of suggestions on what officers expect from the premises
