COLCHESTER MP Bob Russell claims £780 expenses a month to rent an office from a company he has shares in, it has been revealed. Newly-released MPs’ expenses covering the last eight months of 2009 reveal for the first time how much politicians
COLCHESTER’S award-winning magician and star of Channel 4’s Freaky Magic is returning to the stage. After sell-out performances earlier this year at the Quay Theatre, in Sudbury, and popular shows at the Mercury Theatre, in Colchester, Michael J Fitch
PACK a picnic and put on your dancing shoes – it’s time for Halstead’s Music in the Park. The annual event, at Halstead Town Park, on Saturday, July 10, has a Motown line-up which its organisers hope people will love. Last year, Elvis Presley, Buddy
A WOMAN has told a court she was “karate kicked” and run over by her daughter’s boyfriend. Felicity Miller has been left with arm and foot injuries and is still recovering two years after the incident at her West Bergholt home, Chelmsford Crown Court
THERE are many ways to show your appreciation for the village you call home. Having the words “I Love Tiptree” created by cutting 20-metre high letters in a field must be one of the more extreme. The creation was the brainchild of Tiptree student Samuel
A HUSBAND and wife council team have defended receiving more than £90,000 a year in allowances. Neil Stock and Sarah Candy pick up the bumper sum in their roles at Essex County Council, Tendring Council and North East Essex NHS primary care
A FORMER garrison riding school could become the new home of a Colchester doctors’ surgery and pharmacy. A planning application has been submitted to Colchester Council to convert the listed empty building on North Circular Road, part of which dates
TESCO has lived up to its slogan “every little helps” for residents in one Colchester street. The supermarket chain – more used to campaigns to stop it opening up new stores – has come to the rescue of people living in St Luke’s Close. The road had
A MUCH-NEEDED £120million of upgrades to the traffic-clogged A12 now look likely to be delayed for years – even if they get the go-ahead from thrifty ministers. The Department for Transport last year approved a £60million package of hi-tech improvements
FIREFIGHTERS were called to tackle a car on fire in Enville Way, Highwoods, Colchester. Fire crews from Colchester station attended the blaze at 12.22am on Tuesday. The fire is being treated as suspicious.
POLICE are searching for the driver of a blue car that failed to stop after an accident in Colchester. The motorist collided with a white BMW on the Maldon roundabout, in Colchester, around 8.30am on Tuesday. The driver of the BMW suffered minor injuries
CHILDREN at a pre-school in Colchester are celebrating a £60,000 makeover. While children enjoy the summer holidays, builders will set to work at Old Heath Community Pre-School to refurbish the demountable building that children start their education
A MAN has been arrested after allegedly attacking a street warden in Castle Park. The incident occurred at around 1.30pm on Tuesday afternoon, as people enjoyed their lunch in the summer sunshine. Essex Police confirmed a man was being questioned at
MORE than 100 homes in Colchester town centre went without water for more than nine hours on one of the hottest days of the year. A main in Northgate Street burst, leaving residents unable to shower, cook or even flush toilets. Anglian Water handed
Colchester United have made their second signing in quick succession after capturing versatile player Brian Wilson from Bristol City. The 27-year-old defender was a free agent, after leaving the Robins at the end of the season. Wilson
SCORCHING weather brought a bumper turnout for Great Bentley’s summer carnival, as hundreds flocked to the village. Carnival-goers dressed as their favourite book characters, to watch floats and carnival queens join the procession through the village
A COMMUNITY group wants to shut a stretch of Colchester High Street to traffic every Friday for summer events. Destination Colchester has hailed the success of Friday’s family event, which saw the High Street closed from West Stockwell Street to Queen
Colchester manager John Ward is running the rule over three players this week. The U’s boss has invited former Southampton defender Lloyd James to take part in his pre-season training schedule. And striker James Walker, most recently of Gillingham,
KIDS at a primary school in Dovercourt spent an afternoon cleaning up nearby woods. Children from Year 4 at All Saints’ Primary School, in Main Road, swapped their paper and pens for gloves and bin bags on Friday, as part of the annual National
John Ward has made his first signing as Colchester United manager after completing a move for Barrow midfielder Andy Bond. The 25-year-old has penned a two-year deal with the U’s, after signing for them on a free transfer this morning.
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TEN petty criminals a week are being given a “clip round the ear” instead of an official charge, it has been revealed. Essex Police introduced “neighbourhood resolutions” in May. The scheme sees offenders apologise, pay for damage, have
Essex have recalled club captain Mark Pettini to their squad for tonight’s Friends Provident t20 clash against South Division leaders Sussex. Pettini returns at the Ford County Ground after a two-week break which was taken to “refresh and refocus”, according
Roy Keane has admitted being disappointed and frustrated after failing to land his two main summer targets. The Ipswich Town boss says it is unlikely the pair will join and expects to start the campaign with the squad that finished 15th in last season
WILKIN & Sons has celebrated 125 years of jam making in Tiptree with the cutting of a very special cake. Peter Wilkin, company chairman, cut the cake – decorated with a picture of his great-grandfather, the company’s founder Arthur Charles
A lorry driver is in a critical condition after a crash on the A12 near Witham. Yesterday, a lorry and a tractor struck each other on the southbound carriageway at 2.30pm. Fire fighters and specialist crews from the Lexden-based Urban
TWO Colchester schools which are earmarked for closure could be given a lifeline and become academies. Alderman Blaxill and Thomas Lord Audley are among six secondary schools in the borough to have expressed an interest in academy status, under new Government
Colchester United are hoping to unveil two new signings today. But both Phil Ifil and David Prutton have left the U’s. New Colchester boss John Ward has been busy in his quest to freshen up his squad. And it looks as though his hard work is about to
AN ex-junkie who almost died after getting hooked on heroin has warned that hard drugs are easy to buy on the streets of Clacton. Shirley Kelly, of Ellis Road, Clacton, started using drugs when she was a teenager and got hooked on a cocktail of heroin
A TATTOOIST has been cautioned for drugs possession after police carried out three simultaneous raids at his properties. Stewart Salmon said he was shocked when officers forced their way into his tattoo parlours in Colchester High Street and in Sudbury
AN order which will allow police to ban troublesome youths from hanging around streets will come into force next month. The dispersal order is being introduced in Harwich and Dovercourt by police to make residents feel safer and to tackle antisocial
DEFIANT community leaders have vowed not to give up after yobs wrecked good work done by teenage volunteers. Youngsters on a Prince’s Trust project were heartbroken when they paid a final visit to the wood, off School Road, Colchester, and
