News Review: Phew...what a year 2016 turned out to be!

Britain voted to leave the EU in a dramatic referendum and across the Pond, controversial businessman Donald Trump became the US President Elect.

Closer to home, it was a year which saw killer James Fairweather jailed and Colchester General Hospital receive yet more damning reports.

WENDY BRADING and RYAN JENNINGS saw the year unfold

JANUARY

Recognition was given to deserving recipients in the New Year’s Honours list including Mary Thornley who was made an MBE for her work in the equestrian world as was long-serving Lawford parish councillor Brian Rolfe and Carol Nice, the founder of Stepping Stones play and learn group for her dedication to children with special needs.

Four areas of Colchester were identified as having potentially dangerous levels of air pollution and established Colchester firm Kent Blaxill was fined £60,000 after a customer suffered serious injuries when she was hit by a fork lift truck in its yard.

Director of nursing at Colchester Hospital University NHS Trust Barbara Stuttle apologised to any patients who had received sub-standard care after the health regulator, the Care Quality Commission, again slammed the trust.

James Fairweather admitted killing James Attfield, 33, and Nahid Almanea, 31, by stabbing them to death.

Mr Attfield was stabbed 102 times near Castle Park in Colchester while Fairweather stabbed Nahid 16 times on the Salary Brook Trail. He denied murder but admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. However, his pleas were not accepted and he was referred for trial.

Greengrocer John Whitnell announced he was shutting up his shop in Crouch Street, Colchester, after 50 years.

FEBRUARY 

Millionaire businessman Timothy Mardon was shot through the door of his bedroom during a botched raid at his home in Sible Hedingham.

Mr Mardon suffered life-changing injuries but survived.

Charlie Sims, 23, of North Road, Great Yeldham, was convicted of attempted murder and aggravated burglary following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court while Christopher Bergin, 27, of Hawkwood Road, Sible Hedingham, was found guilty of aggravated burglary. They will be sentenced in the new year.

Essex County Council looked to make savings as they drew up plans to close children’s centres across the county and axe Meals on Wheels.

The council looked to close 25 out of 37 centres leaving one in each district to serve as a family hub. The council said it would create 17 delivery sites and 19 outreach groups but opponents said it was hitting the most in need.

The out-of-town retail and leisure park Tollgate Village was turned down by Colchester Council.

The earlier decision was overturned when two councillors - Jon Manning and Jessica Scott-Boutell - did not attend the crucial meeting.

A photograph by Tony O’Neill of the late, great David Bowie was sold by auctioneers Reeman Dansie for £5,500.

U’s superfan Trevor Bailey missed his first Colchester United match in seven and a half years after hurting his back in a fall. He had seen 346 consecutive matches before he suffered the injury.

Redwood Photographic Laboratories closed down after 42 years in Colchester with the loss of 20 jobs.

MARCH

There were celebrations as students and staff at Market Field School in Elmstead Market enjoyed the official opening of their new £8 million school.

The school was even sent a letter of congratulation from the then Prime Minister David Cameron.

A further investment of £13 million was announced to create 300 new school places at both Philip Morant School and College and Stanway School.

Cars became gridlocked in Colchester town centre as eight weeks of work began at the junction of Brook Street and East Street in Colchester.

The £440,000 of works saw the roundabout replaced with traffic lights.

Cocaine addict Roy Hensley was jailed for 15 years for the attempted murder of Marie Charles and grievous bodily harm on Ayodele De Souza. He struck at Ms Charles in a jealous rage.

APRIL

Operations were cancelled at Colchester General Hospital as junior doctors continued their strike action.

A total of 35 inpatient and 44 day surgeries were postponed along with 51 inpatient clinics as doctors protested at the imposition of a new contract by the Government.

The quiet and picturesque town of Coggeshall was rocked after a digger was used in a ram raid on the post office. The thieves got away with the cash machine.

The murder trial in the killings of James Attfield and Nahid Almanea began in Guildford.

The crown court heard Fairweather, 17, declare he had acted under orders from the devil and had had voices in his head.

He was found guilty of both murders and after the trial Mr Attfield’s mother, Julie Finch, described Fairweather as a monster.

A partnership was established between Colchester and Ipswich hospitals after the CQC considered Colchester General Hospital was “clinically and financially unsustainable”.

MAY

Killer James Fairweather was sentenced to 27 years behind bars for the brutal murders of James Attfield and Nahid Almanea.

Unrepentant Fairweather joked with his family while the sentence was passed, wiggling his glasses and giving them the thumbs up.

As Mr Justice Robin Spencer ordered him to serve 27 years, he said: “I don’t care, I don’t give a ****.”

Colchester’s North Hill became the location for a giant slide. A total of 1,500 fun lovers sped down the inflatable helping to raise thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK.

Colchester voters went to the polls but the status quo remained. After the votes were counted, there were 22 Conservative councillors, 15 Lib Dems, 11 Labour and three Highwoods Independents. The minority parties again created an alliance to rule in the town hall.

Torrential rain caused serious flooding in Colchester with 13 flood alerts being created. Roads were under water and some residents were left mopping up.

Nick Hulme took over from Frank Sims as chief executive of Colchester Hospital University NHS Trust while David White succeeded Alan Rose as chairman.

Veteran councillor Julie Young became the first Labour mayor in Colchester for 24 years. She succeeded Theresa Higgins to the role.

JUNE

Scott Hilling was jailed for 16 years for the “horrific and savage” killing of Kathleen Griffin, 57, in Old Road, Clacton.

Hilling, 26, stabbed Kathleen repeatedly before trying to set light to her body and put it in a wheelie bin.

His plea of not guilty of murder was accepted but he was convicted of manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.

Paul Olney is stabbed to death in Wivenhoe. Friend Richard Waterhouse is later jailed for eight years after admitting manslaughter.

Charity Colchester Care Network closes after 32 years due to a lack of volunteers.

Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage visits Clacton and Harwich before the country goes to the polls in the EU Referendum while Leave campaigner Boris Johnson rallies the troops in Maldon.

Part of the A12 and the Hythe in Colchester is impassable following a deluge of rain.

Singing legend Lionel Richie delights a crowd of 16,000 fans at the Weston Homes Community Stadium in Colchester.

JULY

Pensioner Ronald King admits killing his wife of 59 years, Rita.

King, 87, had shot his 81-year-old wife through the head at the De la Mer House care home in Walton believing it was a mercy killing because she was suffering from dementia.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard King was also suffering from brain damage which triggered his paranoia. He was ordered to spend the rest of his life in a secure hospital, in August.

Colchester General Hospital lost its fight to provide urology cancer surgery. The Gazette had collected 8,000 signatures in support of its bid but experts recommended the surgery should be provided by Southend’s hospital trust.

Out-of-town retail park Stane Park was approved on appeal.

The development by Churchmanor Estates had been refused by Colchester Council but the decision was overturned. Names lined up for the development include Nandos, Coast to Coast, Bella Italia and KFC.

People power was nowhere more evident than in Lexden when protesters marched to object to plans to introduce a bus lane. Essex County Council listened to their objections and cancelled the scheme.

Crews of firefighters battled a blaze at Autobreak scrapyard at the Hythe in Colchester. Plumes of smoke went up to 50 feet in the air and could be seen from miles away.

Mersea’s golden girl Saskia Clark won gold at the Rio Olympics in the 470 sailing class with partner Hannah Mills.

AUGUST

French travellers pitched up on Colchester’s historic Abbey Field - for a holiday.

About 11 caravans turned up yards from the site of the town’s famous Roman chariot circus and had nothing but praise for their holiday destination.

Tragedy struck when three-year-old Dexter Neal was killed after being attacked by an American bulldog at the home of a family friend in Halstead.

Tributes are paid to brave Colchester teenager Quinlan Pringle, who was swept out to sea after trying to save his brothers.

Philp Morant School student Quinlan, 13, was on holiday with his family in Boulogne, northern France, when the tragedy happened.

Colchester High School’s sixth form closed after just three years in existence. School leads said the sixth form was was unable to compete with other sixth forms in the town.

Fees for the privately-run sixth form were £10,785 a year and it had class sizes averaging just four students.

SEPTEMBER

Tributes are paid to 77-year-old Fred Payne who died after a fire ripped through a property in Rochdale Way, Colchester.

Lisa Connelly, 42, was arrested and charged with murder and arson with intent to endanger life. She denies the charges and is set to stand trial in February.

MoD bosses announced the 40-acre Middlewick Ranges, off Mersea Road in Colchester, was one of 13 sites no longer required and it will be sold off and will have up to 2,000 homes built upon it.

Colchester MP Will Quince wowed Britain’s Got Talent judges with his renditions from Les Miserables and On The Street Where You Live, from My Fair Lady.

Colchester Council waste boss Dominic Graham announced controversial plans to scrap weekly bin collections and introduce wheelie bins to some of the borough’s homes.

Willie Gees re-opened as Fenwick after a £30million refurbishment to its Colchester High Street store.

And homework was abolished at Philip Morant School and College. Principal Catherine Hutley said teachers will use the time previously spent on setting and marking homework on planning lessons more precisely.

OCTOBER

A family was devastated by the death of four-month-old Archie Darby who died after being attacked by a Staffordshire bull terrier-type dog.

Archie and his older brother Daniel-Jay were attacked by the dog at their aunt’s home in Harwich Road, Colchester, despite their mother’s, Jade Rogers, brave attempts to save them.

Daniel-Jay suffered life-changing injuries in the attack.

A three million-year-old mammoth tooth found on a beach in Walton was hailed as a find of the century.

The Colchester edition of Monopoly was launched with a fanfare at the Mercury Theatre. It features more than 30 of the town’s landmarks including Colchester Castle, Jumbo and the Gazette on the Fleet Street square.

The famous Crucifixion of Mankind was removed from Colchester library after 40 years because it was deemed to be upsetting.

And a £450,000 appeal was launched by Colchester and East Essex Cricket Club to build women and children’s changing rooms. The scheme is due to take three years to complete and has so far raised more than £150,000.

NOVEMBER

Colchester became boom town as plans for the multi-million pound Northern Gateway leisure development are unveiled along with the details for two garden villages.

The Northern Gateway is due to feature state-of-the-art zip wires, climbing walls, trampolining and indoor adventure golf alongside a 12-screen IMAX and 4DX Cineworld and an 80 bedroom hotel.

The garden village dubbed West Tey is estimated to cost £1.425billion to create and will see 16,858 homes - a town the size of Bury St Edmunds.

The settlement between Colchester and Tendring would cost £17million to build and have 6,608 homes.

Both, the council argues, would include infrastructure such as roads and schools.

Drunk teen Jamie Watson scaled the Colchester Castle Park gates and killed 45 Koi carp fish which were being held in a temporary container by draining it.

He then walked through the town carrying one of the fish, which he later left on top of a car.

Brave couple Sailesh and Bina Patel fought off a man who threatened them with an axe and a gun during an armed robbery at Shrub End Post Office in Colchester.

Essex Cricket Club announced Colchester Cricket Week will not take place next year after Colchester Council refused to cut the fees it charges to hire the Castle Park ground.

DECEMBER

Delighted campaigners celebrated after new Essex Highways boss Kevin Bentley scrapped controversial plans to reverse the traffic flow in Priory Street, Colchester.

And footballing legend Peter Shilton married fiancee Stephanie Hayward at St Peter and St Paul’s Church in West Mersea with celebrity guests including Coronation Street stalwart William Roach.

Fraudster Jimmy Levene from Colchester ended up in court after he ripped off a student selling her an iphone on line for £460 - but sending her a tin of beans instead.

Tributes were paid to “loveable rogue” Robert Cattermole, 20, who was killed when his motorcycle collided with a Vauxhall Corsa in Straight Road in Lexden.

A couple revealed they love Christmas so much they use six months’ worth of electricity in just four weeks in order to power their festive lights.

Christina and Thomas Wallace have been lighting up their house for the past 23 years in the lead up to Christmas.

It began as a celebration of their grandson’s first birthday and now raises about £1,000 each year for the Essex Air Ambulance.

• HAPPY NEW YEAR from everyone at the Gazette and Essex County Standard - here's to 2017!