Police have appealed for help to track down a robber who attacked a shopworker outside a Clacton bank. The 20-year-old was carrying around £500 in cash and cheques which he was going to pay into the NatWest Bank in Station Road. He was approached from
A new £9.2 million wing for the elderly is taking shape at Colchester General Hospital. Work on the Gainsborough Wing, which is expected to take a year to build, started in November - but already the outline of the structure can be made out. In a situation
An author has launched a blistering attack on Colchester describing the town as "soulless" and its soldiers as "alcoholic wife-swappers". In his book Playing At Home, Sheffield writer John Aizlewood said Colchester was full of "dope-smoking, short-skirted
Economic fudging, shadowy bureaucrats in Brussels and some bloke called Oskar Lafontaine who wants to dictate our tax rates. To the average person living in south Essex it is difficult to know what to make of the new single currency, born at the start
Vandals who went on the rampage at Castle Point golf course are being hunted by detectives. The cost of repairs could run into thousands of pounds, leaving parts of the popular 18-hole course temporarily closed. It is not the first time hooligans have
Theatre managers today toasted the success of their annual pantomimes - but two of Southend's venues now face an uncertain future. Staff at the Palace Theatre and the Cliffs Pavilion were delighted after productions broke all box office records. At the
The fastest milkman in the west he may be - but to his regulars Shane Hayes is simply the cream of the crop. Customers on his busy Westcliff round have voted him gold top in a national awards scheme for committed milkies. Shane, 34, now goes forward to
This special baby will forever be remembered for sharing a birthday with his town. Little Connor was one of six bouncing new-borns who took their first gasps on Basildon's 50th anniversary. The boy, whose mum Denise Drew lives in Denys Drive, Basildon
Colchester Council's Tory group leader, Christopher Garnett, is set to become the town's mayor in the new millennium. Mr Garnett's nomination is almost certain to go through unopposed at tonight's council meeting. He is set to be installed as deputy mayor
A teenager who died after a road crash was today hailed as "a true ambassador for his school" by his headmaster. In a heartfelt tribute, Stuart Francis said 18-year-old James Piggott represented all that was best about Colchester Royal Grammar School.
Behind every great man there's a great woman, or so the saying goes. And that's something proud MBE winner Jim Springford, 56, can testify to. Were it not for wife Valerie, 55, Jim would not be gearing up to head off to Buckingham Palace to collect his
Hospitals, doctors' surgeries and just about everywhere else seems to be full of spluttering, snuffling sufferers at the moment - so are we heading for a flu epidemic? If you are one of the thousands whose carefully-concocted plans for the festive season
A hotelier served a plain clothes police officer with two pints of lager out of hours, a court heard. Vincenzo Caro, who owns the Waverley Hall Hotel in Clacton, appeared before Colchester magistrates yesterday He admitted one offence of selling alcohol
A schoolboy who was shot in the head with an airgun while he and his friends were playing war games may have been lying injured for some time before an ambulance was called, it has been revealed. Richard Bryant, 13, of Tudor Green, Jaywick, left home
A driving instructor of 20 years is considering quitting her job after becoming the victim of a vicious road rage attack. Teacher Julia Carr was kicked in the face when confronted by Deborah Keeble-Smith after a collision, Basildon Crown Court heard.
The mother and daughter who died in a tragic road accident in Maldon have been named by police. Amanda Papworth, 31, from Althorne in the Dengie Hundred area, and her 14-month old baby daughter Millie were killed when the Volkswagen Passat they were travelling
Few sports have changed more than rugby in the past 20 years and Canvey RFC is reaping a rich reward for evolving its youth set-up. The juniors and minis, formed by club founder member Roger Hulse in the late 1970s, have survived, then thrived, despite
A teenager is fighting for his life after being wounded in the head with an airgun pellet. Thirteen-year-old Richard Bryant, of Tudor Green, Jaywick, was playing with four friends in a field in the village when the incident happened. He was taken unconscious
There's still time to get your entries in for a special competition to name Wickford's new primary school. Families have until Friday to send in their ideas for the title of the £1.4m school, set to open on the Wick estate in September. Governors have
A pensioner has been hailed a hero after she risked her life to rescue her 78-year-old neighbour from her burning bedroom. Brenda Grenfell, 64, rushed to the aid of Alzheimer sufferer May Keesham after she fell asleep at her Shoebury sheltered flat with
Staff at Wilkin and Sons are on their way to becoming majority shareholders in the world-famous firm. Bosses at the Tiptree jam-makers have spread a little happiness among workers and set up an Employee Beneficial Trust. It was formed ten years ago as
A trapped family had to be rescued by firefighters after a road accident at a busy junction in Colchester. Hydraulic equipment was used to free 38-year-old Hazel Smith, her son and her daughter following a collision with a Scania lorry. Mrs Smith and
Police have appealed for help in tracking down two robbers who threatened a Colchester shop assistant. An Essex Police spokesman said the attack happened at 5.10pm last night at Hazels News in Harwich Road. A white man in his early 20s and an asian man
Kerb crawler Paul Simpson was shocked when a "prostitute" told him she was really a policewoman. He panicked and drove off at such high speed that he knocked down and badly injured a young male constable, a court heard. Simpson, 23, admitted dangerous
Cinderella Cliffs Pavilion, Southend Stars: Bobby Davro, Bella Emberg, Bob Carolgees Date: To Jan 16 Box Office: 01702 351135 Snow White . . .The True Story Theatre Upstairs, New Empire Theatre, Southend Strictly for adults only. Live music by The Hooky
Some of the biggest names from the stage and world of entertainment are on their way to the seaside. Legendary blues guitarist BB King, top opera singer Lesley Garrett, former EastEnders actress Letitia Dean and ageless charmer Paul Nicholas are all to
Time was running out today for a death row dog waiting for a last minute reprieve. A court last month ordered that Blackie, a cross-collie belonging to Sue Cook, be put down after it bit a boy on the hand. Sue was given until next Monday to have her pet
The bruised and battered victim of a hit and run accident today vowed he would get back on his bike. Brian Lawrence, 61, needed more than 40 stitches for gashes to his head following the incident which left him bruised and bleeding on a busy Southend
A problematic economic future awaits the Maldon district, according to a major survey. A new study by district council planning chiefs has painted a bleak picture saying up to 1,500 jobs could vanish by 2015. It also says the prospects of the area will
People interested in learning self defence are invited to join a weekly class in Southend. Darren Titmas runs sessions in Kateda, a form of martial art from Tibet, on Thursdays between 7pm and 9pm at Clifftown United Reform Church in Nelson Street. He
A father has praised his teenage son and brother-in-law for their efforts to try to save his wife after she collapsed on the way home from a family outing. Ginny Westlake, 38, slumped in the seat of the car as they drove home to Clacton from a theatre
It was dubbed Vampire Day at Southend Hospital - a chance for the bosses to be bled dry. Luckily for chief executive, David Brackenbury, it did not quite reach that extreme when Maureen Cartwright got stuck in with the needle. Mr Brackenbury, finance
