ESSEX SENIOR LEAGUE Southend Manor saw their hopes of moving into a challenging position in the Schweppes Essex Senior League table nosedive when they lost 4-2 at home to Burnham Ramblers on Monday. With leaders Saffron Walden being held 2-2 at Sawbridgeworth
Colchester United boss Steve Whitton is urging his fringe players to buckle down and start challenging for a first team place. Several players at Layer Road are sweating on their U's futures as the club goes into the second half of the season. And with
Mystery surrounds the death of a pensioner whose body was found in the charred remains of her caravan. The cause of the horrific blaze which claimed the life of much-loved Hockley pensioner Peggy Duarte may never be known, detectives said. The intensity
Traffic chaos gripped Chelmsford after a cyclist was killed in a road smash. The town centre was gridlocked after accident investigators shut off the A414 Essex Yeomanry Way at Great Baddow as the rush-hour started on Tuesday afternoon. The cyclist was
A mum-of-two today told of her festive season from hell. Karen Pullinger, of Hellendoorn Road, Canvey, thought things could not get any worse when there was a flood in her home on Christmas Eve. But that was only the beginning of a series of disasters
A wild-bird expert is searching for the owner of a barn owl blown off course by new year gales. Phil Eckett, who breeds owls and releases them into the wild, was called out to Wickford by police on New Year's Day after a member of the public spotted the
A new attempt to block plans for a pub in Frinton has failed - and the genteel resort is now one step closer to its first ale house In a mammoth debate on Tuesday evening,Tendring Council's planning committee took nearly three hours to finally agree the
A year-long probe into whether council bosses could have done more to help a pensioner who died in a freezing council flat has been delayed yet again. Southend Council chief executive George Krawiec has now set up an independent panel of investigators
The turn of the century had a special meaning for one Shoebury couple - as it heralded the start of their 61st year together. Lilian and Fred Elder celebrated their diamond anniversary with friends at their home in Herbert Road, and reminisced about their
Exporters in Basildon are in an optimistic frame of mind for their first full week of business in the new millennium. Express carrier DHL Basildon, which serves more than 2,000 companies, claims in its annual report the company made the most of 1999 after
Children with special needs are set to receive a financial helping hand, it has been revealed. The Government announced that youngsters who need specialist help in Essex and Southend will get more than £1m from the special educational needs standards
A family returned from a shopping trip to find their house ablaze. They were made homeless when their house was wrecked by the fire. Everything was destroyed in the blaze, including Christmas presents. Martin Luff, of Harwich Road, Little Clacton, had
Bank holiday post stacking up in Southend's sorting office should now have been successfully delivered to residents, Royal Mail bosses have said. Sackfuls of post which have been sitting in the Short Street sorting office since Thursday - due to the extra-long
More than 80 students were honoured at a Hockley school when it held its annual sixth form awards evening. Former pupils from the Greensward College returned to the school for a special celebration dinner. Awards were given to the students who left the
Taxi firms are meeting to discuss the fall-out from a new year slump in trade. Basildon Taxi Proprietors ' Association is to get feedback from drivers to try and find out why businesses in the area have been hit over the millennium. Keith Beadle, spokesman
Plans for a new park in Braintree are set to become a reality after a major breakthrough. The Tabor Triangle site is to change hands from Essex County Council to Braintree Council following years of negotiations. It means Braintree Council will finally
Pupils and staff have began a new era at a Hockley school when they switched to a five-year term. Greensward College is the first school in Essex to launch the new structure which means leaving behind the traditional three-term academic year. The new
The formidable spectre of Hattie Jacques ruling over her hospital ward with a rod of iron still lingers in p eople's minds when they come into contact with nurses. But the "Carry On" film image of the battleaxe matron and buxom Barbara Windsor's dizzy
A £6,000 grant has helped members of a partially-sighted club see more clearly. The generous gift from Gordon's Gin, in Fenton Way, Laindon, has given the Pathfinders club in Vange a welcome new year boost. The packaging and bottling plant, set to close
The local soccer world is mourning the death of legendary football figure Cyril "Dusty" Bright, who passed away on New Year's Eve at the age of 91. "Dusty" was a follower of Great Wakering Rovers Football Club from their inception in 1919 and, after playing
A middle-aged man was attacked and needed 30 stitches after he complained to neighbours about a rowdy party. The 54-year-old went to ask millennium revellers in a flat in Iceni Way, Shrub End, Colchester, to quieten down when he was hit with what is believed
The bells in Basildon's landmark glass belltower which rang out to welcome the new year, will not toll again until Easter. More than £25,000 of essential landscaping work still needs to be completed before the St Martin's church bells can be sounded on
Two brave pupils took a very cold plunge today to raise cash for charity. Rebecca Simons and Kezia Wiggins of the Colne Community School, Brightlingsea, swam their way around Bateman's Tower, in the River Colne to raise money for the Children's Promise
Neibhbours clubbed together to clear up their messy street as motorists dodged piles of rubbish strewn across the main road. Residents in Noak Hill Road, Billericay, woke to find their street covered in rubbish. About 50 binbags had been split open and
A teenage couple from Basildon are thought to be the country's youngest parents to have had a millennium baby. Seventeen-year-old Diane Monahan became a mum for the first time when she gave birth to bouncing baby Brooke as her friends were still busy
Hospitals and GPs are continuing to deal with the festive rush but bosses insist it is nothing unusual. Despite dealing with major increases in the number of people visiting A&E, staff are coping well, according to health chiefs. A spokesman for Colchester
In one way or another, it's going to be a big year for Colchester's star athlete Sarah Claxton. The ultimate prize will be selection for the Great Britain Olympic team for the Sydney 2000 Olympics and to that end Sarah has been training throughout the
Chelmsford's Rod Harrington and Witham wizard Colin Lloyd have vowed to bounce back in the first year of the new millennium after a disappointing end to their season at the Skol PDC World Darts Championship at Purfleet's Circus Tavern last week. World
Motorists are set for new year traffic disruption on the A13. Three sets of roadworks are due to get under way this month. Firstly, the London Road junction with Romsey Road in Benfleet is to be affected by work on a sewer connection for Wimpey Homes.
Detectives have confirmed they were no nearer solving the rape of a 24-year-old in Wivenhoe more than a year after the investigation was launched. British Transport Police said no-one has been arrested and charged with the crime, despite numerous appeals
A proud Colchester mum is celebrating a major honours medal hat-trick scored by her family. Three of Iris Licence's sons have been made MBEs for their services to the Army. Mrs Licence, of Kings Meadow Road, said she burst into tears when son Ian, 43,
A man has been arrested after another man suffered knife wounds to his chest and neck. The wounded man, who is in his 40s, was injured during an incident in Chestnut Way, Brightlingsea, early on Wednesday. He had knife wounds to the upper chest and lacerations
Annie Neaves is looking forward to a wheely good new year! The seven-year-old cerebral palsy sufferer was given a gleaming new electric wheelchair by generous pub-goers. Regulars at the Melrose pub in Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff, raised £2,800 during
Plans to build a new B&Q warehouse store in Westcliff are not part of a nationwide drive to create 2,000 new jobs, say store bosses. The firm has confirmed it is set to build the new store at Prince Avenue to replace its existing site in Queensway
Millions of pounds could be given to services to fight cancer across north and mid Essex. The Government is to put an extra £100 million into NHS cancer services, Health Secretary Alan Milburn announced today. The money will fund equipment to diagnose
Callers to St Mary's RC primary school in Dock Road, Tilbury are being asked to pray for popular teacher Shawn Cullen, who is in Basildon Hospital recovering from deadly meningitis. Mr Cullen, 27, has now been moved out of intensive care, where he had
Neighbours went to complain about loud music and were confronted by a man wielding a rifle. Armed police officers were called in after the alarm was raised in Creffield Road, off Maldon Road, in Colchester, at just after midnight on Monday. Police said
A mystery Essex person has started the new millennium £5 million richer. National Lottery company Camelot made a plea through the press after the cash from the November 20 game had been left unclaimed for nearly seven weeks. The company announced the
A shortage of men in black is causing headaches for the organisers of the Colchester Sunday League. They are suffering from a lack of referees, which is leading to the cancellation of some Sunday morning games. And they are appealing for anyone who wants
