Coastguards are warning Southend beachgoers to beware of potentially treacherous tides that could sweep them out to sea. The advice comes after of the disappearance of Jake Parker, five, who went missing at Brancaster Beach, Norfolk. People are being
Battle of Britain veteran Bert Roomes is to tell his story in the Luftwaffe's downfall in a television tribute to "the few". The 82-year-old former Hurricane fighter mechanic from Earls Colne will be seen by millions of viewers in a special programme
A service is to be held to celebrate the life of Colin Burns, who was killed at a stunt show. Mr Burns, whose stage name was Richard Kyall, died after a motorbike landed on him at Rush Green Recreation Ground, Clacton. He was compering the Hollywood Stunt
Yesterday's (Tuesday's) livestock auction in Colchester was cancelled. The Ministry of Agriculture told auctioneers Stamfords not to hold the event because of the outbreak of swine fever in East Anglia. The disease, which is highly contagious in pigs,
The hunt is on for a potentially lethal cocktail of drugs which have gone missing. Police are concerned the tablets - which were in a plastic bag - could be picked up by children, with devastating consequences. The drugs were lost on Sunday by a woman
Basildon's popular half-marathon has been cancelled this year after its disgruntled major sponsors pulled out, it has been revealed. The race - which attracts around 400 runners - was planned for August 27, but will now not happen until April 1, 2001.
GIDEA PARK 186-9 HADLEIGH 190-8 (Shepherd Neame Cup) (Hadleigh won by two wickets) Hadleigh won through to their second successive Shepherd Neame League Cup final with victory over Premier rivals Gidea Park &Romford. Hadleigh, beaten in the final
Ricky Anderson's county cricket season could be over. Essex skipper Ronnie Irani revealed today (Wednesday) his promising young pace bowler has been "written off" for the rest of the season. Irani believes if he plays any more cricket at all this summer
Essex's Eve Bailey is celebrating this week after winning a European Archery Championship title. Eve, 43, from Chelmsford, beat off the challenge of 12 other competitors in the week long championships at Linlithgow, near Edinburgh, to become the Ladies
Southend United's reserve team opened their new Avon Insurance Combination League campaign by picking up a hard earned point against moneybags Fulham at Roots Hall. The Cottagers, who are bank-rolled by Harrods tycoon Mohammed Al-Fayed, fielded a side
Almost half the Royal London staff facing redundancy have been given a clearer idea of when they will have to leave the Colchester insurance firm. Three hundred employees from customer services and printing and stationery departments were briefed on Friday
High achievers from the Plume School, Maldon, and St Peter's School, Burnham, are being given a chance to fly, thanks to the Popular Flying Association. Five 11 to 16-year-olds from each school have been selected by their head teachers to take part in
Two weeks ago Chelmsford historian John Marriage launched a search through the pages of the Essex Chronicle for the missing portrait of one of the county town's earliest industrial pioneers- Richard Coates.Now the picture has turned up. SUSAN KING reports
Evidence of camp fires has been found on one of Colchester's most treasured Roman sites. Fires have been lit on grassland at Gosbecks Archaeological Park, and dog walkers have not been clearing up after their pets. Borough councillor Tim Young said he
A pub-goer suffered serious injuries when he was beaten up during a night out. The victim - who has not been named - suffered bruising to the brain, cracked ribs and kidney damage. The 27-year-old self-employed roofer was discovered in Head Street, Halstead
A study by a top Colchester doctor has shown the impact of health-by-phone service NHS Direct on other health services in Essex. Research by an accident and emergency doctor at Colchester General Hospital showed 80 per cent of patients referred to its
Essex are presently engaged in a vital championship match with bottom of the table Gloucesershire at Castle Park, Colchester as they attempt to consolidate on their second position in the County Championship table. With only four matches left, Ronnie
The modern day equivalent of the war of the roses has resulted in overwhelming support for keen gardener Joan Mitchell. Green-fingered Mrs Mitchell had been told by Colchester Council officials to take down two four feet high standard roses she planted
A new drive to encourage victims of domestic violence to speak out is proving a resounding success, it has been revealed. More and more women have come forward for help and support since the launch of a special panel to promote awareness of the problem
The last time Colchester and Swindon came face to face at the County Ground the Wiltshire club comfortably brushed the U's aside on the way to promotion and the old Fourth Division championship. That was way back in the last century and when the recently
Life as a multi-millionaire still seems like a game for Dean Allen - a week after scooping the National Lottery jackpot of more than £13 million. Dean, 26, a former printer, from Tilbury, said he wasn't sure if the idea of millions sitting in his bank
It's back on. Colchester will get a millennium street festival after council chiefs did a U-turn. At Monday's cabinet meeting members reviewed the decision to stop the event planned by Rob Brown, who helps run Colchester Ghost Tours, and community groups
The first batch of wannabe teachers are preparing to help resolve the school staffing shortage in south Essex by taking a lesson from experts. A new primary school teacher training course is to launch next month in a bid to bring expert staff back into
The history of Coggeshall will be revealed with a reprint of a book first published more than 100 years ago. Beaumont's History of Coggeshall was first published in 1890 but original editions are now scarce and expensive. Now John Lewis, of Stoneham Street
A nightclub has won an appeal to stay open until 3am at weekends. Clubbers can dance until 3am after magistrates overturned a council decision to restrict opening hours at Braintree High Street club Snows. Braintree Council rejected plans for the club
Not many village football clubs can boast the feat of having lasted 50 years. But White Notley Football Club is one of the few and over the past five decades, it has grown into one of the most admired and respected clubs in Essex. Reporter CLARE BERRETT
Bird lover George Heales was overjoyed when his pet budgie Tosh returned home last week - five days after flying out the back door. Retired bank manager Mr Heales, 89, says he has no idea where his feathered friend went after escaping from his home in
The Harwich Film Festival will take place this year after organisers secured it an autumn date. The future of the festival, which began in 1997 at the town's historic Electric Palace cinema, had been in doubt and its scheduled date in March was cancelled
The Colchester Sea Angling Club fished at Holland-on-Sea on Saturday and again catches were poor. The result was: 1st Billy Paquette 12 ozs 2nd Allan Kitchibg 8 ozs 3rd Mark Sessions 7 ozs Jack Bradley junior weighed in with a 10 oz catch. The next club
Ipswich Town unveiled an unlikely source for Premiership success on Saturday in the shape of 19-year-old defender Titus Bramble. While Bramble may not be the big name signing that the Ipswich faithful expect and demand, there are not many players around
It's make your mind up time for Billericay Town boss Gary Calder after his team completed their pre-season programme. Calder has to finalise his squad for Saturday's Ryman Premier kick-off and was to finish running the rule over a quartet of trialists
Lion-hearted Ronnie Irani will bite the bullet and play through the pain barrier in the annual Colchester cricket festival at Castle Park. The injury-hit Essex skipper is determined to lead from the front and play a captain's role today (Wednesday) -
A place in the first team could be the big prize for any player who shows up well in Colchester United Reserves' opening Avon Insurance Combination clash with Queens Park Rangers. The U's second string play their QPR counterparts at Layer Road today (
Why won't Main quit? The goings on at Roots Hall over the last few weeks has been amazing even by Southend United standards. I have been involved in reporting some crazy incidents at the club over the years during the contraversial reigns of Bill Rubin
Ronnie Irani is faced with a couple of teasing selection problems ahead of Essex's Championship clash against Gloucestershire at Colchester today. But the County skipper will not be making a final decision until he has has studied the Castle Park pitch
HAMPSHIRE II.....156 all out and 369 all out ESSEX II...............157 all out and 206 all out (Hampshire won by 162 runs) (Second Eleven Championship) Essex suffered an unexpected defeat at Halstead as they fielded probably their strongest side of the
South Woodham Ferrers bowler Andrew McGarry is hoping his run in the Essex side will last long enough for him to make his debut at Southend Cricket Festival. The County make their annual visit to the town at the end of the month when they face Glamorgan
Carp fishing at Southend's Priory Park has improved considerably with bailiff Steve Oz taking two of the lake's biggest fish within 20 minutes of each other. Steve banked the "big common" at 24lb and "the pig" at 21lb 8oz along with other fish of 16lb
Essex people are being warned to be very careful about what they flush away after Anglian Water had to clear up a garden flooded with sewage just days before it was to host a wedding reception. Anglian Water says it is costing millions to unblock piping
Passengers travelling to London Liverpool Street enjoy the most reliable rail service in the country - despite a recent fall in punctuality. The number of trains running on time on the Great Eastern Line has fallen slightly to 93.1 per cent in May to
A charity is calling on football fans to help them raise money for a building. A piece of Wembley turf is to be auctioned off in aid of the Clacton and District Occupational Workshop Society to help with the building of a new workshop for the disabled
Lifeguards at a Witham leisure centre have been praised for their professional handling of a suspected spinal injury. During a fun session at the Bramston swimming pool and shortly after began to lose the feeling in his arms and legs. Fearing a spinal
Essex firefighters are stepping up their awareness campaign against the possible merging of mobilisation control rooms for Eastern England. Currently each county service has its own control centre. Essex is at Hutton. But under a ''best value" review
Millennium Dome money should have been spent on more needy projects such as Southend Pier, TV star Warren Mitchell claims. Warren - better known as big-mouthed bigot Alf Garnett - last night (Tuesday) played to a packed house at the Cliffs Pavilion in
Chelmsford is at the frontiers of science technology with a new space mission led by Japan, the US and Britain, to help learn more about the way the sun works. Japan's new space satellite systems, Solar B, uses charge-coupled devices, the electronic '
Passengers travelling to London Liverpool Street enjoy the most reliable rail service in the country - despite a recent fall in punctuality. The number of trains running on time on the Great Eastern Line has fallen slightly to 93.1 per cent in May to
Essex Police are working with organisations across the county to make sure the V2000 concerts at Hylands Park this weekend go without a hitch. More than 100,000 fans are expected to come to the festival, which features acts including Travis, Moby, Richard
Angry passengers on a busy commuter train have spoken of their nightmare journey after they were trapped on the train when the doors jammed. Trainee journalist Rachel Fitch, 21, got on the train from Colchester at 5.15pm planning to change at Thorpe and
Prison? No way! Youngsters in Colchester, Braintree, Harlow and Tendring are to be steered from a life of crime by those who know what it means to be behind bars. Former prisoners will take part in the tough course aimed at keeping youngsters on the straight
The Football Association has taken up the Gazette's goalpost campaign by launching a nationwide safety initiative. The campaign was launched by Adam Crozier, the FA's chief executive, and Ray Clemence, the national goal keeping coach, at Watford FC's
How can a sudden growth of algae in the Thames keep a cockle fleet in the harbour? The Echo discovers how a tiny marine plant can cripple an entire industry. On July 21, a routine test by experts from the London Port Health Authority revealed something
The Ministry of Defence is helping to protect a marshland habitat for wildlife at a firing range. Range Supt Chico Duncan has allowed water levels to rise gradually on marshland at Fingringhoe Ranges, near Colchester, and controlled the spread of scrub
Braintree Council is pumping more money into essential services after a report revealed the cost of providing them had been under-estimated. The council on Monday confirmed it was injecting up to £500,000 to maintain high standards of refuse collection
Canvey boss Jeff King declared himself satisfied with his side's performance against a reserve team from Premiership new boys Ipswich Town. Three goals in the first half left the Gulls with a mountain to climb but they responded in fine style to prove
Our first stop last week was Worcester, with a slight detour on route to Abingdon for a benefit game against the local cricket club. As usual, I approached the benefit game with a lighthearted attitude, entertainment and amusement being top of the list
A butcher has said he could be forced to sack his staff if charges at a nearby car park are not lifted soon. Michael Arnold, of Barkins Butchers in the High Road, Benfleet, said trade had dropped dramatically since the 20p fees were introduced in Richmond
Essex Police are disappointed with interim results of their crackdown on drink-driving. Almost 3,000 drivers were tested for alcohol during the first 13 days of the August campaign. Figures from August 1 to August 13 inclusive show that 2,993 drivers
Police have warned children playing on a busy railway station they could be killed. British Transport Police were called four times over the weekend and again on Monday to reports of gangs of youngsters putting their lives in danger at Wivenhoe. Children
Police are liaising with staff at Colchester's Rollerworld in a bid to catch a man who stabbed a chef. The victim, a student chef, was set upon by two youths at about 1.40am on Thursday as he walked along East Street. One attacker had skates slung over
A keen gardener has been told by council officials to take down roses because they are a hazard to motorists. Joan Mitchell has also been told she needs a licence for smaller flowers planted by the side of the road. She has received a letter from Colchester
The Rural Discovery Church at St Lawrence may be off the beaten track but, throughout the summer, it houses various displays. Perched high on a hill, it can be seen from a distance and has sweeping views down to the river below. Still used as a church
Richard Wright believes he has the ability and experience to keep the Premiership's best at bay this season. The Ipswich goalkeeper faces Sergei Rebrov, Les Ferdinand, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke and Kevin Phillips in the next fortnight as Town encounter
It's back to cream teas for Frinton's funky bistro. Older residents were outraged when the olde worlde tea room Anne's became the Vanari bar and bistro - with, later, a young people's garage and house music club. Owners Barry Fox and his wife Vanadis
A charity which helps bereaved relatives and friends has been saved from closure. Cruse Bereavement Care, based at Healthy Colchester 2000, was facing a similar fate to branches in Chelmsford and Tendring, which have been forced to shut by lack of volunteers
A promising dancer is taking the first steps towards her dream of stardom by winning a major scholarship. Laura Morrell, of Gavin Way, High Woods, Colchester, was among hundreds of hopefuls who auditioned for a part in the English Youth Ballet's production
A rebate on business rates has given Braintree Council a cash boost of £300,000. The news comes after reports that Braintree Commercial Services could be overspending its budget targets by nearly £500,000 and the rebate will go some way towards making
New Hall Vineyards in Purleigh celebrates its 26th annual English Wine Festival this weekend. Reporter KATY FISHER visited the vineyards to find out more. Tucked away in Purleigh, New Hall Vineyards, the largest of its kind in East Anglia, produces up
There were many who probably believed Ronnie Irani was being wildly optimistic when he set his sights on the Second Division title prior to the duel with Worcestershire. But such optimism seemed well-founded at the weekend when Essex emerged from their
Essex police officers will be one of the first in the country to begin wearing new lightweight uniforms from next April. The new designs, which will eventually be worn by officers nationwide, will be phased in over the next three years in Southend, Basildon
Three furry friends live deep in the forest, and they share everything. Well, that's the theory. But in Pumpkin Soup, an adaptation of a popular children's book, Squirrel, Cat and Duck have to relearn the basic principles of friendship. The characters
A firefighter was taken to hospital with a suspected broken ankle after tackling a blaze at a Danbury woodyard. Crews were still damping down at a timber yard near Chelmsford yesterday (Tuesday) after tackling the fire all night. No-one was injured in
Heart disease patients in north Essex are set to benefit from a £500,000 Government handout to improve their care. North Essex Health Authority (NEHA) is one of just ten in the country to get money to set up new fast track teams of specialist doctors,
A controversial hunt in Maldon High Street will go ahead even if the busy road is not shut to traffic, the hunt master has said. The traditional Boxing Day hunt was opposed at a town council planning meeting, when councillors objected to plans to close
The countdown is on for the closing date for entries for this year's Essex Chronicle Series/Susie Cornell Achievement over Adversity Awards. There are just two weeks left for nominations to be sent in for the awards scheme, which offers major cash prizes
Jim and Betty Reeve, of Chelmsford, will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary next Thursday. Mr Reeve said that he could remember the wedding day as though it was yesterday. He and his wife have three children -- Pauline, Michael and Robert -
Former students and staff who were at Sandon School in the late 1970s and early 80s are being sought in a bid to save a Great Baddow open space from development. Following the failure by residents to get the land at Newport Close declared a village green
Continuing our regular series, we are giving Chronicle readers an insight into the lives of Essex sportsmen and sportswomen. This week we feature Braintree Town Football Club president Ron Webb, and we asked him about his love of football, and Ryman League
OLD SOUTHENDIANS 234-3 UPMINSTER 234-8 (Match drawn) Des Beckett scored an unbeaten century as Old Boys consolidated second place with an entertaining draw against their Second Division promotion rivals. Old Boys won the toss and decided to bat, putting
Hermann Hreidarsson will complete his record-breaking move to Ipswich tomorrow (Thursday) - despite Wimbledon claiming they have not accepted Town's £4 million bid. The Iceland international centre-half agreed personal terms at Portman Road on Sunday
Steve Whitton was bouyant after his Colchester United millennium marauders grabbed a richly-deserved goalless draw at Swindon Town. And while paying tribute to his entire team for their "very encouraging opening day performance," the delighted U's boss
Chelmsford City's reserve side made the short journey up the A12 on Sunday only to find on arrival, they were facing Colchester United's full first team. This did not deter City who belied their lower league status by producing a glowing performance to
A disabled teenager from Chafford Hundred has drowned while on a holiday with his family in Spain. Derek Hynd, who had learning difficulties caused by meningitis, did not return from a kayaking trip off the beach at Estartit on the Costa Brava. The 19
Irani and Cowan bowl Essex to a fine victory Some of the most engrossing cricket around the country this season has been staged on festival grounds and Essex's County Championship match against Worcestershire at Chester Road, Kidderminster was no exception
Old soldiers who risked their lives for King and Country stood in silence to remember their fallen colleagues. Former servicemen who served with the Forgotten Army in South East Asia during the Second World War met yesterday (Tuesday) to make sure their
Shoppers have shown their confidence in pork by continuing to buy sausages from butchers across south Essex in the wake of an outbreak of swine fever. Butchers in Leigh, Shoebury, Canvey and Benfleet have seen no drop in sales after the disease was detected
Branch closures at Barclays and Woolwich could affect Colchester, Braintree, Clacton and Chelmsford. Barclays' £5.3 billion takeover of the Woolwich will mean the closure of more than 100 bank branches throughout the country. Although so far no branches
A bus company's decision to cut back on loss-making weekend services has come under fire from Southend Council. Arriva is shedding its route 13 service, which links Southend town centre and Eastwood Rise via the Tesco supermarket in Prince Avenue and
A Dutch cyclist died today (Wednesday) when he had a heart attack on the A120 at Ramsey. He was with a group of about five or six tourists from Holland riding to Harwich. An Essex Police spokesman said: "He had a heart attack, keeled over, collapsed and
A baby who was born 13 weeks premature is fighting back against all the odds. Jordan Tower was born at Colchester General Hospital weighing just 1100g and measuring only 35cm from head to toe. Jordan was delivered by emergency Caesarean after mum Sharon
The tragic death of his eldest son four years ago failed to destroy the faith of preacher Bob Telford who will be leading a Christian mission in Galleywood next month. Counties evangelist Mr Telford, 55, who has worked for world-famous gospel crusader
New partnerships with Braintree's largest department store will bring three major ladies' fashion retailers to the town. And the deal, which will see Top Shop, Wallis and Dash opening in October will bring jobs back to the Quadrant department store. The
A father rushed to a fire station in just his boxer shorts after a tree caught fire in his front garden. And firefighters did not even bat an eyelid when Richard Davis turned up asking for help. Mr Davis, of Galleywood Road, Chelmsford, dashed to Great
Colchester Zoo is to start a breeding programme with its African elephants - but it could be as much as four years before the patter of rather large feet is heard. The zoo's only male African elephant Tembo took part in an artificial insemination experiment
