A MAN stabbed in a flat has named the person allegedly responsible for the attack. Adam Richer told a court he caught a “quick glimpse” of his attacker during the incident in Colchester, early on New Year’s Day. He had been out celebrating at the time
A THREE-YEAR fight to stop the Army fencing off part of a well-loved green space in Colchester has been lost. Residents battled to prevent a fence going up around the rifle ranges on Middlewick, which the Army claims is plagued by vandals, flytipping
A FATHER-to-be was forced to wait at home while his partner suffered a miscarriage – after an electronic tag company refused to relax the conditions of his curfew. Damien Wilkinson, of Cowdray Avenue, Colchester, was looking forward to becoming a dad
VANDALS have ripped off chunks of 18th century marble gravestones in a Colchester town centre churchyard. Local historian Jess Jephcott said he found gravestone pieces alongside piles of rubbish left strewn across St Martin’s Churchyard, in West Stockwell
THE widow of a motorcyclist killed by a banned driver has said no sentence will bring back her husband. Steve Emsden, 49, was killed when his Suzuki motorbike was involved in a collision with a Ford Transit van in Braxted Park Road, Great Braxted, on
A LANE was closed on the northbound A12 near Colchester after a lorry hit a van. The crash happened near the Cymbeline Way junction of the A12. Both the passenger and the driver of the white Ford Transit van suffered minor injuries in the incident
THE women of Colchester are being reminded there are still afternoon places available for the Race for Life in Lower Castle Park. There are three races in the town, with the first two scheduled to take place in Lower Castle Park on May 16. All 2,000
IF YOU have an eye for nature and a camera to hand, your photos could become part of the Woodland Trust’s 2011 calendar. The charity is asking the public to send in images of East Anglian woodland throughout the year to capture the seasons for its
THE Bishop of Colchester has urged his flock not to vote for the British National Party in next month’s elections. The Rt Rev Christopher Morgan said Christians could not support the party’s “divisive distinctions based on race, creed and colour”. He
AMBULANCES carrying patients were forced to queue “for hours” at Colchester Hospital yesterday evening. At one stage seven emergency vehicles were outside the emergency assessment unit. According to a hospital employee there were no beds available.
WANNABE models took the first steps to fame at an open audition in Colchester. The Culver Square Colchester Modelsearch, organised in association with the Gazette, is giving ordinary shoppers the chance to be stars of fashion. The first of two scouting
Congratulations should go to the young people and their tutor for the painting of the boards at the bus stop in Queen Street, Colchester (the old Keddies building). Passengers must be cheered up by the work after many years of a really drab
In the Gazette (April 21), there was an article on the recruitment of four new non-executive directors for Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust. Amazingly, the trust has been looking for these replacements since May 2008. Mark
I would like to welcome the letter from G Miller, of Boxted (April 20), headlined: Keep politics out of town. I admire and respect Andy Hamilton and his input on the Visual Arts Facility. I especially admire his bravery in going into the bear
I read the story in the Gazette (April 15) headlined: “Health boss warns of massive budget cuts” with some concern. The article said I had warned of “massive budget cuts” in the local NHS. This is simply not true. There will be no cuts to the
I am writing in response to Kim Naish’s letter (April 20) concerning my input into the proposed Colchester school closures prior to my present political stance. I welcome comments from my political opponents, although I was under the impression
Just a few lines hoping everyone have their St George’s flags up for tomorrow. I have mine up ready and I also have one ready for my car. I did not see many up last year. JP Willoboughby Honeysuckle Way Colchester
MORE than 500 people enjoyed a charity fun day in Colchester, organised by Essex Police. The event, at Alderman Blaxill School, was put together by PC Jane Watts and police community support officer Kate Ward. It raised more than £200 for Help for Heroes
For years I have been astonished at the casual manner of recording our votes in elections. The issue of a polling card provides no practical value, other than confirmation that the elector is registered and telling them where to go to record
I would like to respond to the letter (April 19) about antisocial behaviour at a block of council flats. Without wanting to go into details, we are doing all we can to help the residents at the block in question. I’d like to make a few general
I had never even heard of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (how much more of their good work goes unheralded?), but when I turned 60 recently, I must have triggered their “Welcome – please come and join us” system. So, having sent off
I have recently had the pleasure of getting to know the families living at Bridgeside, Stanway, and have to say they are very pleasant people. The families living there are not travellers. By definition, travellers travel, and, as the families
Although by no means an expert (on anything), my gut feeling has always been the total aircraft ban, welcome in some respects, was a bit of an over-reaction. But what if the thing they were really worried about was a combination of the dust and
Thanks for another aerial photo of the Visual Arts Facility (Gazette, April 19) and your report on its estimated final cost of £25million. We need our heads examined. This monstrosity looks like a glorified “bike shed” – without even a toilet
MOVES to take playing fields across Colchester “out of the hands of politicians” have been welcomed. Colchester Council is drawing up plans for the borough’s green spaces to be placed in trust so they can’t be sold off for development. Officials are
A SECOND Colchester Buggy Walk will be launched next month. Leaving from Colchester Leisure World, the one mile walk will be led by a trained walk leader through Castle Park, and is part of a scheme by Colchester Council’s Sports Development Team to
A COMMUNITY centre in Colchester’s Greenstead estate will stay open longer and offer more activities after a flood of volunteers has come forward. The Greenstead Community Centre, in Hawthorn Avenue, opened six years ago with six members of staff. The
Colchester United will be made to wait to discover the outcome of the Football League disciplinary hearing over the controversial departure of Paul Lambert to Norwich City. U's chairman Robbie Cowling was in London on Monday for the hearing
Former Colchester United chairman Peter Heard fears doubling parachute payments for relegated sides could alienate lower league clubs. The Premier League is planning to increase the payments – designed to soften the financial blow of relegation – to
Roy Keane has admitted he may be interested in signing former Manchester United team-mate Nicky Butt. Ipswich Town boss Keane saw Butt in action for Championship champions Newcastle United at the weekend when the two sides played out a 2-2 draw. Butt
Graham Napier will be missing again as Essex seek a vast improvement at Somerset in LV= County Championship division one. Colchester all-rounder Napier was absent for both of Essex’s heavy defeats in the last few days – to Lancashire by eight wickets
AN Army wife is donning rucksack and boots to “get an idea of what the guys do”. Tracey Clark, from Colchester, is doing the Para 10, which challenges people to run ten miles cross-country in walking boots while carrying a 35lbs rucksack. The 35-
RELATIVES of a depressed man believe he took his life because of a long and acrimonious battle over the custody of his daughter. Keith Werb hanged himself at his house in Valentinus Crescent, Colchester, an inquest heard. Tina Harrington, assistant
NEARLY £1million is to be spent restoring and celebrating picturesque north Essex landscapes which inspired famous painters. Views recreated by the likes of John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough are to be partially restored, while an 18th-century “Stour
