A CONTEST to find the country’s strongest man is to be held in north Essex. The Valhalla Festival of Muscle and Power, at Layer Marney Tower, will host England’s Strongest Man 2011 contest in July. Twelve strongmen will battle it out for the title and
IN the next couple of weeks, a weighty purple envelope containing a daunting looking 32-page questionnaire will land on your doormat. The census, a snapshot of the UK’s population held once every ten years, will take place on March 27 at a cost of an
AN ARTIST has painted a mural depicting village life in Colne Engaine. Nick Chapman, 60, a retired deputy headteacher, described the painting as a cross between Where’s Wally and the Sistine Chapel ceiling. He has given the Five Bells
crime increased by 6 per cent in Colchester in January, according to the latest police incident map. Most crimes were again carried out in the town centre, followed by Greenstead and High Woods. The website says there were 522 crimes in the Colchster
MORE than 80 speeding motorists were given a ticking off by pupils. Children from Hazelmere Junior School, in Hawthorn Avenue, Colchester, helped police clock 82 drivers breaking the limit. They had the opportunity to speak to the pupils
GET-TOUGH police powers to crack down on suspected trouble-makers in Jaywick are being extended. Council bosses are rubberstamping a six-month extension to a dispersal order covering the village. It gives police the power to ban people
SCHOOLCHILDREN had a go at being archaeologists thanks to vineyard owners. Jane and Stephen Mohan, owners of Coggeshall Vineyard, invited two groups of youngsters to watch how the professionals go about a dig. The couple called in Essex County Council
A SOLDIER shot dead while fighting alongside comrades from Colchester has been honoured with a full military funeral. Private Conrad Lewis, died patrolling Helmand, in Afghanistan, while attached to Colchester-based Third Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
COLLECTIONS are beginning for a major charity booksale later this year. Seven places for people to donate CDs, DVDs, games and jigsaws are to open on Saturday March 12 in preparation for the NSPCC book fair in October. Co-op stores in Colchester
A WOMAN was repeatedly kicked and punched by three females outside a Halstead pub. The 45-year-old victim, from Earls Colne, and her 60-year-old friend, a multiple sclerosis sufferer from Colchester, were attacked while out for a friend’s birthday celebration
A woman was kicked and punched by three women thugs she had been dancing with just minutes before. The 45-year-old and her 60-year-old friend, who has multiple sclerosis, were assaulted while celebrating a friend's birthday in Halstead.
THE Iceni Centre – a joint project between Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust and Anglia Ruskin University – is the only one of its kind in the UK. It will be used to train surgeons in keyhole procedures involving small incisions rather
A SHIP attempting to reach Libya carrying £100million has been intercepted and escorted to Harwich port. British authorities tracked the vessel to Britain after it aborted an attempt to dock at Tripoli over the weekend. The operation uncovered containers
CAMPAIGNING residents have put down their clipboards and picked up their watering cans to care for new trees and shrubs. Homeowners in Queen Mary Avenue, Colchester, were furious when Colchester Council dug up the shrubs on the verges outside their homes
A company boss paid the first instalment of compensation to an employee who stole from him. Simon Cremer, of Little Maplestead, paid just under half of the £5000 owed to Mark Gilbert yesterday after the pair settled out of court. In
A MAN was taken to hospital after being attacked by a group of men at a convenience store in the early hours Colchester. The victim, who is in his 20s, was pushed to the floor before being punched and kicked by the gang at the Continental Supermarket
TRAIN services were delayed after a lorry struck a railway bridge in Colchester. Trains were restricted to travelling at 5mph over the bridge in North Station Road, close to Colchester Railway Station, following the crash at 8.35am on Friday
IF there’s one man who knows about ska, it’s Neville Staple. As a member of the Specials, he helped propel rocksteady beats with a vicious political edge into the charts. After leaving the band, he set up Fun Boy Three with fellow Specials members Terry
HE’S already had one shot at the big time, now Benjamin Bloom is looking for the next one. Some may recall Benjamin from his days with indie pop group, Rosalita, who released a string of singles and secured high profile festival slots.
A Witham man has been arrested after a man was repeatedly hit with a baseball bat. The victim was involved in a row and hit over the head in Magdalen Street, Colchester. He suffered a fractured eye socket, swelling, cuts and bruises
MASKED crusaders are fighting crime across the country but Colchester’s superheroes have disappeared. Researcher Tea Krulos is writing a book on superheroes and is in contact with six and is tracking ten others from the UK. But Colchester’s own team
A MAJOR fundraising campaign to build a brand new Children's Hospice which will care for terminally ill children in north Essex has reached its target. Just 12 months after its launch the East Anglian Children's Hospice Treehouse Appeal has raised
Colchester United will welcome their biggest crowd of the season tomorrow. A crowd of more than 7,000 is expected to flock to the Weston Homes Community Stadium, to watch the U’s clash with fellow promotion hopefuls Southampton. Colchester’s biggest
Lloyd James has insisted that there will be no room for sentiment when he takes on his boyhood club tomorrow. The cultured Colchester United midfielder spent 15 years at Southampton, where he progressed through the youth ranks. The
