Archive

  • Drug raid suspects appear in court

    FIVE people arrested during dawn raids on suspected drug dealers in Clacton have appeared in court. They are accused of a total of 23 charges of supplying class A drugs, including heroin and crack cocaine. None of the defendants entered a plea as they

  • Bus complaints

    On Tuesday, the Gazette ran a story about a First Bus customer’s complaints following a trip from Harwich to Colchester. We would ask her to write in to our customer services centre so can record the complaint and respond accordingly. The address

  • Firstsite critic just ignorant

    I felt compelled to write about Rupert Christiansen’s article about Firstsite and Colchester in the Telegraph, mentioned in the Gazette (October 4). It says more about his somewhat warped ideas about the county of Essex than any clear assessment

  • Hythe house prices suffer

    With regard to house sales being affected by the dispute over Hythe’s Bridge House (Gazette, September 29), I cannot believe it could remain derelict for years. What about people in the Hythe wanting to sell our homes? This is a body blow for

  • What started as a little pain in my arm was lupus

    IT STARTED with a few innocuous pains in her hands, but only a few months later Cheryl Pilling was so ill she had to be put into a coma. The 26-year-old, from the Harwich area, was left in agony and unable to walk by lupus, an illness which causes your

  • Return electoral form, or you will lose your vote

    Every household in the country should have received a voter registration form through the post recently. It’s important to fill in this form and return it as soon as possible. Anyone whose household hasn’t had a voter registration form, or who

  • NHS deals are unacceptable

    The financial “whizzkids” have done it again! Suddenly we are introduced to PFIs (Private Finance Initiatives). It seems some years ago, when new hospitals needed to be paid for, the financial experts signed the unsuspecting taxpayers up to the

  • Our brave soldiers will not follow Labour Party’s flag

    As a retired soldier, I was sick in the stomach to read Tim Young’s letter (October 4). He obviously has no sense of loyalty, comradeship and self-discipline. I doubt if he has ever been in a uniform of any description. There is no way our brave

  • Colchester: Two burglaries in Sussex Road area

    DETECTIVES are linking two burglaries which happened overnight. A burglar entered a house in Sussex Road, Lexden, around 3am on Wednesday and took a quantity of electrical items. The same evening, a premises in Lexden Road, Colchester

  • Ardleigh quarry meeting tonight

    A PUBLIC meeting is being held tonight, Friday, to discuss proposals for a new quarry in Ardleigh. Residents are invited to attend at 7.30pm at Ardleigh Village Hall. The meeting, held by the parish council, will focus on plans for a

  • 1,200 kids at school each given an iPad

    A secondary school has handed each of its 1,200 pupils a £400-plus touch-screen computer of their own. Honywood Community Science School in Coggeshall has given Apple iPad 2s to all its pupils – asking parents only to pay £50 towards insurance costs.

  • End of the Essex County Council expenses gravy train

    COUNTY councillors could be banned from claiming back expenses for food, drink and other hospitality costs as part of strict new expenses rules. A series of changes to the existing allowances scheme is being proposed in the wake of former leader Lord

  • Wilson: We've made progress this season

    FULL-BACK Brian Wilson believes Colchester United’s recent run of form is a sign of their progression this season. The U’s host lowly Yeovil Town tomorrow having lost only one of their last seven games in League One. Back-to-back victories over Walsall

  • Ward stresses the importance of home form

    COLCHESTER United’s eye-catching home form holds the key to any success they achieve this season. That is the view of U’s boss John Ward, who feels it is imperative his side maintain their consistency at the Weston Homes Community Stadium

  • Parsons Heath Primary School returns to Tudor times

    PUPILS at a Colchester school stepped back to Tudor times for a day of special events. Admin assistant at Parsons Heath Primary School, Marie Griggs, who became a peasant for the day, said: “It is an annual event. They study Henry VIII and his times

  • Woman, 76, in slowest police chase ever?

    A PENSIONER sparked the slowest ever police chase on the A12 after she refused to stop for cops...driving at 10mph. Caroline Turner, 76, caused a major police operation after driving the wrong way round a roundabout in Thorpe and veering on to the wrong