Archive

  • A12 delay warning in second night of delays

    MOTORISTS face long delays heading home this evening after congestion along a 25 mile stretch of the A12. The Essex Traffic Control Centre has issued an alert for the northbound carriageway as traffic is slow-moving from Sandon at junction 18 to

  • Colchester Paras won't return to Afghanistan

    Colchester Paras have been left off the next tour of duty of Afghanistan. The Government has announced all those regiments set to deploy next month on Herrick 18. Soldiers from 156 Provost Company Royal Military Police are the only troops from

  • Calls to mental health helpline double

    A MENTAL health helpline has more than doubled in use in less than a year. The out-of-hours Trust Line, run by Mid Essex Mind, took 6,050 calls in October to December last year, roughly double that received from January to March 2012. Nearly

  • Nurse claims low staff levels are costing lives

    NURSES at Colchester General Hospital said critically low staffing levels are to blame for high death rates. A senior nurse, with 30 years experience at the Turner Road hospital, said there can be as few as two nurses to a 32 bed ward. She

  • Boy, nine, knocked out after pool-side fall

    A BOY aged nine was rushed to hospital after knocking himself out at Colchester’s Leisure World. Paramedics were called to the centre in Cowdray Avenue after the boy slipped while running by the leisure pool. He hit his head and knocked himself

  • Cowboy builders steal scouts' fence

    SCOUTS have suffered a set back to their bid for a new hut. Members of 34 Colchester Scouts arrived at their headquarters to find their new fence panels laid out and the foundations stolen. Chairman Spencer Greystrong said it was going to cost

  • Woman who stole her dad's medals avoids jail

    A FORMER serviceman discovered his medals had been stolen when he went to put them on for a Remembrance Day service. Allan Lofts, 78, also found his father’s medals from the First World War were missing. A court heard how he called police and

  • Tragic climber laid to rest

    THE memory of a young army medic who died in a climbing accident will live on thanks to money donated in his name. Hundreds of mourners packed into St Mary’s Church in Tollesbury on Monday to bid farewell to Second Lieutenant Ben St Joseph.

  • YouTube joker's victims hit back

    A YOUTUBE prankster has been criticised by his victims for not getting their permission to film them. Dave Mateer's videos, which show him faking a fit and contorting his face while discussing purchases with staff in Colchester stores such as Asda

  • Helping others gave me the confidence to succeed

    She was a desperately shy and unconfident person and for Vicky Finch the thought of public speaking was the equivalent of someone with vertigo scaling the Empire State Building. It’s fair to say that when she decided to help set up a north Essex children

  • Dinner lady's two-year fight for justice

    A DINNER lady sacked for telling a girl's parents how she had been hurt at school has won her two-year fight for justice.  Carol Hill was dismissed in 2009 after she told the girl’s parent about the incident while at a Beavers meeting, where she

  • 8,139 Colchester claimants sent tax bill letter

    MORE than 8,000 Colchester claimants have been told they must pay more council tax. Letters have been sent out to 8,139 residents whose Council Tax Benefits will be cut by on average £200 a year from this April. The government has given local

  • 'We have a right to privacy'

     A BOTCHED mail shot meant a man was mistakenly sent planned changes to another man’s benefits. Colchester Council sent Mark Curtis, 49, of Steed Crescent, in Colchester, a letter detailing the changes to his council tax benefit, which are due

  • The best is yet to come, says in-form Sears

    In-form Colchester United striker Freddie Sears has warned League One defenders that his best is yet to come. Sears has been in electric form for the U’s over recent weeks and has scored four times in his last five games. The former West Ham

  • Have you won a DVD player with today's Gazette?

    Are you the lucky winner of a DVD player? Astute card winners can check their numbers to see if they have won the Sony Blu-ray disc and DVD player - courtesy of Stellison in Colchester - or a number of cash prizes.  

  • In today's Gazette: A12 crash sparks traffic chaos

    In today's Gazette: A bus and a lorry crashed on the A12 causing the road to be closed for more than four hours. Medics say it was miraculous the drivers escaped unscathed. However, the smash, between Lexden and the community stadium, resulted

  • U's boosted by Clifford stay

    Colchester United's survival hopes have been given a major boost after Chelsea agreed to extend midfielder Billy Clifford's loan spell until the end of the season. The 20-year-old has started the U's last five matches in League One since joining