A woman who sparked a £25,000 police hunt by claiming she was raped by a gang in Walton has admitted she made the story up. Police have dropped their investigation after the woman told officers the incident never happened. However, she will not be prosecuted
Pensioner Alfred Fry is selling a book collection which will send hearts-a-flutter - more than 2,000 Mills and Boon titles. He is selling his wife Ellen's collection of romantic blockbusters, which include 2,080 individual titles from the stable which
Essex cyclist Matt Illingworth jetted off to the Commonwealth Games with confidence that gold medal glory will be his. Illingworth, of Westcliff, hopes to go one better than the 1994 Games in Canada when his British team finished second. He said: "I really
The family of a critically-ill computer instructor rushed to his hospital bedside today after reading of his coma. Kenneth Plumb, 35, has been unconscious since he was mown down in the early hours of Saturday following a work night out. He was hit by
Recognise anything in this Aladdin's cave of items recovered by Tilbury detectives? Police want to return these goods to their owners. Items in the haul of recovered goods include a fishing box with fishing equipment, dumb-bells, a fitness bench and a
Councillors are today pressing ahead with controversial plans to lease out two old people's homes - despite repeated protests. Bennett Lodge in Chadwell St Mary and Leatherland Lodge in South Ockendon look set to be transferred to private control by April
Have flowers will travel. Bee orchids, along with two other important plant species, have been moved from the site of a multi-million-pound factory shopping village development in Braintree to a safe haven. Following an environmental assessment of the
Doggies will soon be able to paddle their cares away - with the opening of a swimming pool for pets. Owners of Gemini Kennels in Hovefields Avenue, Wickford, have spent £1,800 bringing the disused pool up to scratch. Within three weeks, dogs with aches
A crackdown on "unruly and anti-social" council tenants was being launched today. Tough-talking officials vowed to take firm and decisive action against individuals who flagrantly disregard Southend council rules. The move came after two separate orders
Matt Holland is set to skipper Ipswich Town at Oxford United on Saturday. The 24-year-old was given the captain's armband in Town's 3-0 win over Bradford City on Tuesday night after Tony Mowbray was forced off at half-time with a groin injury. It is unlikely
It could have been the greatest night of Adrian Dodson's career but, in the end, his 11th round IBO world middleweight title defeat at the hands of South African Mpush Makambi leaves his career in a state of limbo. Dodson, the former IBO Inter Continental
Grays' Gary Rouse faces the toughest challenge of his motorsport career on Sunday in the Group A Hot-Rod Supreme Championship. He starts on row two of the 26-car, 40-lap race and right behind his arch-rival, reigning Drivers' Champion Gary Finch. The
Ronnie Irani is the Essex Cricket Society Player of the Year for 1998. This is the second success for the popular all-rounder following his award in 1994. It is hoped that he will receive the award at the October 6 meeting of the Cricket Society at the
Britain's only grower and maker of industrial hemp is to relocate 15 miles from its current premises as pressure increases for homes and road links in the Stansted Airport area. Industrial hemp processors Hemcore is move its factory from Felsted near
Long-established print firm Spottiswoode Ballantyne has been taken off the market. It was revealed today that despite "preliminary discussion with two different parties" the company has been removed from sale. The company today confirmed the move in a
Billericay Town fans still revelling in their elevation to the top flight are being promised that ambitious new building plans will make match days even more of a pleasure. The club is seeking planning permission for a major revamp at its New Lodge ground
Police hunting a possible double rapist - reported on television's Crimewatch - have asked two anonymous callers to ring back. The women said they had been raped recently in south Essex. More than 300 people rang in after the programme, and 16 women said
There was fresh hope of a breakthrough in the Essex fire dispute today after the county's fire chief took control of negotiations with striking firemen. Members of the Fire Brigades Union had more than three hours of talks with chief fire officer David
Residents today told of their shock following the brutal shooting of a man in Ford End, near Braintree. One neighour, who was too frightened to reveal his name, said how he brushed past the killer as he fled from the scene in Pleshey Road. He added: "
The man wanted by police for questioning over the Ford End shootings was himself shot, then tortured and left for dead in an attack 11 years ago. John Piccolo was attacked on Guy Fawkes' night in 1987 by two men at Woodside Farm, his home in Waltham Cross
When the first boys walked into Colchester Royal Grammar School almost 800 years ago, the idea of letting in girls, too, would have been unthinkable. But on Tuesday the Lexden Road school welcomed 20 girls for the first time. Headmaster Stewart Francis
More women have come forward saying they had been attacked by a serial rapist who has struck twice in Essex and London in a six-year period. Detectives are following up those allegations and a number of other leads after 300 calls were made to the BBC
Councillors in Southend are behaving like star-struck groupies, judging by their breathless enthusiasm for a Cliffs Pavilion revamp. Their communal palpitations for the proposed £12 million refit - "which would bring major West End shows to Southend,"
The concerns of Colchester councillors at Essex County Council's proposals to sell elderly people's homes off to the private sector are to be sent to County Hall. Helen Chuah, Liberal Democrat borough councillor for St John's in Colchester, last night
People in Brentwood may be going without medicines they need because of increasing prescription charges. That is the claim from Liberal Democrats in Essex, who say that 84 per cent of pharmacists they surveyed across eastern England said higher charges
Twinning campaigners have been left speechless after their US link-up was thrown out by the national twinning watchdog. The Local Govern-ment International Bureau, which oversees all twinning arrangements involving British towns, has refused to recognise
They wear the same uniform and have the same powers of arrest - but why do people want to be a police "special"? Special constables in Southend and Rayleigh are a rare breed. Police chiefs in both divisions do not hide the fact they are woefully short
Anyone who fancies being a Lord of the Manor can become a member of Thurrock's nobility for the bargain price of £8,500. The ancient Domesday Lordship of the Manor of Aveley has been put up for sale by the Historical Records Agency. The money will buy
Southend United's forgotten man, tough-tackling defender Andy Harris, has declared himself fit and ready to play his part in boss Alvin Martin's plans. Harris has been out of action for the last two months after damaging his ankle ligaments during Blues
The former ABC cinema in Southend will soon live again as a community theatre. Project leaders have taken delivery of 660 new seats for the venue in Alexandra Street, Southend. Another 120 could soon be added. The old seats were removed when the cinema
An initiative is being set up in Tendring in a bid to crack down on crime and tackle its root causes. A special strategy is to be drawn up by a steering group to represent a wide section of the community. The move has come about as a response to the Government's
A television appeal to solve the mystery death of an Essex man whose body was found near a stolen coach in the driveway of his home has turned up new leads. Charles Anderson, of Orton Close, Margaretting, died on June 15. He had left Duke's Nightclub
A dangerous chemical has been stolen by night raiders in Thurrock, police warned today. Three hundred and eighty kilograms of the chemical Mykon White, which can harm in its purest form, was stolen from a lorry at Lakeside Retail Park early this morning
On match days at Everton Football Club, women are not allowed in the corridor between the changing rooms and the player's lounge. When Rachel Anderson heard this during a visit to the Liverpool club she had to put her foot over the line. That is the type
A group of 11-year-old children were left stranded at the roadside after their first day at a new school. Bus company First Eastern National was criticised for leaving 30 pupils at a village bus stop yesterday. Now angry parents have called the Gazette
A battle of wills was today in the making after supermarket giant Asda told council chiefs: "Give our shoppers what they want." More than 1,200 customers have signed a petition supporting plans for a 45,000 sq ft superstore next to the Festival Leisure
A 10-year-old boy has finally spoken to police about how he came to be lying in a road with serious head injuries. James Pring has been in Basildon Hospital since he was mysteriously found lying in Cranell Green, South Ockendon, at about 10.50am on Tuesday
The grieving daughter of a woman killed in last week's Swissair jetliner crash flew home this week after paying her last respects at Peggy's Cove, Canada, scene of the disaster. Andrea Hamilton Smith had flown from her home in Stanford Rivers, near Ongar
Police today launched a major hunt after a 23-year-old man was blasted in the head with a shotgun and a woman was wounded. Detectives named John Piccolo, a 51-year-old car dealer, as the man they wanted to question over the shooting and another incident
