Colchester town centre is to lose two more top women's clothes stores. Both Miss Selfridge and Richards will be closing down over the coming months. The Arcadia company, which owns both of the chains, will be closing all Richards branches by the end of
Asda could show drive-in movies in its Chelmsford car park. Family films could be beamed on to a screen so that people can watch from their cars, picking up the sound on their radios. Or tiered seating might be organised so that film fans can watch in
A Tory bid to reduce the council tax rise in Braintree has failed. On Wednesday night, Braintree Council leader John Gyford recommended a proposed increase of 6.93 per cent to the district's part of the tax bill. It would mean an extra £6.75 a year for
A school in Southend has won the lion's share of National Lottery cash for extra-curricular activities across the eastern region. The Prittlewell School gained £49,528 to boost its out-of-hours learning projects when only £60,902 was handed out across
More than 20 factory workers face the axe at sailing equipment firm Musto. Machinists at the firm's Benfleet factory have been given 30 days' notice of up to 26 redundancies. Keith Musto, managing director of the Laindon-based firm, said the warnings
Southend United's misfit striker Neil Campbell will be handed a rare chance to lead Blues' attack at Third Division promotion chasers Darlington. With ten-goal hitman Neil Tolson set to miss the rest of the season with a groin injury and Trevor Fitzpatrick
Campaigning grandmother Maddie Fuller has started a crusade to stop children getting involved with drugs. Mrs Fuller wants to stop young people using drugs after a 12-year-old boy alleged he saw fellow pupils smoking cannabis. He said other children smoked
Armed police today swooped on a house on a Colchester estate and arrested two people. A 22-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman were arrested at the address in connection with allegations of aggravated burglary and false imprisonment. The pair, who are
The youngest son of a family hit by tragedy today made a desperate plea to thieves to return his bike. Schoolboy Ricky Bishop, of Crown Avenue, Pitsea, had parked the yellow and green bike outside Canvey Library. But while he was in lessons at Furtherwick
Hardcore Essex criminals who offend to feed their habit are to be targeted with tough American-style drugs courts. The initiative is being unveiled by Whitehall's drugs tsar Keith Hellawell in Danbury, near Chelmsford, on Monday. In a speech to Essex
Little Charlotte Mayor is to celebrate her first birthday later this month - even though she will be four years of age. For Charlotte, of Witham, is one of 1,800 babies born in Great Britain on February 29, 1996, the last leap year of the 20th century
East was the first Berkoff play to take the country by storm, but is the writer still sending torpedoes into the bourgeois, asks TOM KING... An interview with actor/playwright Steven Berkoff is a rare event these days. And from the thin ranks of those
Southend's youngsters had a rare chance to shine in Wednesday night's reserve team outing against Luton Town - but it was the visitors who did most of the twinkling. Blues fielded what was more or less an under-21 side at Roots Hall, with transfer-listed
Police have arrested two women and a man in connection with an investigation into the alleged mistreatment of residents at a former care home in Clacton. All three were staff at the Carnarvon Lodge Residential Care Home for the elderly in Carnarvon Road
An eight-year-old girl has been paid £1.6 million after being born severly brain-damaged at Colchester Maternity Hospital. Eight-year-old Jessica Walton, of Kingsland Road, West Mersea, who was born at the Lexden Road hospital - which has since been demolished
Finals preparations are being made in south Essex for the arrival of a prestigious visitor tomorrow (Saturday). The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, is taking in Vange and Southend as part of his four-day tour of the Chelmsford diocese. He was
Children mutilated the feet of a badly burnt body they found in tunnels at an old fort in Harwich, an inquest heard. Uncertainty still surrounds the death of Gregory Chung whose burnt and decomposing body was found at the Beacon Hill fort at Harwich on
A no-confidence vote in the leader of Basildon District Council failed to pull in cross-party support last night. All 22 Labour councillors stayed loyal to leader John Potter and voted down the motion - the first of its kind in Basildon in more than ten
Maverick MP Teresa Gorman was today facing a month-long suspension from parliament. There are now calls for Tory leader William Hague to discipline her. The Billericay MP has dismissed the verdict as "rubbish." How did she get into this situation? SAMUEL
The mother of a profoundly deaf man plans to file an official complaint with Essex Police after claiming he was sprayed with CS gas. Mrs Viv Pharoah from Victoria Road, Cold Norton claims her 22-year-old son, Stuart's face and neck became red and he suffered
A professional Essex golfer is giving fans and friends a chance to share in his winnings. Jason Levermore, who turned professional last October, is turning himself into a human share offer in an attempt to raise funds to help him compete on the circuit
Colchester United's 1-0 win at promotion-chasing Wigan has been voted as the Performance of the Week by the Managers' Association of the Football League. The U's tremendous success at the JJB Stadium eclipsed Newcastle's 3-0 win over Premiership leaders
A £30,000 Millennium Festival will bring carnival fever to Colchester for a week of Covent Garden style events. The activities will be launched with a revamped carnival parade on July 22. There will be scores of activities to attract residents and tourists
Hopes that escorts could return to schoolbuses in the light of a pupil's death have suffered a setback. But campaigners have vowed to fight on to get them brought back. Reece Straight, 12, died after falling under the wheel of a bus after leaving Clacton
DIVISION ONE Intersports strengthened their position at the top of the table with a 5-1 win over Bridge Street Hearts. Chris Gille, Gavin Lee and Mark Knox gave Intersports a 3-0 interval lead. In the second half, Hearts netted one goal, via Dan Pattle
Saturday saw members of Chelmsford Athletics Club compete for Essex in the National Inter Counties cross country championships at Nottingham. The event also doubled up as a trial for the forthcoming world championships. The club were well represented
Libby Hill celebrated her 60th birthday on Thursday, but that milestone will not stop her turning up for hockey matches -- a sport that she has been playing for 49 years. Libby, from Great Waltham, collected her pension book yesterday, but in a week's
'Mission imperative' is how Chelmsford City manager Gary Bellamy describes his side's home game against promotion rivals Hastings Town. In the run-up to Saturday's Dr Martens League Eastern Division tie at New Lodge Bellamy said: "We simply have to win
A world class horse show, the biggest in the UK, is to be held at Essex County Showground it was announced this week. The eyes of the world will be on the Great Leighs showground with European television deals promising 33 million viewers in Germany and
Southend Manor Lions and Hamlet Court gave nothing away when they clashed in the South-East Essex Mini Soccer Primary League under-9 First Division. For they drew 1-1 as a curtain-raiser for the League Cup semi-final which will be staged on March 12.
ESSEX JUNIOR TROPHY SIXTH ROUND The two Mid-Essex league clubs left in the competition won through to the semi-final stages, following victories on Saturday. Mundon Vics visited Helions Bumpstead and needed extra-time before clinching victory. Mike White's
Michael Clegg is set to make his Ipswich Town debut at Crewe. The former England Under 21 international, who is on a month's loan from Manchester United, travelled north with the squad earlier today (Friday). Clegg, 22, trained with Town for the first
Great Wakering Rovers have again seen one of their main Ryman League Third Division promotion rivals fail to make up ground in the race to go up. Aveley would have moved to within one point of second-placed Wakering if they had pulled off their expected
Michael Clegg has been handed the chance to prove himself away from the pressures of playing for the biggest club in the world. The Manchester United full-back, who joined Ipswich Town on a month's loan on Wednesday, is likely to go straight into the
Five Star Amateur Boxing Club are staging their first open show for two years at Browsters Hall, Gooshays Drive, in Harold Hill tonight (Friday) commencing at 8pm. Everyone involved in the club hopes this is the first of many hoping to put the club on
The son of a world-famous artist has died after a freak train accident. Edwin Doubleday, son of renowned Essex sculptor John Doubleday, died after he was dragged beneath a moving London tube train. The 23-year-old medical student was three months away
Members of Riverside trampoline club scooped 14 trophies at the Essex Open competition in Harlow. Georgina Raeburn won gold in the Under 11 novice section, while Riverside won a number of trophies in the intermediate sections, Maddison Illingworth and
The face of golf dramatically changed at the prestigious Five Lakes Hotel, Golf and Country Club this week as plans were unveiled to unite to the two existing golf clubs. It has taken over 25 years, two clubs and two name changes to reach this decision
Canvey Island look set to draw 1,000 plus crowds to Park Lane on each of the next two Saturdays. On Saturday they host Essex rivals Billericay Town before hugely-supported Aldershot visit the Island in a week's time. It's a real double bonanza for Gulls
London Underground is investigating procedures following the death of a medical student in a horrific accident. Edwin Doubleday, son of sculptor John Doubleday, died after falling from an underground train at Liverpool Street station last weekend as he
Trebor-Bassett's award winning sweet factory is being sold off at a fraction of the original building cost. More than 200 jobs will be lost when the Trebor-Bassett sweet factory in Colchester closes on March 3. The 94,000 sq ft Severalls Lane site was
Onlookers watched in dismay as a student was stripped and taped to a tree in a graveyard. In a bizarre prank, the student was bound to a tree in St Peter's Church cemetery and sprayed with red paint. Wearing only his underpants to protect him from the
A couple were today facing a £30,000 legal bill after losing a row over a parking space in Benfleet. Two of the country's top legal experts have ruled that Florence Gillman, who runs Highcroft Nursery at 182a High Road, has a legal right to park in the
The couple murdered by Jason Prentice were about to get married before he took their lives in a frenzied attack. The tragic news was delivered by the murdered man's mother as a jury took just half an hour to decide Prentice was guilty of double murder
Essex Police may only recruit extra officers if sickness levels are reduced and targets for reducing crime are met. The new annual budget for the county force, with effect from April, has been increased from £169.4 million to £183.1 million. It was rubber
More than 120 jobs could go after Sainsbury's revealed it will close its mini-supermarket store in Chelmsford. The supermarket giant has announced it is to close its Sainsbury Central store in the town's High Chelmer shopping centre in June. Bosses blamed
Chelmsford has fewer older people than most parts of Essex. That is one statistic in the latest edition of Essex Trends, a county council report which tracks the lifestyles of people in the county. It shows that in 1997 - the latest year for which figures
Millionaire entrepreneur developer Eamonn Ryan has said he is to appeal to the European Courts of Justice over money he allegedly owes. It follows a county court hearing last August brought by estate agents Strutt and Parker against Mr Ryan claiming unpaid
A driver has been cleared of any blame after a boy died while trying to jump on board a moving school bus. Clacton County High School pupil Reece Straight, 12, died of multiple injuries after falling under the wheel of a double-decker bus. An inquest
Arena Essex have completed their team line-up for next season with the signing of David Mason to fill one of the two reserve berths. Mason, 23, is no stranger to the Purfleet Raceway having ridden for the Hammers in 1997 when he obtained an average of
Colchester United's first season of Division Two football left the club with a loss of almost half-a-million pounds. A loss of £458,787 in the year ending May 31, 1999, was to be revealed to shareholders at the U's annual meeting scheduled to go ahead
A huge summer festival is set to become north Essex's biggest millennium event. The two-day spectacular will be based around a re-enactment of the Siege of Colchester. It will take place in two fields next to the Crown Inn at Ardleigh, just off the A12
Youngsters from Thundersley's King John School reigned supreme when Southend Athletic Club staged their second Lisa Gahagan Memorial Trophy cross-country race over a 3000 metres course in Belfairs Park. With a starting line-up of 35, Sarah Raven was the
A police dog that went on the run after being castrated has been reunited with his relieved handler. Klauss, the two-year-old German shepherd, burrowed his way under a fence at the home of British Transport Police officer Steve Gould in Southend, a week
Essex youngsters are taking to drugs earlier and do not receive enough help from social services, a new report claims. The Essex Drug Action Team interviewed 87 health and care workers and 76 under-19 drug-users throughout the county to find out why young
There were some outstanding performances from all three Southend line-ups when the Independent Schools' East Anglian regional cross-country championships were staged at Stoke College. A host of youngsters from Crowstone, Alleyn Court and Thorpe Hall won
Quiz king Harry Norton claims he has been banned from an Essex pub for thinking and not drinking. His ghastly crime? He repeatedly wins the Wednesday night pub quiz at the Windmill Tavern in East Hanningfield, and pockets the £20 top prize. However, lone
Newborn babies will have a cosier stay at Basildon Hospital thanks to a £1,000 comfort blanket. The hospital's neonatal unit is now £1,338 richer thanks to a local group of creative minds. The Essex Handicrafts Association has spent several months putting
Colchester United are expecting their biggest crowd of the season when Ian Wright rolls into town next week. The former England striker, who signed for Burnley from Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic earlier this week, is still a huge draw and ticket sales
A rising star in the world of women's hockey has been rewarded for her talents. Nicola Kudela, of the Harwich School, was presented with a new stick from the Slazenger company for her winning performance at the recent England development squad matches
by PAUL JEATER At 11.50pm on Wednesday at the Bletchley Leisure Centre in Milton Keynes, 21 seconds remained in what had become a nerve wracking contest between the Lions and the Leopards. The score was tied at 87-87, the ball was in the hands of former
Four Southend tennis players have made it through to the regional finals of a major national tennis tournament sponsored by a luxury car maker. Sue Blackshaw, Pat Townsley, Linda Vaughan and Sue Hookway will represent the area at the regional final of
Pupils at Southend's primary and special schools will be tucking into a tasty new menu after councillors rubber-stamped a new catering contract. Members of the ratification committee have agreed to the Initial Catering Services, (ICS), the largest caterer
Two men who dumped 2,000 tyres on land in Pitsea have had their prison sentences quashed at an appeal. Paul O'Brien, 36, and Andrew Enkel, 34, both of St Andrew's Road, Laindon, were paid £8,000 by a man in a pub to dump the tyres. They can still be found
Chelmsford's resources were severely stretched at the weekend but they were unfortunate not to come away with all the points from Sunday's match at Brooklands. Chelmsford, sponsored by Teakglobe Trading Limited, were forced to reorganise following the
Chelmsford Chieftains are the first winners of ice hockey's Millennium Cup, following a 10-7 win over Swindon Chill. Duane Ward was the Chieftains hero as he scored five of his side's goals. Saturday's win had extra significance as it also carried two
Great Wakering Rovers enjoyed a fine 4-1 win over Central Section leaders Tiptree United. But the result left United six points clear at the top after second-placed Chelmsford City went down 5-1 away to Harlow Town in the (Seatex Design) Eastern Junior
SATURDAY RYMAN LEAGUE Premier Division: Canvey Island v Billericay Town. Division 3: Abingdon Town v Great Wakering Rovers, East Thurrock Utd v Camberley Town. SCHWEPPES ESSEX SENIOR LEAGUE Hullbridge Sports v Leyton; Ilford v Sawbridgeworth; Saffron
Chelmsford City Football Club has made a generous undisclosed five figure cash gift to their 'landlords' Billericay Town to build a 300-seater stand. It will be ready by March 20. The gift is described as 'insurance' to ensure that if City come first
A welcome break in the recent unpleasant weather made for comfortable paddling on the Lea and Stort Navigation at Upper Clapton where the final race of the Winter series was hosted by Leaside Canoe Club. Thirty-five Chelmsford paddlers helped see Chelmsford
Two Colchester students have set up their own website to help others who are being bullied. Oli Watts, 15, and Katie Riddle, 16, had both been bullied in the past and hope their pupiline.net site will help other teenagers. Many other issues affecting
Woodham Walter Parish Council was handed a petition with some 160 signatures on Monday concerning the impact the hunt has when it takes place in the village. Now the council is to write to hunt organisers, landowners and the local pub where the hunt gathers
A 15-year-old Colchester schoolgirl is recovering from tuberculosis in hospital. The illness was diagnosed a few days ago but the girl is said to be responding well to treatment. She is a year 11 child at the 1,000-pupil Thomas, Lord Audley School in
A £5.4 million project to build a new 20-bed Farleigh Hospice on a site next to Broomfield Hospital has been given the go-ahead. Members of Chelmsford Borough Council's environment committee gave the long-awaited approval to the proposal at a meeting
Enormous personal pressures led a woman to drown three kittens and then leave them in a carrier bag behind her flat, Southend magistrates heard. Tania Sears, 31, from Westcliff Park Drive, Westcliff, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary cruelty to three
Armed police were called to a house in Dovercourt yesterday after fears that a man had a gun. Fourteen armed officers went to Langley Close shortly after midnight after reports of a man threatening to kill himself. A Harwich police spokesman said: "We
Essex cricket supporters will have been shocked by reports this week suggesting Nasser Hussain would be quitting his post as County Captain. According to the report in a national newspaper, Hussain has remarked that the pressure of his involvement with
Colchester town centre is to lose two more top women's clothes stores. Both Miss Selfridge and Richards will be closing down over the coming months. The Arcadia company, which owns both of the chains, will be closing all Richards branches by the end of
More than 20 factory workers face the axe at sailing equipment firm Musto. Machinists at the firm's Benfleet factory have been given 30 days' notice of up to 26 redundancies. Keith Musto, managing director of the Laindon-based firm, said the warnings
A coroner has vowed to write to health chiefs after a psychiatric patient died following an unusual reaction to drugs given while in hospital. Dr Peter Dean told an inquest he would be writing to hospital authorities to express his concerns over the treatment
A Brentwood trader has demanded that police improve their communication systems after his repeated attempts to alert officers to the presence of shoplifters ended in failure. Richard Gregory, owner of Zakz menswear store on the High Street, tried to telephone
A popular shop is to close in Colchester following a proposed rent increase of 60 per cent. June Smith could not afford to keep D'Arcy Crafts in Red Lion Yard open. But she said there were other factors which also helped her make the decision, including
An "upset" police dog has gone absent without leave after being castrated, officers said yesterday. Klaus, a two-year-old German shepherd, is used to facing up to the cut and thrust of police work. But one particular cut, the routine operation to chop
A two-year dream has come true for a village school with the opening of a major new computer facility. St Osyth Church of England Primary boasts a purpose-built room with a total of 15 networked computers. The new amenity - which was opened up and dedicated
A vicar today told how he fought back from the brink of death after suffering a fall in church. The fall left the Rev Bob Magor with a black eye, cuts and bruises. But he didn't know that he was also suffering from blood clots on the brain. It was only
A body is to be exhumed in Jersey as part of continuing investigations into allegations of mistreatment at a care home in Clacton. Three members of staff at the former Carnarvon Lodge Residential Care Home, Carnarvon Road, were still being quizzed by
Southend Borough Combination Veterans League: Groom's amazing display leaves Strollers speechless Ford Basildon booked themselves a date with Pegasus in the Southend Borough Combination Veterans League Premier Division League Cup final with a hard-fought
Colchester United schoolboy midfield ace Angelo Harrop is facing the chance of a lifetime today when he travels to Wales for youth international trials. Harrop, 13, a pupil at Colchester's Gilberd School, will be among more than 100 young hopefuls at
Homeless cats can now look forward to a stay at the purr-fect halfway house. A new £150,000 cattery at the RSPCA Danaher animal shelter in Wethersfield, near Braintree, has finally opened after months of planning. The new cat complex will provide enough
Steve Whitton will be looking to the youth and enthusiasm of Karl Duguid and the skill and experience of Richard Wilkins to keep Colchester United on the winning trail against promotion-chasing Stoke City. Effervescent 21-year-old striker Duguid handed
DIVISION ONE CUP SEMI-FINALS Little Waltham worked their socks off to beat hosts and cup favourites Heybridge Social, who were rocked by an early injury to Gary Gore. Chris Heasman's header put Social in front, and Danny Barber converted a penalty only
Billericay Town's New Lodge ground will play host to the final of the Essex County FA Senior Trophy. The match is on Wednesday, February 23, and is between Aveley FC and Tiptree United. Admssion is £2 for adults and £1 for concessions and the game kicks-off
The Old Southendians Ladies secured themselves a place in the third round of the league plate with this away win over Suffolk opposition. Due to injuries, the Southend girls could only field nine players. However, after good 18th-minute build-up play
The favourite, Lorestas Trumpauskas, won his second Mens Singles title at the M&G sponsored Chelmsford & District Table Tennis Leagues' finals night on Monday, at the Old Chelmsfordians Club. However, he had to use all his experience and cunning
Chelmsford Highway fought back from a goal down to clinch all three points against Clifton at Bristol University on Saturday. With the home side needing the points to secure a place in this seasons play-offs the pressure was most certainly on them. Chelmsford
Braintree is set to become a boom area this year with the price of homes rocketing and large increases in the population. House prices in Braintree are predicted to go up by ten per cent within six months, which is double last year's increase. Already
Tories in Southend were today eyeing up a key ward as a boost to their hopes of regaining control of the borough council at May's local elections. They are set to target the marginal Prittlewell ward after the news that Liberal Democrat councillor Marianne
Ford is to axe 1,500 jobs from its Dagenham plant as part of plans for a big cut-back in production. Volunteers for redundancy will be sought immediately at the plant, where the top selling Fiesta is built. The news will have significant knock-on effects
Billericay MP Teresa Gorman has refused to stand down in the wake of a scathing report into her business dealings. The 68-year-old Tory today (Friday) dismissed the Commons standards and privileges committee as a "tool of the Labour party spin doctor
Chelmsford town bus services are to be routed on to main roads only in a shock change of strategy. First Eastern National is rerouting a number of buses to estates starting Monday with the Writtle-Chelmsford-Moulsham 45c bus. A row has erupted in Writtle
