A 14-year-old from Brentwood is set to represent England this weekend after a storming performance in the Schools Cross-country Championship. Brentwood's Andrew Rolfe, 14, who attends St Martin's School, Brentwood, competed in the English Schools Cross-Country
Saffron Walden Town's attacking midfielder Scott Forbes is hoping to become the latest Essex Senior League part-timer to make the jump into professional football - with Southend United. A host of players from the Essex feeder league have gone on to make
It was a long time coming but worth the wait as Witham beat Loughton convincingly to win the Eastern Counties Division Four South title. John Clark's men knew a win would mean the team winning the divisional title outright. Witham opened the scoring with
They've done it again - another top club has bitten the Layer Road dust and Colchester United continue to confound their fans. Just when it looked as though the U's had forgotten how to win after dismal defeats against lowly Oxford, Cardiff and Oldham
BILLERICAY TOWN ... 0, ENFIELD ... 0 (Ryman League Premier Division) An unremarkable game on Saturday saw the teams gain a point each even though they created barely a handful of chances between them. Stafford Browne for Town, however, had a decent chance
Colchester soccer stalwart Roy Rogers has died at the age of 64. Known as Ginger because of the colour of his hair, Roy had been involved in the running of the Colchester and East Essex League - currently sponsored by Ke-Connect Internet - for more than
A 22-year-old voluntary worker told how thick smoke at her home caused her to stop breathing. Firefighters were called out to Fiona Watson's home after her grill pan caught fire. When the two fire crews arrived at her home in Avon Way, Greenstead, Colchester
IVAN SAGE talks to enigmatic American front man Angel Anton. Saturday saw a band with a difference playing at The Kursaal, Southend-on-Sea, and on Wednesday at the town's Liberty Bell, as part of their current UK tour. Angel Anton's three-piece band had
New proposals have been agreed by councillors to try to break the deadlock over a controversial village site. Tiptree Parish Council backed a list of points to take to the developers when the two parties meet tomorrow over what will become of the old
Schools in Essex will continue to operate on the current three-term year until at least 2002. Councillors have agreed term times for the school year 2001/2002 although a working group will soon be set up to review the current patterns and report back
A planned £10 million cinema complex could be in trouble if it fails to secure a drinks licence, it has been revealed. Brewer Bass Leisure wants a pub/restaurant as part of the Odeon cinema scheme in Head Street, Colchester. Bass has applied for a drinks
When people think of golf they tend to think of luxuriously manicured greens and neat woollen cardigans. But residents in Mersea have discovered a new angle on the age-old game...they play on mud. More than 30 members of East Mersea's Social and Sailing
More than 100 new police officers earmarked for Essex will be introduced in two years rather than three, according to a Government minister. Charles Clarke MP, was giving details about an announcement made by Home Secretary Jack Straw on how £285 million
Chelmsford City's backroom team had a sample of the high life of European football last week - a day spent at Real Madrid's expansive training complex in Spain. Manager Gary Bellamy, along with physiotherapist Paul Smith and groundsman Eddie Neath, flew
Horses are running amok at Wickford's Runwell Hospital - with staff concerned for the animals' well-being. Neither the police nor local inspectors from the RSPCA have any power to act because the horses are tethered on land belonging to the psychiatric
Southendians' girls completed their League season in celebration style with a comprehensive win - and by throwing manager Andy Martin in the local duck pond. Having already confirmed fourth place in the table, Southendians set out to enjoy the day and
Southend United's major-shareholder Ron Martin has confirmed that the position of his chief executive Peter Storrie will be left in the hands of Blues chairman John Main. Former West Ham supremo Storrie, whose one-year contract expires in July, has been
A motorist was seriously injured after his car was ripped to pieces during a road crash. Debris was scattered across the A12 about 150 yards from the Kelvedon slip road after the accident on Saturday evening. Emergency services were rushed to the site
Southend Pier has come in for a battering from consumer watchdogs who have voted it one of the worst outdoor attractions in the country. In a damning report to be published next month, the Which? Guide to Tourist Attractions described the pier as "bleak
Essex CCC have attracted new sponsors. Leading independent brewers Shepherd Neame have marked the success of their sales drive into Essex by signing a three-year sponsorship deal with the club. The arrangement, which will be worth more than £100,000 over
Colchester United's promotion-winning captain Richard Wilkins has been forced to quit the game through injury. The popular 34-year-old U's skipper saw a specialist on Thursday night and was advised to bring a halt to his playing career with immediate
A snarling teenager threatened a policeman with the Aids virus, a court heard. Sam Jarman-Hall, 19, spat at the arresting officer and snapped: "I've got HIV and I am going to kill you." However, there was no evidence to suggest that Jarman-Hall, of Mendip
Wivenhoe are looking good for a top six finish in Ryman League division two after cruising to victory at Leighton. Leighton are still in relegation trouble, and it showed as the Dragons controlled the game. Without the injured Julian Hazel and the ill
Chris Chenery looks to be well on the way towards a clean sweep of medals after yet another impressive haul for Borough of Castle Point Swimming Club at the Essex County Swimming Championships. The nine-year-old won gold in both the 100m and 200m freestyles
Smoke and mirrors is the title of an photographic exhibition running at the Focal Point Gallery in Southend library. The exhibition is unusual, because the photographs were created without the use of a camera. Artist Root Cartwright says of the work:
A closed-circuit television camera will be used to investigate pipes at an underground watercourse to stop the flooding of Colchester gardens. But one householder is asking for £100 compensation from the borough council, which wants to put a camera down
Archaeologists expect a fascinating insight into the history of Colchester as a Roman settlement when they excavate the old Post Office site. The Colchester Archaeological Trust hopes to begin 12 weeks of work on the Head Street site in late May. Howard
Troubled under-18s club night Intrigue is to reopen in two weeks at a completely new venue outside Leigh. The original venue at the Leigh Coliseum in Elm Road, was refused an entertainment license before Christmas, after a series of crime and disorder
William de Ferrers School pupil Michael Guess has been selected to play for the England under 16's rugby team. Sixteen-year-old Michael from South Woodham Ferrers has worked his way to the top through playing for the school, for Essex, for the Eastern
He speaks with a broad Lancashire accent, but he's an Essex boy now through and through. And when he's not skippering the county on the cricket field, he loves nothing more than to get away from it all with "Mrs Ronnie" - his wife Lorraine - and "Little
Rochford aim to make it three in a row when they take on neighbours Canvey in tonight's Shepherd Neame Floodlit Cup final at Southend Rugby Club. The competition is for non-registered B team players who have not appeared in any first team league or cup
It will be just the ticket for transport worker David Walker when he takes part in the London Marathon. David, who works for London Transport, is hoping he won't need rescuing by his workmates when he runs the 26-plus mile course on Sunday, April 16 to
Villagers could be asked to vote on whether Stanway, near Colchester, should become a town. Parish councillor Ian McCord claims rapid development of houses and businesses, including shops and restaurants at Tollgate, means Stanway has outgrown village
Imagine having such severe eczema that you have to be bandaged up to sleep. Then imagine this happening to you when you were only five years old. Jo Chatterton, a 19-year-old student, had just this experience and has decided to say thank you to the people
A milkman has proved he has got a lotta bottle by becoming a finalist for the title of Milkman of the Year. Mike Walford, 49, of The Avenue, Great Clacton, is the cream of the crop and if he rises to the top in the final he will receive a new Volvo S40
Rayleigh racing driver Paul Hughes is all revved up for the new MGF Cup season after coming 13th overall during the final pre-season testing session at Silverstone. The Inter UK Racing driver, who lives in Victoria Avenue, was in an optimistic frame of
Billericay''s Matt Davies was determined to start his Green Flag British Formula Three challenge in winning style at the weekend, driving his Renault Elf Promatecme car in the opening round of the PowerTour Series at the Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire.
A woman who is fed up with sleepless nights caused by seafront cruisers, has launched a petition to drive them out of town. June Grace, 64, claims she is plagued almost every night by screeching tyres and revving engines outside her seafront home. Now
Two Basildon schools were counting the cost of vandal attacks which left more than a dozen windows smashed and a special playground wrecked. Heartbroken deaf and blind children arrived for lessons at a special school in Basildon to find their unique sensory
A cyclist fears changes to a road will endanger the lives of cyclists and is calling on residents to urge the council to have a rethink. Peter Fox, a computer analyst, of Tees Close, Witham, claims the plans to turn Guithavon Street, Witham, into a one-way
Campaigners fighting for a long-awaited link road between Hatfield Peverel and Witham are preparing to take their argument to Parliament. The six-person delegation to London includes Braintree MP Alan Hurst and Hatfield Peverel district councillor John
Residents in Frinton have reluctantly accepted they are to get their first town centre pub after a bitter two-year battle. At a public meeting on Saturday, they voted in favour of Britain's oldest brewers, Shepherd Neame, taking over the controversial
Concord Rangers appear to have one foot in the final of the Schweppes Essex Senior League's Harry Fisher Memorial Trophy final. However, Basildon United's bid to join them in the battle for the cup at Barking on May 1 would appear to be fading fast. Canvey
Southend United boss Alan Little hit out at his "sloppy" players, following a lacklustre 2-0 defeat at promotion chasing Northampton Town on Saturday. The Cobblers punished a feeble Shrimpers performance as goals from Dave Savage and Jamie Forrester kept
Lives could be at risk on buses in Basildon as more than 1,000 emergency hammers have been stolen in the past year. A crackdown is now being launched by First Thamesway and Pitsea police to retrieve the hundreds of tools stolen. Youths are thought to
Members of the East Anglian branch of the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces have added their voice to the call for a Paras museum in Colchester. Colchester will greet 2 Para next month from Aldershot and 3 Para will move to their new home at the
Anglia Polytechnic University's department of life science has been given an "excellent" rating by a Government inspection team. The team was at the university for four days last month. Mike Davies, dean of applied sciences, said: "This was truly a team
Victims of crime in Southend are still not receiving enough support - ten years after a government charter was introduced, according to a support organisation. Maureen Longley, co-ordinator of Southend Victim Support, said too much attention is paid to
A crime-riddled industrial estate made the target of a police crackdown has seen three lorries worth £60,000 stolen in the same night. Officers in Pitsea launched the Industrial Watch on the troubled Burnt Mills industrial estate in the town after a spate
A tiny republic off the Essex coast is denying allegations of drug-running, gun trafficking, money laundering and internet fraud. Sealand, the former Second World War Royal Navy fort, declared independence under its owners Roy and Joan Bates in 1966.
An heroic mother caught a young girl in her arms after she jumped for her life from a blazing bedroom. Julie Ashby, 33, saved the nine-year-old girl, from serious injury by talking her into making the 11-foot drop. Julie who lives in Dewsgreen, Vange,
A keen kite-flyer was swept 25ft into the air and carried over the water from Point Clear to Brightlingsea. Christopher Grimes, 17, bought his £1,000 power-kite just days before he had the trip of a lifetime. He was at Point Clear's boat launch testing
Ambitious plans for a £50 million landmark college campus and shopping centre in the heart of Southend have just been unveiled. South East Essex College is teaming up with the company behind Southend United to move the college to a new site with a High
Armed police swooped on a hotel after an armed robbery in Colchester. Just before 3pm on Monday, two men apparently armed with a gun and a knife - staged a robbery at a flat in Chapel Street North, Colchester. They demanded money and threatened the occupiers
Up to 100 volunteers have been combing the streets searching for a 14-year-old Southend schoolgirl who has been missing for three days. Catherine Walsh, 14, of Newington Avenue, Southchurch, has not been seen since Saturday morning. Her desperate family
Music fans from across south Essex were today in mourning following the death of Ian Dury - one of Britain's best loved cultural icons. Dury, 57, who claimed to have caught polio after swimming in a pool along Southend seafront when he was seven, was
Runners soaked up the sunshine as they took part in the second annual charity fun run in Braintree. More than 90 runners sweated out both the three-mile and six-mile courses which started at Braintree Leisure Centre yesterday. The circular route then
Shot-shy Southend United have now failed to find the net on opposition soil for a staggering 514 minutes following Saturday's feeble defeat. Blues' latest Third Division blank at promotion-chasing Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium means Blues have
When it comes to Under 15 Girls basketball, Essex are the top team. On Sunday at Greensward College, Hockley, claimed the County/Inter Association title (sponsored by Nike) for the first time. The girls who had battled their way past Hertfordshire, Suffolk
Colchester United goalkeeper Simon Brown is celebrating the news he has been waiting for all season. But there was gloomy news for the U's former Welsh international midfielder Geraint Williams who has been forced to end his playing career because of
Blues' £120,000 a year chief executive Peter Storrie would seem set to carry on collecting his huge salary for the forseeable future. Club owner Ron Martin told the fans forum last week that any decision on Storrie, whose contract runs out in July, would
WITHAM TOWN...0, HUNGERFORD TOWN...0 (Ryman League Division Two) Both teams needed maximum points from Saturday's match at Spa Road, Hungerford to make sure they are safe from relegation, and Witham in an attempt to catch the teams above them but they
Ipswich Town are using their ten-day break from action to heal some of their war wounds. Town have a number of injury concerns and were dealt another blow when Jim Magilton pulled out of the Northern Ireland squad because of a thigh injury. He joins Fabian
Firms repaired a disabled woman's motorised buggy free after louts dumped it in the sea. The £2,000 vehicle was stolen from Harry and Anne Haddon's home in Station Street, Walton. John Skittrall read about it in the Gazette and told his boss at C Rayment
From horse-drawn carts to global corporations, one old-timer has seen it all. Richard Golder, of Billericay, was born in Bermondsey, on the banks of the Thames in 1899 and has just celebrated his 101st birthday. In his time he has driven a horse drawn
Two people needed hospital treatment after a suspected firebomb attack on a flat. A blaze swept through the ground floor property at 2.50am on Friday. Two firemen with breathing apparatus went into the flat in Herbert Road, Clacton, after one of the occupants
Police officers have joined forces with Castle Point Council in a bid to calm the public's fear of crime. Insp Ian Kennedy, of Rayleigh police, is behind plans to set up a community safety exhibition to show how crime in the borough is tackled. The display
News that Canvey's mile-long Occidental jetty is to be demolished was today branded "a terrible waste" by a Tory councillor. Ray Howard hit out at plans by its owners Blue Lark to knock down the jetty which cost £10 million to build and has never been
The annual meeting of Chelmsford Golf Club last Saturday marked the end of the year for the 1999/2000 men's captain Don Seager and the beginning for incoming captain Dick Bush. Sunday saw the putting out on the 18th for the retiring captain and the drive
Campaigners are celebrating a decision to reinstate up to 40 beds at Chelmsford's Broomfield Hospital. A ward has remained closed since December in a bid to cut £1 million from the Mid Essex NHS Hospital Services Trust debts. The plan agreed by North
Benfleet's Malcolm Armfield had a nasty collision for the second successive week in the Supersport 600 motorbike series. Qualifying in a highly creditable 24th position for the first race at Mallory Park, Malcolm ran into the back of an out-of-control
Essex people are greater readers than those in most other parts of the country, official figures have shown. Figures released by CIPFA - The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy - for 1998/99, show that Essex libraries issued 10.5 books
Action girl Charlotte Goddard is ready to fall down stairs, deal out karate chops and even be set on fire for top Hollywood stars. The 26-year-old from Hullbridge Road, Rayleigh, is aiming to be a world-class stunt woman, taking dives for the glitzy and
Firefighters tackled a blaze at Dedham Arts Centre. They were called to the old timber framed church in High Street, Dedham, at 11am on Friday after a fire started in a warm air heating boiler in a building at the back of the church. The fire burned out
A charity which gives a vital lifeline for carers is being forced to close in June after a nursing agency won the funding instead. Crossroads, which has operated in Southend for 22 years, failed in its bid to provide staff for respite care in a tender
several of the championship honours in the Southend Borough Combination have been settled, but things are still wide open in the Premier Division where Southchurch Hall's hopes of the top honour were more or less ended with a 2-1 home defeat by Shoebury
SATURDAY RYMAN LEAGUE Premier Division: Billericay Town 0, Enfield 0; Canvey 1, Hampton and Richmond Borough 2. Division 3: Southall 1, Great Wakering Rovers 1. SCHWEPPES ESSEX SENIOR LEAGUE Ilford 3, Eton Manor 2; Stansted 3, Southend Manor 6. Harry
WESTCLIFF 10 BILLERICAY 14 An audacious piece of rugby from scrum-half Glenn Smith went a long way towards handing Billericay a narrow derby victory. With the score at 0-0 early in the game, Westcliff had a scrum on the 22-metre line and were driving
On the face of it Great Wakering's failure to win at bottom club Southall, who had avoided defeat in only seven of their 30 Ryman League Division Three games previously, looks a bad result. In reality, Southall, whose very existence in the League was
Miracle-working manager Steve Whitton insisted today Colchester United's Second Division status is still far from safe. The U's boss said: "I've been very confident all along that we'll survive the drop, but I won't admit we are safe until it's mathematically
BRAINTREE...5, OLD MERCHANT TAYLORS...26 Braintree's season of woe continued unabated at Beckers Green Road as they were totally outgunned by a young and mobile pack. Skipper Matt Wadforth made no excuses for this latest reverse in a campaign littered
Plans to build 5,420 houses a year in Essex have sparked concerns that greenfield land will be built on. The target, announced yesterday by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, means over the next 16 years 81,300 homes have to be built in the county.
A millionaire who was facing drug charges when he died in a high-speed crash has left a fortune to crimefighters. Computer tycoon Christopher Dawes, 39, died when his £640,000 McLaren F1 sports car crashed into a tree at more than 100mph and exploded
Saturday March 25 2000 will almost certainly go down in the annals of non-league soccer history as the day Canvey Island's dream of winning the Ryman League Premier Division title at the first attempt ended. Home defeat by a Hampton and Richmond side
Martijn Reuser set his sights on the Premiership after his last-minute winner against Fulham. Ipswich Town's latest recruit, brought in on loan from Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem on transfer deadline day, wants to showcase his talents in the big time. Reuser
Another 90 minutes of football between the Billericay team Gary Calder now manages and his former club failed to find a winner. In their previous Ryman League Premier Division game, Billericay had shared the spoils away to Enfield. That time it was 1-
Booking has begun for the Chelmsford Cathedral Festival 2000. The festival will run from May 10 to 20, and brochures are available from the Festival Office on 01245 359890. Artists this year include Dame Gillian Weir, the international organ recitalist
A nature reserve warden today condemned teenage vandals who smashed a bird watcher's hide to pieces. And he has revealed that he has high hopes that the vandals will face police action - because their antics were caught on video. Every panel of the converted
Care assistant Kerry Haddow was behind bars today after she duped an 88-year-old woman out of £9,000. Haddow, 19, was told by a judge that she "lied, lied and lied" after stealing the money from the woman who lived at Catherine Miller residential home
An investigation was today under way after two teenage girls were injured in a fairground accident. The 15-year-olds were hurt on the Crazy Frog ride at a travelling fairground in Spa Road, Witham. One girl broke a leg after hitting a platform as she
A young man had a lucky escape after he was attacked by a pack of dogs roaming the streets. The victim was walking home from work along Ilmington Drive, Basildon, when four German shepherds chased him. He tried to escape through a garden and over a wall
