Police arrested six people and seized drugs after they swooped on several homes in the Witham area. The arrests were made as part of a crackdown - called Operation Baird - on the supply and possession of controlled drugs. Police made the raids on Friday
Medals have been presented to troops from Colchester who were among the first to enforce the peace settlement in Kosovo. Brigadier Peter Wall praised the soldiers from 13 Air Assault Support Regiment RLC after being posted at such short notice. More than
Callous thieves vandalised one charity shop and tried to break into another one, for the sake of £20. The thugs ransacked the Children's Society Shop, in Newland Street, Witham, before stealing the small sum of cash over the weekend. The appalled manageress
Firefighters from Southend put their life-saving skills to the test when they rescued a kitten which had got trapped behind a fireplace. The tiny kitten had climbed up behind the fireplace in its owner's home and had became stuck behind an iron grate
Police dog handler Mark Needham had a lucky escape after falling down a well in the dark. C Needham was tracking a burglar across some fields by Mile End Road, Nayland, at 8.30pm on Friday evening when the corrugated iron covering gave way under him.
A father who "lost everything" in a fire has vowed to rebuild his home. John Easey, 33, and daughter Charlotte, 7, fled their blazing first-floor flat in Clacton when fire broke out just before 7pm on Sunday night. It is believed a chip pan caused the
Grace Singer had every reason to be cheerful as she celebrated reaching the grand old age of 100. Grace, who lives at Parklands nursing home in Benfleet, was joined by friends and family to celebrate her birthday. Staff at the home in Thundersley Park
Essex Police officers are on the move from the north to the south of the county. Around 108 experienced officers will be shifted at the beginning of April to coincide with Essex taking over some of the Metropolitan areas in the south-east of the county
A developer has been chosen to transform the 187-acre Shoebury Garrison - but site owners the Ministry of Defence are refusing to reveal who it is yet. They are also staying tight-lipped on the exact plans for the site until negotiations over contracts
Millions of pounds worth of goods are stolen from lorries every year in modern-day highway robberies. And the hit can take just a couple of minutes. Essex Police staged a reconstruction in Chelmsford to highlight the problem. The "thieves" broke into
Southend United fans wishing to attend Blues' Third Division derby clash at Leyton Orient on Saturday, February 5, are advised to buy advanced tickets from Roots Hall. The O's have only allocated 1,200 seats for Southend's supporters, who were followed
Newsquest, one of the two publishers behind This Is Essex, today announced its investment in the UK's leading internet business, Freeserve. Freeserve Auctions Ltd will issue approximately 9.9 per cent of its shares to Newsquest in return for £10 million
Campaigners are calling for monitoring of the Korean Air crash site at Stansted to check for the long-term effects of depleted uranium on the environment. Members of the Eastern Region Green Party say they want "the truth" about any potential health threat
Business adviser Daniel Watts believes in working lunches - but sometimes that can get out of hand. Mr Watts, who works for Barclays Bank in Colchester, got more than he bargained for when he popped in to see a client at lunchtime - he ended up with his
The curse strikes again! It's a well-known fact in local soccer circles that receiving a top award on the day of a game often leads to a bad result. That tradition continued at Burroughs Park on Saturday when Wakering boss Eddie Nash (left) received the
Canvey Island host Schweppes Essex Senior League Burnham Ramblers this evening in the Eastern Floodlight Competition. In the same event Hullbridge will host Maldon Town, from the Jewson League, while Great Wakering Rovers take on old rivals Southend Manor
Colchester United have accepted an offer from Second Division rivals Cardiff City for contract rebel David Greene. Greene has been on Cardiff's shortlist for some time and he could find himself travelling to meet manager Frank Burrows and his backroom
The Colchester Sea Angling Club fished their first competition of the new year on the River Orwell on Sunday but catches were disappointing with just over 12lb of flounders weighed in. The result was as follows: Willie Duncan: 3lb 3ozs Ralph Sibbins:
Harwich's Tom Jacobs, right, takes a blow from Mick Murnane, of Chalvedon, during one of 15 bouts at Harwich ABC's Annual Open tournament at Dovercourt Haven Caravan Camp. Picture:CLARE BANKS Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images
A charity which provides a vital lifeline for the elderly and housebound is branching out - thanks to a £40,000 windfall. The cash means that Family Support Clacton will now be able to take its services into the rural areas of Tendring. The money has
Superdrug has set a date for its move up Colchester High Street to the former John Menzies store. The former newsagents has been bought for £3.6 million from insurance giants Royal Sun Alliance, and will be split into two shops. Superdrug is taking over
A police crackdown on kerbcrawlers in Southend has resulted in more prosecutions. Men from as far away as Hornchurch and Braintree were caught when they approached a policewoman posing as a prostitute in Park Lane. Four defendants appeared before a Southend
Chelmsford's Alenia Marconi Systems radar company has won a £40 million contract for a new long range radar for the Royal Navy's latest powerful Type 45 destroyer. And another £100 million contract is being sought for 2004. This radar forms part of the
Union bosses today urged Ford workers to back them and vote for strike action in this week's crunch ballot. Up to 2,000 south Essex workers are deciding whether or not to support union bosses in a dispute over pensions. Work to rule, overtime bans and
A war hero is set to have his final wish for his late wife come true -- thanks to This Is Essex partner the Gazette. After Pip Pagani died earlier thismonth her husband Roy had one desire for her funeral. He wanted to find a song which drifted through
A grandfather wants a missing teenager to get in touch. Danny Carroll, 18, of Hill Road, Dovercourt, was last heard of on January 12. Grandfather Alan Carroll says the disappearance is totally out of character. Police are also concerned about Danny, who
Firefighters braved collapsed ceilings as they tackled a house blaze early today. Leigh and Southend crews were called to the empty terraced house in Beedell Avenue, Westcliff, at around 3.15am. Building firm boss Austin Whitehouse had only just completed
Three youths snatched £40 from a Wickford newsagents' till before speeding off in a car. The trio stole the money from Dillons, in Southend Road, and got away in a red Ford Escort. One of the youths was slim, white, and around 18 years old. He had stubble
A woman who assaulted the manager and barmaid of a pub has been warned she could face a jail term. Marie Wade bit the wrist of Jenny Fellows, landlady of the Melrose pub in Westcliff, and tore her blouse. She also pulled necklaces being worn by bar worker
A total of 14 bids have been lodged with the council to develop the contaminated gas works site and corporation loading pier on Southend seafront. Lib Dem Southend Council leader David Elf said he was delighted with the amount of interest in developing
Youngsters at a Westcliff school have been busy bringing in old toys and buying new ones to raise money for premature babies. Earls Hall Junior School in Carlton Avenue held a Blue Peter sale to help collect money for Bliss, which raises funds for neo-natal
Good things definitely came in small packages for Reece Douglas with his success in a national dolls house competition. The ten-year-old was a finalist in the Junior British Miniaturist of the Year 1999, one of the youngest entrants in the competition
It may be thousands of miles and an eight-hour plane journey away but to some people in south Essex, the problems faced by people in Cuba are very relevant. So strongly do they feel that several supporters of the Essex Aid for Cuba charity will be heading
A headmistress has said money that could be spent on her pupils is having to be used for repairs after break-ins. Would-be burglars struck again over the weekend, entering a shed at Oakwood Infants School, Windsor Avenue, Clacton. Despite nothing being
A woman who tried to commit suicide by walking into the sea was saved by two police officers early today. Police were called to Marine Parade in Southend at about 4am after a taxi driver spotted the woman on the slipway. When they arrived the woman began
A young man has been cleared of raping a teenage mum in the grounds of the old Rochford Hospital. Barrie Hierons, 21, was unanimously found not guilty by a jury of ten women and two men at Basildon Crown Court. The jury took less than an hour to reach
Billericay Town had a wasted Saturday afternoon when they arrived at Hampton and Richmond for their Premier match to find that late rain had waterlogged the already very heavy pitch. Manager Gary Calder took advantage by dashing to Chesham to see the
Shoebury has been dealt a double blow with uncertainty surrounding two of its social clubs. The Maplin Club in Vanguard Way has closed down while the Eagle Working Men's Club in Seaview Road could be demolished to make way for sheltered homes. Southend
The family of a Wickford woman who died after undergoing cosmetic surgery are considering taking legal action, it has been revealed. Mum-of-three Lorraine Batt of Dobshill Drive, The Wick, had saved long and hard for the tummy tuck operation to get rid
A notorious accident blackspot is to undergo tests in a bid to reduce the number of crashes along the hazardous stretch of road. Castle Point Council is to look at the surface of Church Road, Thundersley, after a spate of serious accidents. In the latest
A south Essex youngster seriously brain damaged after being starved of oxygen at birth has been awarded £750,000 damages. The five-year-old boy was promised the cash at London's High Court after he sued the Basildon and Thurrock Hospitals NHS Trust. On
