Gardener Martin Turner, 43, was fatally crushed when his sit-on mower toppled over and pinned him underneath, a Southend inquest heard. The tragedy happened when Mr Turner, of Old Southend Road, Southend, was cutting grass in Southchurch Hall Gardens,
Plans to build thousands of new homes in the district are being met with both open arms and hostility by Basildon's councillors. Labour district councillors want to see more homes built to satisfy the demand for housing, but Conservative councillors are
A vet who says she "felt like a freak" after she reached 22 stones is celebrating after shedding the weight of a flyweight boxer. Vivian Long, 51, was having trouble walking very far and had tried various diets with little long-term success. Vet Vivian
Top scorer Dale Watkins hit the mark again, but City went down to Shaun Gale's late late winner. An entertaining match paired these two mid-table sides who will both believe they have under-performed at times this season. City, aiming to prove a sparse
Police are appealing for witnesses after a taxi driver was beaten over the head with a money bag and had his car stolen by two passengers. The 63-year-old driver was car-jacked in Albany Road, in the Pilgrims Hatch area of Brentwood, at 1.30am on Saturday
Driver Tony Cartwright had a "death wish" when he frantically sped through Southend at up to 100mph. He nearly got his wish when he smashed into a police squad car. He broke his collar bone and suffered other injuries, Basildon Crown Court heard. Cartwright
Two men were killed and another injured in a horrific on the A127. The accident happened shortly before midnight on Saturday when a blue Ford Fiesta left the London-bound carriageway at a point where there was no central reservation. It crossed onto the
Two friends of crash victims Leearna Briggs and Shara Stone have managed to get hundreds of signatures on a petition for a footbridge across the A127 in Basildon. Six months pregnant Leearna, 16, and 27-year-old Shara, were struck by a Land Rover as they
A hotel owner has hit out at vandals who have criticised a 17ft sculpture he put up. Gordon Hoyles, of the Hotel Continental, in Dovercourt, has put up Transmitter Man statue on the town's seafront. But vandals came along and daubed the word "Art?" on
Inspector Morse composer Barrington Pheloung has launched a new protest song to raise funds for the Stop Stansted Expansion campaign. The composer, formerly of Westcliff, who has 50 works for television, film and theatre behind him, put the music to a
A Sunday market for Leigh could still be on the cards as its organisers have lodged an appeal against Southend Council's decision to refuse planning permission. The council refused it at a development control meeting last month, but now the backers of
A Canvey pensioner today blasted Government plans to change the way elderly people are paid their benefit. At the moment people can collect their pensions from their local post office counter by showing their benefit books. However, changes due to be
A member of Halstead Dog Club and her four-legged friend were today celebrating a golden win at Crufts. Rosemary Chapman and her faithful dog KG were part of the Eastern region team which won the regional team obedience event at Crufts dog show yesterday
Nearly 25 years after Highfields Primary School opened in Lawford, the new Highfields has been officially unveiled. The project, costing just under £1.7million, was a joint initiative between Essex County Council and Academy Services (Tendring) and took
Helpers and Harwich residents waved goodbye as 20 swans rescued from an oily death were released into the wild. For one of the birds it was the second time it had been caught up in a slick in the last ten years. Swans are released in Mistley Picture:
Canvey amateur boxing club is celebrating after light welterweight John Martin qualified for the semi-finals of the Amateur Boxing Association senior championships. Martin notched up a 10-7 points win over Corporal David Patterson, the Combined Services
A motorcyclist escaped serious injury after a road crash. He was taken to hospital with minor injuries after the collision in Basildon. Wreck - the motorbike is left at the roadside Picture: ROBIN WOOSEY The accident occurred at around 6.45pm on Friday
Council chiefs are considering a £5million plan to completely redesign the road layout on Southend seafront in an effort to put an end to cruising. Following the recent cliffs slip, the northern carriageway of Western Esplanade, between the pier and the
Colchester United hero-cum-villain Alan White today promised the U's fans he will make it up to them after letting them down at Oldham. Sent-off in first half stoppage-time for a professional foul on Latics' striker Clyde Wijnhard, central defender White
Southend United boss Rob Newman questioned his players' match preparation following Saturday's dismal 1-0 Roots Hall defeat against high-flying Lincoln City. A tenth-minute goal from the visitors' giant defender Ben Futcher settled this mediocre encounter
Wakering completed a hat-trick of recent wins over the three bottom sides by coming back from a two-goal deficit to win at lowly Wembley. The hosts took a 39th-minute lead through Palmer Ofori and were entitled to feel that they had done enough to claim
An elderly man who died after crashing into a bollard had a heart attack at the wheel, a post mortem has revealed. John Williams, 86, from South Ockendon, was certified dead at Basildon Hospital after his white Rover Metro hit a bollard on Wednesday.
Colchester police's Northern Community Policing Team (CPT) is to get a new inspector. Tony Dale, 40, who will take over the role later this month, said he was looking forward to the challenge of leading ten officers covering nearly half the division.
A dog has escaped being destroyed after biting a neighbour on two separate occasions. But magistrates have ordered the owner to keep it under control. David Tatum, 42, of Homefield Way, Earls Colne, Colchester, appeared at Colchester Magistrates' Court
A quick-thinking girl saved her 14-month-old brother from drowning after he toppled head first into a bucket of water Four-year-old Chloe Pardoe was in the same room when she saw her inquisitive brother Bradley look into the water-filled bucket and fall
Uniformed park wardens will be returning to Thurrock later this year - for the first time since the 1970s. Franco LaTorre, Thurrock Council's head of neighbourhood services, explained: "Residents made it clear that they consider the safety and upkeep
Police believe the same man is responsible for leaving a Chelmsford petrol station four times without paying for his fuel. The latest incident happened at the Tesco garage in Princes Road last Monday, March 3, when the driver of a maroon vehicle drove
There were some outstanding performances by Runnymede swimmers at the latest stages of the Essex County Age Group Championships. Aaron Eveleigh added to his growing tally of county championship gold medals with a win hat-trick. He claimed the 400m freestyle
Fears of a backlash against Muslim inmates at Chelmsford prison have led to bosses making contingency plans if Britain goes to war with Iraq. About 40 Islamic prisoners could be targeted by other inmates because of the pending conflict in the Middle East
More than 200 people took to the streets in the biggest anti-war demonstration Colchester has seen. Organised by the Colchester Peace Campaign, the march halted traffic and brought the town centre to a standstill as men, women and children voiced their
Charity chiefs say they are being inundated with telephone calls concerning elderly people and their entitlement to free NHS funded care home places. A report from the Health Services Commissioner has ruled that some health authorities have been using
Colchester United's new manager Phil Parkinson suffered his first defeat amid a tale of woe against promotion chasing Oldham at rain-swept Boundary Park As a contest Parkinson's U's were never in the game and the writing was on the wall from the moment
A heroin addict has been sent to prison for four months after admitting three separate theft offences. Antoine Shurmur , 34, of Penfold Road, Clacton, appeared at Colchester Magistrates' Court on Friday on three charges of theft. David Bryant, prosecuting
A Witham worker who had just one day off in 25 years has been praised by his firm. Richard Young, of St Marys Road, Rivenhall, joined JL French as a labourer in 1978 and worked his way up the ranks to become a top technician. JL French is one of Europe's
A police operation to target burglars in Brentwood has been declared a resounding success with future crackdowns being planned. Operation Glenroy saw police setting up roadblocks along the major routes into the town including Brentwood Road and Ongar
One of Ipswich Town's biggest flaws has been dropping points against the lesser, relegation-threatened sides in Division One. This was another of those sorry occasions. Now Stoke, like fellow strugglers Grimsby, can boast that they have taken four points
The Millers continued the superb form that has put them on the verge of the Ryman Division One North promotion race by sharing the spoils at top-three former Nationwide Conference side Slough. Although Steve Mosley's visitors fell behind to Tony Boot's
Crowds of former colleagues and football friends lined the streets as ex-soldier Albert Byrne was laid to rest. The 58-year-old from Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff, died of lung cancer two weeks ago leaving the funeral arrangements to landlord and friend
Fundraising ideas don't get much hotter than they did at a Braintree school. Members of the Parent Teacher Association at Alec Hunter High School in Stubbs Lane, Braintree, took part in a sponsored fire walk on Friday night. One of the firewalkers at
A child and her grandmother were injured after a car reversed into them near Braintree town centre. The four-year-old girl and her grandmother were on foot in the Market Place, Braintree, outside the Tesco store at 11.35am yesterday when they were hit
Southend's super athlete Adam Hickey will be hoping that Irish eyes are smiling on him in three week's time when he bids for international glory. Hickey, 14, a pupil at Southend High School for Boys, finished second in the intermediate boys' race when
Plans have been unveiled for a new £250,000 nursery. The scheme would be run by the Ark Family Resource Centre and be based at the soon-to-be-opened Harwich Community Primary School in Barrack Lane. If all goes to plan, the 50-place nursery will be open
Dave Barefield scored his 100th goal for Tiptree but his day was over-shadowed as his side slumped to their sixth league defeat in a row. Harwich took the lead after just 17 seconds through Ray Whigham but the Jammakers levelled through Barefield. The
Kart racer Ashley Smith had a baptism of fire when he launched his Super One British championship campaign. The 13-year-old from Thundersley was barged off the track twice and failed to make it on the grid for one heat at Wigan's Three Sisters circuit
War has been declared on litter bugs in Colchester The number of Colchester Council staff able to dish out £50 penalty tickets to litter rogues will more than double in the next few weeks. Extra litter-busting staff are now being trained up in aspects
Halstead extended their unbeaten league and cup run to 11 games but Town manager Paul Grimsey was disappointed with his side after only picking up a point. The promotion-chasers were frustrated by a battling and defensive March side. And they needed a
Concerns over proposals to move Clacton's tourist information have sparked discussions among the town's traders. Members of the Chamber of Commerce held a meeting to discuss what chairman Terry McKean says is a "lamentable situation" to relocate the tourist
A £500,000 boost has been given towards a scheme to build a new £6 million Farleigh hospice for mid Essex. The donation has come from the estate of the late Mrs Coco Markus, who lived outside of the mid Essex area, but whose executors were searching for
A pre-school group is making a start on raising cash to give its building a facelift but they still need more help Jack and Jill Pre-School, which is on the site of Coppins Green Primary School, needs more than £4,000 to improve and renovate its demountable
Tom White could be set for a return to Oz after spending three months training with the best of British Down Under. Up-and-coming cycling star Tom quit Palmers College in December to go professional and has no regrets about missing a family Christmas
A man who only began swimming a year ago will attempt to lap the equivalent of 24 football pitches for charity. Steven Cowling, of High Garrett Road, Braintree, will be raising money for Farleigh Hospice by negotiating 96 lengths of the pool at the Riverside
After Maik Groen's withdrawal from the Arena Essex squad for next season, promoter Ronnie Russell had opted to give Andy Galvin another chance to relaunch his career. Now at the veteran stage, Galvin made a return to the sport after being forced to quit
Claims that the British National Party (BNP) is planning to stand for election in Colchester have been met with strong opposition. A councillor has said he is "saddened" by the news and campaigners staged a leaflet-dropping exercise throughout one ward
MP Bob Spink has spoken out in support of making ships safer and working to cut the pollution to our seas and coastlines caused by shipping. Mr Spink said: "Sited on the Thames Estuary, around the petro-chemical plants, we are in the frontline of shipping
Businesses in Essex fear that any more "stealth" taxes could drive some to the wall and cost jobs at others. They say they are resigned to the introduction of increased National Insurance (NI) contributions in April, but warn that further costs could
Tilbury, crashing down the Ryman Division One North table at breakneck speed, had their worst fears realised at leaders Northwood when they were beaten 5-1. This was a ninth league defeat on the trot for the Dockers, while the top dogs celebrated their
A late goal spree kept Harlow in the hunt for silverware this season, as the Essex club came scored twice in the last 20 minutes to take the points against Barking & East Ham United on Saturday. The hosts had eased in front through John Frendo on
A woman was taken to hospital with face injuries after the bus she was on smashed into a lorry in Leigh. The bus smashed into the rear of the lorry which had been parked in a bay on the London-bound carriageway of London Road. Smash - a Ford Mondeo was
Firefighters have been praised for battling a blaze at a newly-renovated bungalow, which was started by electricity cables. "The crews did really well to stop it spreading further," said sub-officer Costa Olymbios, of Clacton Fire Brigade. Two appliances
Two neighbours living in identical houses have been sent their rent demands - and one needs to pay £157 more a year than the other. Jackie Hilliard, 35, of Southwark Path, Craylands, was quite pleased when she first got her bill because it had gone down
A derelict furniture shop in South Woodham Ferrers could be converted into a health centre to help solve the town's GP crisis. The Essex Chronicle reported in December GP surgeries are so overstretched that new families moving into the town have been
An arson attack which blocked the only escape route from a Basildon block of flats could have resulted in a "very dangerous" situation say firefighters. Crews were called to Thistledown Court last night to find the stairwell smoke-logged after a sofa
Tributes have been paid to actor and pop star Adam Faith who has died from a heart attack. The 62-year-old idol had many ties with south Essex as his sister, Pam Slowley, lived in Woolmergreen, Basildon, and he was a regular performer at the Cliffs Pavilion
The Shrimpers suffered their third defeat on the spin as promotion-hunting Lincoln City grabbed all three points. Ben Futcher scored the winning goal after nine minutes when he rose unmarked to head home Ben Sedgemore's corner from the left byline. Neither
Only an 84th-minute equaliser from John Swift stopped much-improved Rocks from continuing their winning run. Uxbridge have not lost on home territory for five months, but that record looked in danger when Eliott Davidson headed home after 16 minutes.
The lunchtime cuisine of a celebrity chef is being served to schoolchildren. Recipes from TV's Lesley Waters are being served to pupils of Quilter's School in Billericay and South Woodham Ferrers' Chetwood Primary School. Children at Collingwood and Woodville
