Cooking was top of the menu for a group of Eastern European children affected by the world's worst nuclear disaster. The youngsters, from the Gomel region of Belarus, were all born years after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in nearby Ukraine. The
More than 150 visitors joined residents at a nursing home in Stambridge for fun at the annual fair. The event on Saturday was attended by the chairman of Rochford District Council Peter Webster. Mr Webster cut the ribbon to officially open the fair at
Police were growing increasingly concerned today for the safety of a young mum and her two children who have not been seen for a week. There appears no obvious reason why Alison Kelley, 24, son, Brandon, eight, and daughter Emily, four, left the family
Organisers are hoping than 12,000 people will turn out to enjoy the fifth Hope festival this weekend. The weekend event starts with a music festival on Saturday at the recreation ground next to the Crooked Billet Pub, Billet Lane, Stanford-le-Hope, and
A taxi driver told a court how he watched a man keep attacking his victim until he knocked him unconscious. Spencer Rush gave evidence at Basildon Crown Court, where he gave evidence at the trial of Victor Foyle, who is accused of causing the victim grievous
A swimming pool has been closed after a customer developed legionnaire's disease, the Gazette can reveal. The Frinton and Walton pool was shut as a precautionary measure following the results of a test that showed there was legionella bacterium in the
AS TIME runs out before every pub and club in the country needs a new alcohol licence, borough licensees have slammed the new Licensing Act and branded it "a government money spinner." Under the old licensing regime publicans could submit a single sheet
Former pop pirate radio DJ Kenny Everett has been haunting his old radio station from beyond the grave. Or so say staff at Radio London - whose relaunch has been surrounded by a series of unexplained phenomena. Kenny Everett, one of the station's original
A popular pool hall used every night by up to 150 teenagers has been forced to close because of "extortionate" rates. A total of 27 pool and snooker tables have been sold off after high rates forced bosses at the Island Gym, in Shannon Way, Canvey, to
Karl Duguid has more than one reason to bust a gut in his bid to be fit for Colchester United's opening game of the season. The popular 27-year-old has not played since suffering a serious knee injury in the U's home win over Stockport County in March
Colchester United's coffers have been boosted to the tune of £250,000. The club are benefiting from a new sponsorship package from Chelmsford-based firm 118trades, who will have their logo on the U's new yellow away kit next season. Managing director
A man was stabbed in the stomach by his wife after she held a kitchen knife to his throat and repeatedly threatened to kill him to get an insurance payout, a court heard. Aslam Amin, 54, now living in The Crescent, Warton, Lancashire, claims wife, Paula
Bobbies on the beat have been told to keep an eye out for a killer who could be hiding in Southend. Darren Pilcher, 33, is serving a life sentence for murder and failed to return to Hollesley Bay open prison, Suffolk, after a temporary day release on
Persistent parents are taking Southend Council to the High Court on Friday to try to halt plans to close two day centres and exclude people from another. Before Christmas, Southend Council revealed controversial plans to shake up services for adults with
A father today told how he and his young son were nearly washed out to sea in a big wave drama. Safe at home - Nick Bullen-Bell and his son, Christopher, 9, at their Heybridge home, after they were caught up in large waves caused when two tugboats started
Essex were bowled out by the weather when they travelled to Southampton's Rose Bowl to do Twenty20 Cup battle against Hampshire. Torrential rain just before the scheduled start swamped the ground and although a brief stoppage gave rise to hopes that a
Victims of domestic violence and racism in Thurrock will get an improved service after police launched a dedicated unit this week. The Domestic Violence and Hate Crime unit consists of six police officers who will specialise in working sensitively with
A woman suffered head injuries when she fell backwards while trying to board a train. The accident happened at Wivenhoe railway station, where there is a notorious 2ft gap between the platform and the Colchester-bound trains, an issue highlighted in the
A fearless milkman used his milk cart to ram into a robber's getaway car just minutes after being threatened with a gun. The milkman tackled a man acting suspiciously outside the Whitehouse petrol station in Ongar Road, Brentwood, between 5.30am and 6am
An eco-friendly waste treatment project at Pitsea tip has been given the green light by Essex County Council chiefs. The experimental facility, at Cleanaway's Pitsea waste management site, will trial for five years and treat up to 15,000 tonnes of waste
Colchester is to say "no" to becoming an official centre for refugees and asylum-seekers, the Gazette can reveal. Regional chiefs want to carry out a major shake-up of the asylum system because existing centres in Ipswich, Norwich and Peterborough are
SOUTHEND United manager Steve Tilson has revealed striker Lloyd Owusu turned down a switch to the Shrimpers before joining Brentford on a free transfer. The speedy 28-year-old was released by Reading at the end of last season and Tilson was keen to secure
THURROCK boxer Terry Wright aims to claim the British IBA welter weight crown on Sunday. The 33-year-old Chafford Hundred fighter is reigning southern area champ -- having battered his way to success at Purfleet's Circus Tavern in September. But at the
Mark Cunningham will have the best seats in the house for the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park, touted as one of the greatest live shows ever. When rock legends U2, Paul McCartney and Coldplay take to the stage on Saturday, Mark will watch the performance
THREE teenagers face trial after pleading not guilty to manslaughter. Jonathan Lawson, 19, of Southchurch Avenue, Southend, Sydney Quirke, 18, of Ramsons Avenue, Milton Keynes and a 16-year-old from Grays, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared
Just 48 hours after smiling and laughing with her family as she watched her youngest son get married, Valerie Thomp-son fell to her death from a multi-storey car park. Today her family paid tribute to an "outgoing, fun-loving" wife, mother and grandmother
Details of a swanky seven-storey tower block, poised to change the face of Westcliff's seafront, have been released. The slender and curvaceous tower block, designed to look like a boat floating above the pavement, will include its own fitness centre.
A curb on the number of taxi drivers in the Rayleigh and Rochford areas could be imposed by the district council. Members of the taxi licensing committee next week will be considering whether to reintroduce a three-year probation period for new drivers
A married couple were today recovering after being robbed at gunpoint, tied up and attacked in their own home. Two armed raiders, each with handguns, broke into the pair's house, wrapped their hands up with plastic binding and stole what Essex police
The Government's Identity Card Bill, which had its second reading in the House of Commons yesterday, has been fiercely attacked by Rochford and Southend East Tory MP James Duddridge. He said when the Bill was first introduced, MPs had given Prime Minister
An elderly couple enjoying lunch-time telly were left shaken after a car ploughed into their house. No one was hurt in the accident in Queen's Park Avenue, Billericay, at around 12.45pm yesterday, but the Arundal Way property was left with structural
The star of the show at a nursing home fete was without doubt Beatrice "Billie" Moore. Billie, 90, is a resident at the Old Rectory, in Stambridge Road, Great Stambridge, and she joined in the afternoon's festivities by single-handedly organising a dog
Cycle routes around Southend will be extended and joined together to make more sense in an attempt to get more people to use them. Extending cycle routes in the town is one of the major points in the second Local Transport Plan being prepared by the council
A battling businessman living in the shadow of Europe's biggest traveller site was today celebrating a landmark legal win to slash his Council Tax bill. And now campaigner Len Gridley's historic victory is likely to open the floodgates for thousands of
