LADY Luck must be shining for a newborn baby who was born with all the sevens, considered to be one of the most fortuitous numbers there are. The little girl, who is yet to be named, was born at Southend Hospital weighing 7lbs 15oz at 7.15pm on Saturday
A SHOPKEEPER who ignored warnings not to sell alcohol to underage youngsters has been slapped with a £2,230 fine. Erkan Keser, who owns Rayleigh Food and Wine, admitted twice selling alcohol to teenagers younger than 18. Southend Magistrates' Court
A SEVEN-YEAR project to revitalise a rundown hall and turn it into a home for a youth football team has moved a step closer thanks to a £17,000 grant from Essex County Council. The Island Boys and Girls FC, Canvey, needs to raise £90,500 to buy and refurbish
WESTCLIFF Hard's ladies saw off Cranston Park in the final of the Essex Intermediate Cup. The quartet of Jasmin Young, Karen Poole, Fiona Stone and Dawn Handelaar were all in fine form as they secured a 4-0 victory. Andy Cox, Westcliff Hard's chairman
MITCH Silvey dreams of being a pop star. And on Saturday thanks to the Echo he got the chance to see for himself what its like to rock a festival. The 15-year-old musician from Southend, who performs under the name Helpline Caller, won the Echo competition
If you know Southend, then you'll know Mamma Mia's. The Italian restaurant overlooking the sea has been a local's favourite for numerous years, so I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. My mum and I had seats at the theatre, so booked an early
The Kevin Maher Soccer Academy will be launched next month. The Southend United skipper has teamed up with JDL Promotions to set up the course which will run in August at Thorpe Hall School. And Maher is looking forward to getting involved. "
Times have changed for Paul Cattermole. As one seventh of pop sensations S Club 7, he was styled and preened to within an inch of his life. Five years away from the limelight and he's back, slightly rounder, more relaxed, but the biggest shock to his
LAURIE Calvert isn't the first person to be inspired by Star Wars, but he is the first in the UK to use his inspiration to make a computer animated feature-length film. Since watching Star Wars as a child, 45-year-old Laurie, from Hornchurch, has been
THE Sceptre League will be expanding to nine divisions next season. Ninety-eight sides have signed up for the new campaign. And chairman Malcolm Binstead is delighted by the response. "It's the best we've ever had so it's brilliant," he said.
FOUR people were taken to hospital, including two women with serious injuries, following a crash in the early hours of the morning. The accident happened at the junction of Southchurch Road and Sutton Road, Southend, at 3.35am. A woman in her late
A PROCESSION of limos glided through Canvey for a school prom. The glamorous convoy featured pupils from Castle View School, in Meppel Avenue, who were heading to the bash. The evening began at 7pm, when non-alcoholic drinks were served in the gardens
JO Rumsey pulled off the narrowest of victories in the senior English ladies' southern regional strokeplay tournament at Came Down, Dorset. At the end of 36 holes Rumsey, from Rochford Hundred, was tied with Somerset's Val McFarlane, but took the title
OUTDOOR cafe tables and produce spilling out from shops on to the pavement. It's an intrinsic part of Leigh's bustling charm. Yet Leigh town councillors want to rein in the pavement clutter. This is a silly over-reaction to a few letters of complaint
THIRTY thousand pounds could pay for a great deal in Essex education. Yet instead of being used productively, money that could pay for teachers and classrooms is being spent on buses. These vehicles will not be overworked. They will transport children
THE mastermind be-hind a proposed huge green belt development has explained why he has scaled down the plans. Ray Dove, who is fighting to keep his vision alive in the face of strong opposition, says large-scale building is needed to keep young families
SOUTHEND based shot-putter Robin Womack shook off an illness to impress in the latest round of the British Grand Prix series. The wheelchair-bound Great Britain international, who finished fifth at the IPC World Championships last season, recorded
TWO free buses are being run to take traveller children to Crays Hill Primary School every day - even though they live less than a mile away. It is costing taxpayers nearly £150 per day - or £30,000 a year - for a minibus to ferry children from Dale
THE British weather has always been unpredictable. One day it's raining, the next sunny. But the past few months have taken this to new levels. It's supposed to be the middle of summer. Yet the temperature and conditions change almost by the hour. From
TO traders it might seem like good advertising, but to councillors it was nearly worth an Asbo. Leigh town councillors are worried one famous shopping street in their patch is becoming so cluttered with signs and shop wares, the pavements are too difficult
PARENTS aired their concerns at a public meeting about turning two Basildon schools into a £42 million academy. Barstable and Chalvedon schools are set to close at the end of August next year and reopen as an academy for businesss and sport. Parents
A MAN blasted on his doorstep in a gangland-style shooting has been released from hospital. Douglas Turner, 52, suffered arm and stomach wounds when he was shot outside his home, Kings Head Farm, in Stock Road, Stock. Det Insp Glenn Maleary said: "We
SPARE a thought for Rochford Hundred's Simon Torry, who notched a hole-in-one on the tough 206 yard par three 15th Guest Day. This time it cost him a few quid in drinks, but had he achieved the feat in the previous weekend's Captain's Day he would
MP John Baron has left his post as a shadow junior health minister after five years following David Cameron's shake-up. He temporarily resigned from the role in early 2003 over his party's backing of the Iraq war, but was reinstated later that year.
DOCTORS from Southend Hospital are swapping one white uniform for another when they play in a fundraising cricket match. Staff will be split into teams, playing for finance director Brian Shipley or medicine director Grahame Tosh. The game on Sunday
A CHURCH could be demolished and rebuilt along with new housing, if councillors agree to the plan. Proposals by the Union Congregational Church, in Pall Mall, Leigh, are being recommended for approval by planning officers at Wednesday's meeting of Southend
HEALTH-CONSCIOUS pensioners in sheltered housing have blasted barmy council officers who have told them not to use their treadmill. For the past three years, the treadmill at Arthur Barnes Court, in Chadwell St Mary, has served to help pensioners regain
A SHOPKEEPER who ignored warnings not to sell alcohol to underage youngsters has been slapped with a £2,230 fine. Erkan Keser, who owns Rayleigh Food and Wine, admitted twice selling alcohol to teenagers younger than 18. Southend Magistrates' Court
A REJECTED planning application to develop five homes in a single garden will get a second hearing amid claims of unfair treatment. The plans to develop 195-199 Southbourne Grove, Westcliff, went before Southend Council's development control committee
A CENTRE giving vital help to families on Canvey has received a cash windfall of more than £50,000. Playplanet, a children's centre based at Furtherwick Park School, has been awarded the grant from Essex County Council's Community Initiatives Fund.
BATS and owls could scupper plans for a £2.7million visitor centre. Wildlife surveys at Wat Tyler Country Park, Pitsea, have found an abundance of long-eared and pipistrelle bats as well as barn owls living in a former explosives factory. Yet Basildon
A MAN accused of running a brothel has had the charges against him dropped. Yang Yu, 33, was arrested by police following a raid on the brothel, in Waldegrave, Basildon. The bust followed claims from neighbours a brothel was being run at the premises
A BURGLARY suspect gave police the slip, sparking a full-scale search. The force helicopter and dog unit were scrambled after officers stopped three men in a car, in Kings Crescent, Basildon. They were being arrested on suspicion of burglary, when one
CANVEY Island Swimming club hosted the second Mercel Harvey Gala at Blackshots swimming pool, Grays. Clubs from all over Essex attended this charitable event with some good swims by all. The Islanders were just beaten at the finish by Southend Swimming
FIFA have admitted they are willing to step-in to help solve the Carlos Tevez crisis. Manchester United had hoped to sign the Argentine forward from West Ham last week, only for the transfer to be held up by a series of legal wrangles. Now, however
A RAYLEIGH charity is holding a free theatre workshop for disadvantaged teenagers or those with special needs. Equal People has received a grant from Southend Council's youth service for the workshop. The charity - which has Eastwood lad Lee Mead, star
JUNIOR singing sensations made sure they composed themselves correctly during their school open day. Youngsters from Briscoe Primary School in Felmores End, Basildon, showed off their vocal talents to parents and visitors by belting out their own special
POLICE hope a mobile phone left in a Land Rover will lead them to the gang of thugs who beat up a man. A forensic examination of the green 4x4 dumped in Oak Lane, Crays Hill, is under way, as checks are carried out on the phone. Police said a dog unit
LONDON taxi drivers treated hundreds of disadvantaged and special needs children to a fun-packed day by the sea. The London Taxi Drivers' Fund for Underprivileged Children brought 300 children out to Southend, in a convoy of 100 decorated taxis. The
TEENAGERS at risk of being excluded from school are taking part in new life skills sessions at Southend United's football ground to help them stay in class. Once a week, the club's minibus takes kids to the Roots Hall stadium for a three-hour class.
YOUNGSTERS saddled up during an action-packed American- themed gymkhana. A total of 20 children, from Cedar Hal School, in Thundersley, and Hayward Special School, Chelmsford, took part in the annual Riding for the Disabled event. The children's pony
TEACHERS at a Leigh school are celebrating after the school picked up a Basic Skills Quality Mark. The award, which recognises commitment to improving provision for literacy and numeracy, was given to Our Lady of Lourdes School, in Manchester Drive,
CROOKS posing as council workers duped their way into two pensioners homes in the same road at the same time. The tricksters targeted two bungalows in Arnheim Avenue, Aveley, claiming to be council workers who had come to repair their window sills.
THE revolving door at Upton Park is set to go into overdrive during the next few days as a host of players move in and out of the club. Yossi Benayoun's long-awaited switch to Liverpool has been agreed and should be completed within the next 24 hours
Southend United's new boy Tommy Black insists the Shrimpers must be pushing for a place in the play-offs this season. The winger - who recently joined the Roots Hall club on a free transfer - has settled in well at his new surroundings. And he is
IT was an unusual send off, but then not too many vicars are ardent footie fans. The Rev Brenda Gutberlet said farewell to all her friends at Canvey Methodist Church who donned West Ham United gear for a special themed party in her honour. The minister
WITHAM Town are looking forward to welcoming back their most famous ever player' tomorrow. For current Southend United manager Steve Tilson spent two seasons at Spa Road at the start of his career before joining Blues in 1989. And chairman Tony
CASTLE Point Social Care Scheme is looking for volunteers to drive elderly and disabled residents around the borough. The initiative, founded in 1997, is based at the Tyrells Centre, in Seamore Avenue, Thundersley. It provides three minibuses to transport
A CENTRE giving vital help to families on Canvey has received a cash windfall of more than £50,000. Playplanet, a children's centre based at Furtherwick Park School, has been awarded the grant from Essex County Council's Community Initiatives Fund.
Every Saturday, my grandson's football team play and train with four other teams, at Garons, Southend. For the last few weeks all the teams have had to ensure nappy sacks are part of the kit. The dog mess we come across is unbelievable! This Saturday
Anyone contemplating, like Nigel (Web Points, July 2), voting out Basildon's Angela Smith at the next general election, must be barking! In Billericay probably, Thurrock, Laindon et al notwithstanding, such is the nature of political postcode tribalism
It is difficult to get people to believe in global warming when they've just been drenched in freezing water for the umpteenth time. So I note more and more people are using the vague term climate change. Nobody is going to stop the industrialised nations
I never had John Haran pegged as a master of irony. And yet how else is someone to take his statement that Tony Blair is owed his due by the people of this country? (July 2). We've had the needless invasion of Iraq, the smearing of Dr David Kelly, cash
Mark Stevens likes to march into Tescos, pay quickly then leave (July 9). He complains about dawdling shoppers holding him up. He assumes other people have no life. I have a life, Mr Stevens. I am not as mobile as I used to be, but there are lots of
ONLY statisticians and insomniacs could have taken anything out of a turgid day's LV County Championship play between Essex and Notting-hamshire at Chelmsford. As was universally expected after nearly 1,300 runs were scored and just 16 wickets fell
My letter printed in the Echo headed "Putting poverty into perspective" has been edited in such a way it does not make the points I wanted to. The following has been removed: "Yes, the marriage allowance is withdrawn when a spouse dies, but in order
WICKFORD Cricket Club played host to Essex 2nd XI's Trophy match against Nottinghamshire. The club's Patmore Memorial Ground was bathed in sunshine for much of the day's play. Star turn of the day was provided by the visitors, who included their
Travellers representative Kathleen McCarthy, who we read about so much in the Echo, seems not to understand the meaning of the word illegal. If I remember rightly she left a legal site and chose to go to Dale Farm of her own volition. As for travellers
We live close to Wickford station and are plagued with commuters all day, every day. No matter how polite we are in our requests they alternate their parking, we are met with blank stares, indifference or even rudeness and abuse. We have had funerals
Southend's own Lee Mead gave a fantastic first night perfomance as Joseph in the West End. I went on Friday with my husband, Simon, and we were just overwhelmed by the talent he has. It was his first night and he must have been nervous - as anyone would
HAVING recovered from the back injury which forced his season to prematurely end last term, Southend United winger Mark Gower is raring to go ahead of the new campaign. The Londoner is currently training alongside his team-mates during a gruelling
DESPERATE disabled club members are begging the community to dig deep - after "mean" councillors refused to give them the £150 grant their group needs to survive. Basildon Council's ruling Tories have been branded Scrooges for refusing to renew the annual
ESSEX trio Alastair Cook, Mark Pettini and Ravinder Bopara have been named in England's provisional 30-man squad for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup. While the inclusion of Cook and Bopara is no surprise, Pettini's call-up marks the new Essex captain's
I AM trying to contact Jack and Carol Grigor. They previously lived in Kathleen Ferrier Crescent, Laindon, before moving to Olive Street, Santa Barbara, California. Carol rang me when they moved again after this, but I have lost their new address and
POLICE have reacted furiously after two women support officers were locked in a burning toilet block by suspected pranksters. The police community support officers (PCSOs) had been called to Priory Park, Southend, to investigate a report of nuisance
SNOOKER players battled their opponents, and the urge to sleep, during a 24-hour marathon match for charity. Eight players took up the challenge, raising £3,000 for the Adventure Playground for People with Special Needs in Basildon. Joe Lazarus, the
ENDANGERED insects have delayed the decision over a massive waste plant at Nevendon. Extended environmental surveys mean Essex County Council will not decide on Courtauld Road's future until at least September. Councillors were due to push through a
RUBBISH collections in Basildon could be merged with two neighbouring boroughs. The project could see a single collection rolled out across Basildon, Castle Point and Brentwood. Basildon's 166,000 population is more than Castle Point and Brentwood's
PRETTY bubbles filled the air at a Basildon school as 250 children helped set a new world record. The students at Janet Duke Infant School joined 35,000 others from 300 schools across the country to take part in the challenge to blow the most bubbles
FARMERS are worried about the shortage of hay this year - because heavy rainfall has spoiled the crop. The National Farmers' Union also points to other problems facing the industry nationwide, including potential potato blight and difficulties with pea-harvesting
FOUR people were taken to hospital, including two women with serious injuries, following a crash in the early hours of the morning. The accident happened at the junction of Southchurch Road and Sutton Road, Southend, at 3.35am. A woman in her late thirties
DOZENS of fundraisers walked ten miles along Southend seafront to help a charity grant wishes to terminally ill children. The walk was arranged by Kids in Need, a charity which has helped hundreds of children go on trips to Euro Disney, take helicopter
EAGER students sampled an array of musical, dance and drama activities during a special arts week at a Westcliff school. The usual timetable at St Bernard's High School and Arts College was put on hold as pupils from Years 7, 8 and 9 took time to explore
PARENTS who take their children away on holiday during term time face tough action from Thurrock Council. Mike Revell, the councillor responsible for education, is touring the borough's schools and spreading the message. He said: "There is a problem
POLICE want to speak to a man in this CCTV footage in connection with a burglary in which £10,000 was stolen. Click here to view the CCTV footage The robbery took place at the Hope Hotel, on Southend seafront, after the Southend airshow. Officers
TWO derelict factories which have become a magnet for vandals could be demolished to make way for a five-storey block of flats. Southend Council's development control committee is being recommended to approve the proposals for the old CW Pavey factory
TEENAGERS who broke a bus windscreen by hurling water-bombs are being sought by police. Officers want help to find the five youngsters who attacked the unmarked single-decker bus as it made its way along Downhall Road, Rayleigh, towards the Hambro Hill
PLANE spotters will have the opportunity to get a close look at a famous bomber at Southend Airport later this month. Visit the Vulcan day is being organised by the Vulcan Restoration Trust, which owns the ex-Royal Air Force bomber. People will be
TEENAGERS grabbed their tool boxes for a brain-stretching day exploring the world of engineering and technology. Ninety-six pupils from eight schools across south Essex took part in the challenge at Ford's Technical Centre, Dunton. Pupils' mechanical
