Archive

  • Emma has sexy new look after makeover

    EMMA Shamshoum is beaming with confidence. The secret to her outer glow is that Emma started the new year with a new body after winning our ultimate makeover competition. The Echo teamed up with the Phoenix Hospital, in Fairfax Drive, Westcliff, to offer

  • Fancy that! It’s a singing cat!

    THE world of Dr Seuss has stood the test of time for more than 50 years and the nonsense characters he created have established themselves worldwide. The recent film Horton Hears a Who has brought attention to Dr Seuss’s characters to a whole new audience

  • You should try training smarter, and not harder

    Despite Government warnings we are turning into a nation of couch potatoes and risking obesity-related illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes, our health is deteriorating and our waistlines growing. To look good and feel great it is

  • Paying farmers a fair price for feeding us

    IF you’ve been shopping recently it’s unlikely you’ll have failed to notice a green and blue logo on certain items. With more than 4,500 products carrying the mark, and an estimated 70 per cent of UK consumers now recognising the distinctive label, the

  • Why our course for speeding drivers is not the easy option

    THOUSANDS of us have done it. Whether we are running late for work, rushing home to let the dog out, or merely just suffered a lack of concentration, most of us would admit to driving a little faster than we should on occasions. Since 2006

  • Eastgate's Chinese new year

    THE CHINESE New Year festivities brought some colour to Basildon where dancing lions brought prosperity to the shops. The lions visited every store in the Eastgate Shopping Centre where they were given a piece of cabbage as part of tradition. Roselyn

  • Esplanade House 'must come down'

    CALLS are being made for a half demolished seafront office block to be pulled down once and for all. Martin Terry, leader of the independent group on Southend Council, has labelled Esplanade House, on Eastern Esplanade, Southend, a health hazard and

  • Rob pops by for night of laughs

    ROB Brydon Live! sees the star of Gavin and Stacey and Marion and Geoff bring his stand up show to Westcliff. The comics’s pet topics are central to this one-man show and include views close to his heart, such as becoming a dad at 42, the horrors of

  • Computer stick traps paedophile

    A CHILD sex pervert was discovered when he sold a second hand memory stick containing indecent images of boys for £3 on ebay. The images of boys, aged 12 and 13, had been deleted, but were found still hidden on it. Chelmsford Crown Court was told the

  • Just the plaice for a quiet pint!

    TWO totally British traditions have come together in one waterfront business – allowing visitors to enjoy a pint and a fish and chip supper. The traditional Mayflower fish and chip shop, at the end of Old Leigh High Street, now has a surprise in store

  • Polish furniture truck seized at traveller site

    ABOUT 80 suspect items of furniture have been found in a Polish lorry delivering to travellers in Crays Hill. The furniture has been seized by Essex Trading Standards to allow fire safety tests to be carried out. The seizure was made at Crays Hill Friday

  • £100,000 lights for dangerous crossing

    PLANS have been unveiled to spend £100,000 installing traffic lights at a dangerous crossing that causes traffic gridlock. The current zebra crossing outside the Hoy and Helmet pub, in High Street, Benfleet, is considered dangerous for the many commuters

  • Clubs unite for trips out

    TWO pensioners clubs have joined forces to offer more day trips, holidays and nights out to their members. Age Concern and the Canvey Island Senior Citizens’ Association have run similar organisations just yards from each other, at the Paddocks in Long

  • UPDATED: Snow brings chaos

    HEAVY snow forced dozens of schools in south Essex to stay closed for a second day. Although there were no major accidents on the roads on Tuesday morning, as the largest snowfall in south Essex for 18 years began turning into treacherous ice

  • Jo’s mission to help deaf charity

    A POLICE officer is raising money to help deaf children after being touched by the plight of her boyfriend’s niece. Joanne Kerly, 24, from Basildon, is hoping to raise £1,500 for the National Deaf Children’s Society by running the London Marathon and

  • Carjacking lead to patient data loss

    PATIENTS’ personal data has been lost after a nurse was carjacked, a new report has revealed. The theft has just come to light in a report to the board of NHS South East Essex. It is reported as a “serious untoward incident” where there had been loss

  • OUr anger with doctors who wouldn't visit Tina

    A HEARTBROKEN couple claim their requests for doctors to visit their severely disabled daughter at home were ignored in the days before she died. Christine and Christos Papalabropoulos spoke of their outrage at doctors whom they claim twice ignored pleas

  • Axe used on back door

    A BURGLAR tried to smash his way into a house with an axe found in the back garden. He first tried the doorbell of the house, in Neville Shaw, Basildon. He then went round the back, picked up an axe which was lying on the ground, and hacked at the back

  • Council says truancy blitz working

    EFFORTS to clamp down on truancy appear to be working, with new figures showing a reduction in Essex schools’ absence levels. Figures for the autumn and spring terms of the most recent academic year, show a year-on-year improvement in absence rates countywide

  • Residents say bus figures are flawed

    FIGURES used to justify cuts to bus services are flawed, says a residents’ group. The 7 and 8 routes from Southend to Hockley and Rayleigh are being cut by operator Arriva, from six per hour to just two, from February 9. Arriva has said

  • Tree planted in Luke's memory

    FIREFIGHTERS have planted a tree in memory of a young boy who died after a brave fight with cancer. Eight-year-old Luke Webb died at Little Havens children’s hospice in 2007 after spending two years battling an aggressive brain tumour.

  • Recycling effort now reaches rural homes

    HUNDREDS of people can now recycle more of their rubbish from home. Basildon Council offers recycling for glass and some types of cardboard at more than 750 homes in rural areas of the district as from today. Recycling is now being offered to homes

  • David set to run for Macmillan nurses

    A SUPPORT worker who lost his father to cancer will run the London Marathon for Macmillan Nurses. David Barnes, 27, of Dalroy Close, South Ockendon, works at Larwood residential home for adults with learning disabilities, in South Ockendon. He said:

  • Blues confident game will go ahead

    BLUES are confident that tomorrow's clash with Scunthorpe United will get the go ahead, despite the poor weather. The Roots Hall pitch is currently completely covered in snow. But club officials are hopeful the game will not be postponed

  • Bait digger threatens to stop reporting bombs

    A BAIT digger is threatening to stop telling the authorities about the bombs he finds on Southend’s foreshore, after a row with police. The problem blew up on Friday morning after bomb disposal experts arrived to make safe Peter Tutt’s latest find, near

  • Pupils make it question time for MP Bob

    CASTLE Point MP Bob Spink admitted he was relieved to have survived some tough questions from pupils at a Benfleet primary school. Mr Spink faced the grilling at a special event held at Kingston Primary School. The MP said the questions were as tough

  • Charity clothes are being stolen from doorsteps

    A MAN has been arrested on suspicion of stealing bags of clothes left outside people’s homes. Police arrested a man in Highfield Grove, Westcliff, after residents reported plastic sacks full of clothes were going missing. The clothes were to be collected

  • Expanding school gets new block

    PUPILS are celebrating a colourful school extension. The building, at Abacus Primary School, in Tresco Way, Wickford, contains four new classrooms and a second school hall. The work was carried out after the nearby Wick housing development pushed up

  • AFC Hornchurch 1, Canvey Island 0

    CASH-strapped Canvey may eventually not have the financial resources or strength in depth to achieve promotion to the next level at the first attempt, but their fabulous fans are second to none. This was proved again on Saturday when 11 of their supporters

  • Updated: Gunpoint robbery in Eastwood

    A ROBBER held up Eastwood Off Licence at gunpoint. The robbery happened at the off licence near the Oakwood pub, in Rayleigh Road, Eastwood, at about 7pm yeasterday. A robber brandished a black handgun at the 38-year-old male shop assistant

  • Great Wakering 3, Leyton 3

    THESE two sides fought out a six-goal thriller in which honours were shared at Burroughs Park. There was little sign of the goal rush to come until the visiting outfit’s Michael Bakare shot Leyton into a 24th-minute lead. Mark Cartlidge and Kevin Cole

  • Sutton United 0, Billericay Town 1

    ANY doubts about Billericay’s ability to make a late charge for the play-offs were dispelled as the New Lodge side ended the unbeaten home record of their Surrey hosts. Although down in 11th spot, Town are now just six points off a Carshalton outfit

  • Firecrews called to Chalkwell blaze

    A LOG-burner has set a fireplace alight at a home in Chalkwell. Firefighters were called to Galton Road at just after 9.30am this morning. Heat from the burner set firelighters alight, which then spread to the hearth and a pile of logs

  • Aveley 3, Potters Bar Town 2

    THE signing of goal ace Neil Richmond from Great Wakering Rovers could prove to be the icing on the cake for the Millers in their bid for automatic promotion. For the striker pounced twice, after 21 and 78 minutes, to keep Aveley in top spot

  • Concord Rangers 2, Waltham Abbey 3

    CANVEY'S Concord bravely fought back from a 2-0 deficit before finally conceding all three points to their fellow play-off hopefuls. James Elms gave the visitors a sixth-minute lead and grabbed a second on the 20-minute mark. The Thames

  • East Thurrock 7, Ware 0

    ROCKS kept up the pressure on top dogs Aveley with a superb display against lack-lustre fellow promotion hopefuls. Martin Touhy opened the scoring on 15 minutes and Kurt Smith added a second 10 minutes later. Touhy grabbed his second

  • Ilford 1, Tilbury 0

    THE wheels came off the Dockers’ late run for the play-off places with this defeat at Ilford. The Foxes pulled off their third successive win with this success and look to have a good chance of beating relegation. This victory was particularly meritorious

  • Thurrock 2, Fisher Athletic 1

    THURROCK edged this relegation six-pointer at Ship Lane following a controversial penalty decision. The two teams were locked at 1-1, Matt Paine putting the hosts ahead and Ludovic Quistin replying — when Fleet were awarded a 57th-minute spot-kick when

  • Chairman issues ‘Back Grays’ plea

    GRAYS Athletic chairman Mike Woodward has appealed for fans and people of the town to get behind the club in big numbers during difficult times. The New Rec side, without a match at the weekend, announced that defender Jon Ashton was the latest

  • Cardboard cops used to deter thieves

    IT is one of the more unusual tools to be found in the police’s armoury in their efforts to tackle crime. But eight cut-outs of police officers are set to be deployed across Essex in a bid to deter and confuse would-be criminals. Essex Police has joined

  • Rayleigh stands still for Laughton Spooner

    RAYLEIGH’S usually bustling High Street was at a standstill as hundreds paid their respects to a well-known and much-loved window cleaner who recently died. The funeral procession of Laughton Spooner wound its way from his home in Warren Close through

  • Refinery workers go out on wildcat strike

    More than 100 workers at the Coryton oil refinery have walked out on a wildcat strike. It it thought they joined a national walkout in support of workers at power stations across the country who are in dispute with their bosses over the employment

  • Snow brings roads and rail services to standstill

    SNOW falling across the country brought roads and rail lines to a standstill in south Essex. The snowfall is the heaviest in the south east of England for 18 years, affecting thousands of motorists and rail passengers and forcing hundreds of

  • Tilly shocked by yellow card decision

    SHRIMPERS chief Steve Tilson was left shocked by referee Gavin Ward’s decision to only book Bristol Rovers keeper Steve Phillips during Saturday’s clash at Roots Hall. The custodian seemed set to be sent off when he handled a shot from Dougie

  • Shrimpers miss out on signing Kandol

    SOUTHEND United missed out on signing Tresor Kandol because they were only willing to take the striker on loan for a month. The forward was keen on signing for the Shrimpers but Leeds United would not allow him out for just four weeks.

  • Freedman returns to bag winner for Blues

    DOUGIE Freedman fired Southend United to a vital 1-0 victory over Bristol Rovers on Saturday - only hours after he was expecting not to play. The Scotsman was preparing himself for an afternoon on the sidelines with a thigh strain before a