A 26-year-old man has been charged with the murder of disabled woman found stabbed to death in her car. Jennifer North, 62, also known as Jennifer Macaree, was discovered stabbed to death in her Vauxhall Corsa in Hadley Grange, Harlow, in the early
A GARDEN designed and planted by pupils to be used by children with special needs has been officially opened. About 22 keen gardeners from Years 10 and 11 from Chalvedon and Barstable schools, in Pitsea, were involved in the project. They hope it will
AT least one new classroom will be created at a primary school to accommodate dozens of children who were refused places. More than 400 people signed an online petition lobbying the council after 39 children, who live in Chafford Hundred, failed to get
COUNCIL bosses have vowed to fight proposals for 44 new traveller plots in Thurrock. New Government proposals, currently out to consultation, say a minimum of 1,237 additional pitches are required in the east of England by 2011. The scheme allocates
WEST Ham striker Carlton Cole is set to return from his groin injury to help the club's final push for a European place. The 25-year-old, who was injured while on England duty in March, has been back in full training and will be in the squad for the
RAVI Bopara put himself in elite England company with a third century in successive Test innings as he and Alastair Cook took control against West Indies before a paltry Riverside crowd. Bopara's feat added his name to a list containing four all-time
RAVI Bopara believes his nightmare in Sri Lanka spurred him on to his current run of form that brought a third consecutive Test century in today's second Test against West Indies at Chester-le-Street. Essex team-mates Alastair Cook (126 not out) and
SOUTHEND Drama Society members are celebrating after winning the latest round of a knockout theatre competition. After winning the area heat, the group are now through to the regional semi-finals of the All England Theatre Festival with its production
A ROCHFORD Indian restaurant has been fined by Southend Magistrates after health inspectors found it infested with cockroaches. Taj Uddin, the owner of Royal Tandoori, in West Street, Rochford, admitted six food hygiene infringements. He was fined
A TEEN shelter set up for youngsters to enjoy has been repeatedly targeted by vandals. The brick structure was put up last October in Clements Hall sports ground, in Hawkwell, to provide a meeting place for young people at a cost of £10,000. Yobs
ESSEX singing group Rug Opera made a leap of faith when they put on their first fully- staged theatrical production after 13 years as a travelling singing group. The risk paid off triumphantly, when Rug received the Best Show of the Year award at the
FORGET Marilyn Monroe’s famous happy birthday rendition to JFK, another blond bombshell is set to belt out many happy returns to Basildon! Opera babe Katherine Jenkins, 28, has confessed she would be happy to sing Happy Birthday to mark 60 years since
LIFE really is the sweetest thing for schoolboy Harry Willsher who has landed himself a candy coated dream job...as an official sweet tester. Happy Harry, 12, will get to guzzle down sackfuls of sweets after beating 3,000 other youngsters to win the
SOUTHEND Wheeler 15 years old Simon Alexander travelled to Belgium with a composite youth team of five riders in order to gain experience in continental racing. The race on Saturday was 49 miles, twice as far as Alexander had previously raced. It was
SOUTHEND United Football Club has been given a month to pay off a debt or it could face being wound up in the High Court. The club has denied there is a problem and said the matter has been resolved. At the court in London, a winding-up petition against
PLANS to transform Southend seafront could be delayed because of a lack of Government cash. The council and regeneration company Renaissance Southend planned to create a new city beach in the area between the pier and the site of the gasworks jetty.
A PERMANENT fence has been put up around a landslip on Southend seafront. The £9,500 ornate fencing is replacing a temporary metal barrier along the stretch on Western Esplanade where tons of earth slipped across the pavement in 2003. Plans for a £35million
LOVED-UP couples may soon be able to tie the knot in the new £2.2million heritage and visitor centre at Pitsea’s Wat Tyler Country Park. Basildon Council backs the idea and has already put the wheels in motion to allow alcohol to be served there for
MP John Baron is refusing to say how much time he spends at his “second home” following allegations he rarely stays there. Mr Baron, who became MP in 2001, has claimed the maximum expenses to cover the cost of his constituency base for three out of the
TORY MP James Duddridge has promised to put all his receipts on the internet for constituents to see, as the expenses row rumbles on. Mr Duddridge, MP for Rochford and Southend East, also promised to provide a copy of all his expenses for review and
SOUTHEND Wheelers held their weekly evening 10 miles time trial at Steeple and David Bryant recorded the fastest time of 24mins 9secs - exactly the same time as the previous week. Second place went to new member Robin Bevan, with an excellent time of
SOUTH Essex youngsters enjoyed a successful campaign as the Essex Winter Series finals were held at the weekend. The two-day showdown was the culmination of all the one-day tournaments held during the winter. The tournament was split into two groups
A ROLLERCOASTER fan is walking 60 miles from Southend’s Adventure Island to Surrey’s Thorpe Park to raise money for charity. Danny Pledger, 21, of Sutton Road, Southend, set off from the Rage rollercoaster yesterday morning and should arrive
CAR clampers have come under fire from the Citizens’ Advice Bureau following complaints about the “threatening” behaviour of clampers in Rayleigh. The Rayleigh and Rochford branch of the bureau, which offers free advice to people on a range of issues
PHIL Alderson (8) and Steve Morton (3) retained the Stableford Foursomes Trophy with 39 points from Bernie Braham (9) and John Di’Benedetto (12) with 38. The father and son combination of Adrian Worthington (5) and son Robert (6) were third on countback
CLUB members were out in force for their annual Spring Meeting. The course was beautifully prepared for the day and looking spectacular. The weather was less favourable and, although dry, was blustery and the sun only shone briefly in the afternoon.
WEST Ham striker Diego Tristan will wait until the end of the season before he discusses staying at the club with manager Gianfranco Zola. Tristan's deal expires at the end of the season and Zola recently suggested the 33-year-old is putting a strong
THE men staged the May monthly Stableford on Saturday and the medal on Sunday and as usual, the former proved the more popular. However, the difficult flag placements on the first three holes and the large field, caused a slow start. In division one
THE coaching methods which helped establish some of the world’s top tennis stars have finally arrived in Essex. The wonders of Modern Tennis helped Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten on his way to winning the French Open three times. And the same fast track
TWO Southend United footballers went head to head with shoppers as part of a challenge on a computer console. Centre forward Alex Revell and goalkeeper Clark Masters accepted the challenge set by South East Essex College as part of its promotion of Adult
IAN Mudie and Chris Shawyer were in superb form as the club hosted their May medals and Belfairs Cup qualifiers. In the first medal Mudie (10) earned a one shot handicap cut as his stunning gross 76 for a net 66 won by a clear five shots. Super vet
FINANCIAL director Neil Adams cashed in at Rochford Hundred’s Sunday May medal. He fired a gross two under par 69 to take division one quite comfortably from ex-Southend United soccer ace Tony Hadley. Adams shot 14 pars and three birdies in his 69-4
WHAT does Ravi Bopara have up his sleeve next? Not only is he scoring Test Match hundreds, he’s celebrating in style as well. I asked him what those hand signals were all about after he scored his brilliant hundred at Lord’s against the West Indies
THE parents of a young Marine Cadet who died after taking anabolic steroids have welcomed an MP’s bid to highlight the dangers of the freely available drugs. Speaking in the Commons, Rochford and Southend East Tory MP James Duddridge called on health
TWO Canvey campaigners will demand an independent inquiry into a gas spillage at the island’s Calor gas terminal when they meet with a senior Government minister. George Whatley and Steve Sawkins, of the People Against Methane Group, will meet with Lord
THE roof of a flat collapsed during a fire in Pitsea last night. Two appliances from Basildon fire station went to the blaze, which broke out in a first-floor flat in Wickford Avenue at around 7pm. The blaze is thought to have been caused
Having decided to book tickets for an upcoming concert at the Cliffs Pavilion, in Westcliff, I arrived at the box office in order to purchase them. On arriving, I was informed by the woman on the desk I would need to pay a further fee of £2.50
I attended one of the exhibitions held by Colonnade on its proposal to build 300 homes on green belt in Stambridge. Members of the public I spoke to were sadly under the impression that by filling in comments forms supplied by the developer
With all the talk about Southend Airport, I wonder, despite it being in use for more than 80 years, whether anyone who has moved to the area realises what goes on there? Yes, flying. Was there a similar outcry when it was used by a Spitfire
I write with regard to your report on the numbers of parents who choose to holiday in school term time, often for reasons of economy (May 12). There are, however, a great number of people who work in utilities and service industries which necessitate
Those concerned by the suffering of a fox cub trapped for two weeks in a legal snare might care to contemplate glue mouse traps. These contentiously cruel, though equally legal contraptions, also indiscriminately ensnare birds. It may lead people
POLICE found 100 bags of cannabis, plus a stash of class A drugs, at a home in Laindon. Two women were arrested and led away by police following the raid, which saw officers descend on Hermitage Drive at 10am yesterday. Acting on a tip-off
BRITISH National Party leader Nick Griffin was served with an £8,000 legal claim during a visit to Grays. Bailiffs handed Mr Griffin the claim before he launched the far right party’s local and European election campaigns at the Thameside Theatre. The
A TERRIFIED woman screamed in terror as a gun-wielding thug tried to rob her outside a shop in Vange. The victim, 47, from Basildon, was about to get into her car when the would-be robber threatened her and tried to snatch her handbag.
THE form of Franck Moussa has posed problems for Southend United. The young Belgian shone on the left flank for the Shrimpers during the second half of last season. And the club’s assistant manager Paul Brush admits they are unsure of whether or not
BASILDON synth-pop legends Depeche Mode cancelled an Athens concert after lead singer David Gahan fell ill and was taken to hospital. With 20,000 Greek fans waiting for the electronic outfit to take the stage, embarrassed organisers announced
SOUTHEND could see a significant drop in the number of taxis on the town’s streets because drivers are unable to weather the recession, a leading councillor claims. Labour group leader David Norman spoke out as talks were held between Southend
LOCAL Guides held a reunion to celebrate their group’s 50th anniversary. Current and past members of 2nd Corringham Guides came together to celebrate the event with a slide show of pictures from the group’s history. Present-day Guides served guests
RESIDENTS are worried a new boot sale near their homes will fill a quiet country lane with traffic and lead to serious accidents. People living in Gardiners Lane North, Crays Hill, already have to put up with motorists using the 15-foot-wide road as
ILLEGALLY-parked lorries are being targeted as part of a new clampdown in Thurrock. The trial scheme, under which lorries will be clamped if they are caught parked illegally, started on Monday and will run for two weeks. The problem has been particularly
COUNTRY music has a new home in Leigh. The Margueriteville Country Music Club is the brainchild of John Liken and Darrell Binding, two country music fans who came up with the idea of a club after a fundraiser they organised last summer proved popular
BUILDING work on an £11million school revamp in Southend has ground to a halt after its main contractor went into administration, it has been revealed. Futures College in Southchurch Boulevard has teamed up with leading vocational college Prospects
