THIS year’s open-air music festival season is likely to be remembered for acts such as Prodigy, Madness, and Simon Dempsey. Simon Dempsey? OK, so no one recognises the name right now, but by the end of summer 2009 he’s going to be a big noise on the
EVER longed to become more self sufficient and eco-conscious by growing your own fruit and vegetables? Do you want to cut down on those unnecessary food miles and reduce the amount of waste you throw away? Cultivating your own crops and creating compost
AN actress who is taking the Cannes Film Festival by storm is on track for movie stardom after getting her big break in the most unlikely of places – Tilbury railway station. Katie Jarvis, 17, from Tilbury, has a major part in the movie Fish Tank, which
A TEENAGE terror who made her neighbours’ lives a misery through 14 months of loud music and hard partying has been kicked out of her flat. The girl, aged 17 or 18, held wild parties at her home in Wrackhall Court, Canvey, almost every night and was
ESSEX have bolstered their Twenty20 Cup hopes by signing former Gloucestershire all-rounder Mark Hardinges. He joins a squad likely to be without key players for some of the campaign. England's Ravi Bopara, James Foster and Graham Napier, and Holland's
A PROPOSED deal for the sale of Great Leighs has fallen through, with the future of the track still in doubt. Racing has not taken place at the former Essex showground site since January, but administrators Deloitte had hoped to conclude a deal with
POLICE have stepped up patrols after 20 boats were destroyed in a suspected arson attack in Old Leigh. The blaze, which was spotted at about 1.30am yesterday morning, has caused tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage at Essex Yacht Club, in Leigh
A DRUG addict who ransacked a family home and stole the owner’s redundancy pay has been jailed for two years. Jamie Sharp, 27, forced his way into a house in Candy Terrace, Prospect Close, Southend, by throwing a lump of concrete through a window before
A MUM has launched an online campaign to show the Government just how unhappy residents are about plans to build a prison in Wickford. Bernie Bentley, 43, was enraged when she read in the Echo about the Ministry of Justice’s plans to build a prison
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a row broke out outside the Kursaal. The argument started between a man and a woman in her late 20s inside the Kursaal which spilled out into the street at about 10.40pm on Tuesday. They are believed
MOBO Award winner Kano performs for the Absolute clubbing crowd at Mayhem, Southend, tomorrow night. Best known for his collaboration with Craig David, This is the Girl, which hit the top 20 of the UK charts, the 23-year-old rapper has also enjoyed success
SOUTHEND United Football Club have settled their dispute with creditors which could have led to the Blues being wound up in the High Court. The club and boss Ron Martin’s company Martin Dawn owed £26,000 to an unnamed creditor. At the High Court on Wednesday
MORE than £5million will be spent on the Sadlers Farm roundabout improvements to make sure it is ready for the 2012 Olympics. The £63million scheme will be funded by the Department of Transport, but it will not release the cash until the project has
TWO lasting memorials to a popular Royal Artillery soldier, who died in Afghanistan, are taking shape. Lieutenant Aaron Lewis, 26, a former employee at Virgin Active Clements Hall Leisure Centre, in Hawkwell, died last year while serving in
TRAFFIC cops stopped 15 drivers during a stop check in Southend this morning. Six officers conducted the checks near Nazareth House, in London Road, between 7 and 7.45am. Eight drivers were handed a £30 fixed penalty notice for not wearing
THREE south Essex performers have beat hundreds of others to be part of a groundbreaking West End show. Matthew Ibbotson, 24, Curtis-Lee Jewitt, 23, and David Witts, 17, have stormed their way through to the Voice of Tomorrow. It is a unique competition
“NEWS”, said press magnate William Randolph Hearst, “is something somebody doesn’t want printed; all else is advertising”. By that definition, the Echo’s special investigation reporter Jon Austin is the consummate newsman. Whenever the Echo
PLANS to redevelop a car sales site in London Road, Leigh, with a three storey block of 14 flats and two shops is being recommended for approval despite objections from neighbours and the town council. The development control committee will be told on
FRIENDS and family helped Julia Harris celebrate her 104th birthday in Westcliff. Mrs Harris celebrated her special day at the Abbeyfield Home, in St George’s House, Park Terrace. She was married to husband Lewis. When he died in 1990 she moved from
A NEW bus for shoppers is set to be launched next month. Arriva is introducing the number 33, which will stop off at Asda, in Shoebury, and the B&Q store, at Fossetts Farm. It will run five days a week from June 22 and will stop off at Temple Sutton
WORRIED residents fear plans to axe a housing office would leave the elderly and disabled stranded. St George’s Community Housing association, the company which manages Basildon Council’s housing stock, is considering closing the office in Northlands
BROADCASTERS have helped launch a new school radio station. Danny Lawrence and Ros Connors from Gateway FM, Basildon and East Thurrock’s community radio station, along with Essex FM presenter Alex Williams, saw the media department at Chalvedon School
THOUSANDS of fish have been introduced into a Basildon fishing lake. More than 5,000 small carp , between three to five inches long, have been put into a lake in Northlands Park in a bid to set the lake up as an in-town commercial carp fishery. Between
A CONSERVATION charity has lost the fight to protect West Thurrock Marshes. Buglife has been battling Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation for three years over plans to build a huge distribution warehouse and lorry park on the marshes. The
MORE than £5million will be spent on the Sadlers Farm roundabout improvements to make sure it is ready for the 2012 Olympics. The £63million scheme will be funded by the Department of Transport, but it will not release the cash until the project has
A TEENAGER sobbed as he was locked up for robbing two young boys of their mobile phones. The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, took the phones from a group of lads as they played in Grove Park, Rayleigh. The boy from Shoebury had already
STAFF at a Southend store have begun a marathon 125 days of charity fundraising. Workers at the High Street’s Marks & Spencer store joined colleagues across the south east as they kicked off four months of fundraising as part of the national chain’s
A MARKET at the top of Pier Hill is being planned by Southend Council for the summer season. The council’s development control committee will be recommended on Wednesday to approve the plans which follow the success of a two-week market on the same site
THE chairman of a football league has defended its reputation following a brawl at a youth cup final. Shocked spectators reported seeing a fight break out among players and watching adults at the final of the Southend and District U15s Cup on Sunday
A stricken bull was rescued after it got stuck in a river. A farmer, assisted by two fire crews, took about 40 minutes to get the bull, which was in about four foot of water, back on dry land. The rescue happened at around 7am yesterday, next to the
CABBIES in Southend have said they may stop picking up customers on Friday and Saturday nights because of a row over licensing costs. Drivers are angry after the council’s licensing committee proposed an increase of £150 extra a year, just to run a taxi
A SOUTHEND charity has stepped in to help fund a trip for war veterans to commemorate D-Day. When the Round Table read of the appeal for help with travel costs in the Echo, it moved quickly to get in touch and offer to help. Southend Priory Round Table
LEIGH has been alive with the sound of music as the annual musical festival moved into its first instrumental competitions. Youngsters have been competing for a range of prizes in the woodwind section of Leigh Musical Festival, at Highlands Methodist
SHAUN Goater insists Freddy Eastwood has the talent to re-establish himself as one of the brightest talents outside of the Premier League. Eastwood starred alongside the Bermudan while at Southend United and scored 25 goals during the 2005/
