A DRAMATIC last-gasp Lee Barnard penalty made it a happy sixth anniversary as manager of Southend United for Steve Tilson on Friday night. Barnard cooly fired his 93rd-minute spot-kick into the bottom left-hand corner of the net to secure a 2-1 triumph
SOUTHEND Shakespeare Company has embarked on an enterprise of almost crazy ambition, and to judge from the first fifty per cent of the project, it has carried it off brilliantly. Henry VI: The Descent into Chaos, begins around the coffin of
NOBODY needed dating agencies back then, said the jazzman turned broadcaster Benny Green, talking about the 1940s and 50s. “We had dance halls.” From the Twenties to the Sixties, dance halls like the one at the Kursaal, in Southend, were king.
STEVE Tilson has made just one change to his starting line-up as Johnny Herd has been passed fit to play and returns to the team at left-back. He has taken the place of the suspended Sean Morrison with Simon Francis moving inside to partner
STAFF and regular clients at a branch library have been celebrating its 35th anniversary. Southend borough’s smallest library, Friars, at the Renown, in Constable Way, Shoebury, opened in 1974 and now offers a wide range of activities and services as
ALL children under five are to be offered the swine flu vaccine. The Department for Health announced parents of youngsters aged between six months and five years old will be contacted by the GP and offered the vaccine to protect against swine flu. Children
Police are keen to trace the owner of a green Ammaco New World bicycle that has come into their possession. If you think you recognise the bike, please contact Pc Colin Parker at Benfleet on 0300 333 4444 extension 461141.
AN ELDERLY woman allowed a couple into her Southend home who then stole money from her. The burglary happened in Scratton Road when an 83-year-old woman answered her front door to a man claiming to be from the Water Board at about 1pm on Wednesday
THE original fisherman’s friend has been remembered with a special service. His newly restored grave was also unveiled in a Canvey churchyard. Ebenezer Joseph Mather, founder of the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, retired to Canvey following
A MAISONETTE in Rochford is set to be the first property to benefit from a £1.5million scheme to refurbish empty homes for people in need. The Empty Homes scheme, run by Pathmeads Housing Association, is set to spend cash revamping empty, private properties
PEOPLE in Wickford can have their say about the new £16.8million health centre planned for the town. NHS South West Essex is asking residents for feedback on which services should be offered by the health centre, set to open next year.
A VETERINARY clinic has been shortlisted for a £27,000 community business prize. The VRCC centre in Bramston Way, Laindon, could win the money as part of the Ixion Challenge 2009. It was nominated for the prize after proposing to run special chemotherapy
work is due to start in December on the £28million rebuilding of Leigh’s Belfairs High School. Swedish-based contractor Skanska says it will be aiming to have the new building ready to be used by the school’s 1,300 pupils by the end of next year. In
A NETWORKING group is being held for businesses around Basildon to help keep trade local and drum up Christmas business. The Essex branch of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is running the event at Deli37, in Billericay High Street on Thursday
TWO yobs have been banned from Southend United games for a total of eight years. Police have warned trouble will not be tolerated at Roots Hall and are seeking to keep hooligans at least three quarters of a mile away from the ground on match
A BUILDER who fell on hard times in the recession and agreed to front a drugs factory to make ends meet has been jailed for three years. Kevin Gilbert, 48, a grandfather-of-three, with no previous convictions, looked shocked as he was led from the dock
Career high: Playing Chelsea away in the FA Cup last season Career low: When I left France and moved to Germany to sign for a League Two side Superstitions: None at all Boyhood hero: Nicolas Anelka Team supported as a kid
MK DONS boss Paul Ince is confident his side can bounce back at Roots Hall tonight. Dons were beaten 5-1 at Charlton Athletic last weekend. But Ince was happy with his side’s performance and has no concerns ahead of taking on the Shrimpers
SOUTHEND United can finally beat MK Dons tonight if they score first — according to their former left-back Neil Jenkins. The 27-year-old, who now plays in the Blue Square Premier with Eastbourne Borough, spent a combined total of 12 years with
STEVE Tilson is hoping for a successful sixth anniversary as manager of Southend United. The 43-year-old today becomes just the sixth Blues boss to ever reach the landmark. And he hopes to celebrate in style by beating MK Dons at Roots
PEOPLE on the council’s housing waiting list will get the chance to bid for council homes, under a new scheme designed to give them more control over where they live. Choice Based Lettings is a compulsory Government scheme, which is to be rolled out
A CONTROVERSIAL plan to build new homes within existing council estates has emerged. Up to 20 affordable homes could be developed on four unnamed estates across Castle Point. The pockets of land would be flogged off by the council to housing associations
A GIANT outdoor gym at Shoebury Park in Elm Road will be officially opened at 10.40am on Friday. It is being funded jointly by designers and developers, sports giant Adidas. It will serve communities across Shoebury in a space where people of all ages
CYCLISTS will be pulling on their lycra and heading to the seafront to raise money for Havens Hospices. Ben Crabb, 27, from Leigh, is facing the challenge of a lifetime, scaling the world’s highest free standing mountain - Mount Kilimanjaro
AN IRATE resident is calling for action after a tree as tall as a house came tumbling down in a residential road — blocking off the street. Wendy Cox, 49, of Perry Springs, Vange, says she has been badgering Basildon Council for five years to cut down
THE former Woolworths in Leigh Broadway has been reopened as a Tesco Express. The shop, which has been empty since the firm went bust at the start of the year, has been reborn as a convenience store, creating 13 new jobs. Shoppers browsed the aisles
Plans for a new £450,000 Scout and community hall has been given the go-ahead. The hut earmarked for a field in Clay Hill Road, Basildon, was approved by councillors, despite residents’ fears it would create too much traffic in the surrounding area and
ASDA is set to build a mezanine-floor to extend its store at the Pipps Hill Retail Park, off Miles Gray Road, Basildon, to sell clothes. The supermarket has been granted planning permission for an extra 1,290 square metres of sales space to create
TWO leading estate agents in south Essex have united to voice their support for the expansion of Southend Airport. Donna Roche from Hunt Roche and Steve Ayers of Ayers and Cruiks agree the proposals will increase the attractiveness and prosperity
A man fell on to a flat roof from a third floor window this morning. Southend firefighters were called to assist ambulance crews trying to rescue the 40-year-old man from the roof at 1am. He is believed to have fallen after leaning out
IT was all light on the night in Basildon as former boyband member Matt Willis flicked the switch to turn on the town’s festive lights. Thousands of revellers headed to St Martin’s Square, to watch the former Busted guitarist and 2006 I’m a Celebrity
JUST 20 affordable homes are expected to be built in Castle Point this financial year, meaning the council will miss its target of 32 homes for social rent, or shared ownership. Eight flats at Grovewood Court, in Kiln Road, Thundersley, have
FURIOUS residents and councillors are opposing plans for more housing at an old school site. The complaints were voiced after proposals were discussed for a second phase of 123 more homes at the controversial Radford Park scheme, at the former
