Piles of fly-tipped rubbish are blighting a neighbourhood, residents have claimed. A mattress, desks and chairs were among the rubbish which has been building up for several weeks on a former garages site behind homes in Norfolk Avenue, Leigh. There
A HOCKLEY school could receive millions of pounds of Government money to rebuild. Greensward Academy could get as much as £23million from the Partnership for Schools, although exact figures have not yet been decided. There are ten schools across Essex
THE main outpatients department door at Southend Hospital will be out of bounds this weekend. Visitors going to see patients in the hospital’s tower block wards on Saturday and Sunday, February 20 and 21 are being asked to use the side entrance
ONE of Southend AC’s top lady runners, Sarah Jeffery, is out to make her mark when she runs in the London Marathon for the first time in April. Sarah, 23, is a BSc physiotherapy student who combines her studies with part-time working at Clements Hall
A WOMAN who falsely accused a man of raping her has avoided a jail term. Sarah Jane-Hilliard, 21, of Luncies Road, Basildon was given a 12-month jail term suspended for two years. She was previously convicted of perverting the
POLICE are flooding the streets of Southend over half-term to deter teenagers from causing trouble. All the 15 neighbourhood specialist officers and PCSOs for the area will be working the same shift patterns over nine days, starting tomorrow. They will
A NEW initiative has been launched to combat bogus collectors who cost registered charities across the country an estimated £3million a year. The Give with Care campaign was launched by the Government’s Charities Minister and Basildon MP Angela Smith
THIS year’s Southend West Southend School Parnership’s sports hall athletic competitions have been very successful with approximately 260 children participating from years one to six. Chalkwell Hall Junior, and the following primaries: St Christopher
AN UNLOCKED barn in Westcliff has been targeted by burglars. Crooks got into the barn in Prince Avenue and stole £800 worth of goods were stolen, including some fishing equipment, costume jewellery and a chainsaw. The raid happened between
SIX men burst into a Shoebury home armed with a gun and threatened the family inside. They knocked at the door of the house in Delaware Road at about 10.25pm on Sunday. When the occupier answered it they forced their way inside. A 28
A DEVELOPER has won an appeal to build eight large homes on land near Tesco, Laindon. Reliant Building Contractors had its application to build two detached four-bed homes and six detached five-bed houses with parking and a new access road refused by
AN MP has praised a Tory Canvey councillor for breaking ranks to voice his opposition to plans to demolish a seafront paddling pool. Bob Spink has applauded Ray Howard for saying he wants the public to be consulted before the council scraps a pool near
A MOUNTAIN bike was stolen from Leigh after thieves cut the lock. The black Trej 4300 bike had been chained up in Belton Way but was 1stolen between 11. 15am and 7.05pm on February 6. It had a Muddy Fox rear mudguard and continental tyres displaying
Police are appealing for information regarding a house burglary in Leigh. Burglars forced open a rear window to gain entry to a detached house in Herschell Road and steal £800 of jewellery and foreign currency. They also pulled the security
YOBS threw a vodka bottle through the window of an accountancy firm in Leigh. The mindless vandalism caused £150 damage to a 12 ins round window at CKS Accountancy in Church Hill. It is believed to have happened between the evening of Friday February
A YOUNG man was attacked into a Southend underpass after he was held in a headlock. A 27 year old man was walking through the underpass that links Lancaster Gardens with Hastings Road in Southend when another man tripped him up. The robber
SHANEE Martin has vowed to fight on after her third unsuccessful attempt at winning a world title. The Essex fighter was beaten on points by reigning champion Tsunami Tenkai in the World Boxing Association super fly-weight bout in Japan. Martin, from
POLICE are hunting a ten-year-old suspected of stealing a mobile phone from a lorry. The boy, of large build, was seen leaving the scene in Hovefields Drive, Wickford, wearing a dark-blue hoodie. The thief smashed the window of the cab, before stealing
LESSONS on cutting fuel costs through more economical driving will take place outside the Odeon Cinema in Southend High Street on February 24 and 25 between 9am and 3.30pm. Southend Council is offering free smarter driving lessons to local businesses
LEIGH Town Council’s clerk was suspended before he resigned, it has emerged. Last month, a complaint was made about Geoff Fulford, who has served as town clerk for almost 14 years. Councillors were informed of the matter on January 18, and Mr Fulford
Mr Terry (Feb 8) rightly takes me to task for my mistaken belief in the composition of Southend Council’s planning committee and its approval of the proposed Southend Airport runway extension. I obviously mis-read a news report at the time of
I was appalled by the comments of councillor Tony Ball on the lack of progress by Laindon Regeneration with regard to the development of the Laindon Centre (Feb 10). To blame it on the economic situation is ludicrous as this has been going on
Our friends at c2c are up to their old tricks again. Having been legally forced to cut the cost of season tickets as part of their franchise agreement, with the fall in inflation last year, any opportunity is taken to recoup what they perceive
Just when you think Castle Point Council cannot do anything more to cock a snook at the public, it pulls another stunt. Now the so-called cabinet has decided, behind closed doors, the tidal pool on Canvey seafront should be demolished for health
Who does Billericay MP John Baron think he is kidding when he states “MPs don’t do it for the money”? (Feb 10) You only need to see the expense claims and listen to his and others’ feeble excuses, “we were not sure and the Fees Office said it
I read the article about the Fortune of War roundabout on the A127 at Laindon being spruced up. What is the point of this expenditure, when drivers should be looking at the road anyway? Surely, just to keep it tidy would be enough. I can think
THE Wok and Grill oriental restaurant in Chichester Road, Southend, was visited by not one, but three Chinese dragons to mark the Chinese New Year and the start of the Year of the Tiger
A new 300-space multistorey car park in London Road, Southend, will have a pay-on-exit machine and could open before the end of the year. Southend councillor responsible for transport, Anna Waite, said there were also plans to develop a new pay-on-exit
STEEL frames have sprung up in Gloucester Park as Basildon’s £38million sporting village takes shape. Builders are now busy putting more than 1,100 tonnes of steel into place, to bring Essex’s premier sporting venue to life. This is
CANVEY could hardly have picked a worse afternoon to launch their latest ticket initiative. Under the scheme season ticket holders from Premiership and Football League clubs can gain entry to the Brockwell Stadium half-price for remaining home games
DESPITE seeing his side crash to their eighth league defeat on the trot, Grays manager Julian Dicks had reason for optimism following this setback watched by a paltry 232 crowd. The former West Ham defender insisted: “We were the better side and the
DESPITE giving a bright display at their second-placed hosts, Billericay remain deep in relegation trouble. Brian Statham’s visitors dominated possession for long periods, but, as so often for a side suffering the worst scoring record in the division
CANVEY’S Concord demonstrated just how vital it has been increasing the strength of their squad recently as they started a run of four league games in eight days with a fine win at lowly Leyton. For the four goals were shared by two recent arrivals
WAKERING’S fine recent run came to an end as they crashed to defeat at Burroughs Park and slipped out of the play-off places. The all-important goal came after 27 minutes when Nick Hegley took advantage of a mix-up in the village side’s defence to score
TAKING the lady in your life to Ship Lane for this goalless bore draw as a Valentine’s treat might well have proved a recipe for a romantic break-up. To celebrate their best ever season and the weekend of love, females were given free entry if accompanied
Essex Olympian: It was a bad day for all three local Premier Division sides. Benfleet were thrashed 6-0 at Epping and Rayleigh Town went down 2-1 at Ongar. Southend’s White Ensign lost 3-1 at Eastwoodbury Lane by Canning Town, Gary Higgs scoring their
THE only thing missing from this highly-entertaining clash between two play-off seekers was a goal. Rocks, who have been faltering in their promotion push in recent weeks, battled on for the last 35 minutes with 10 men after having Kris Newby sent off
TWO goals in the last four minutes saw the Dockers bounce back from their midweek League Cup defeat with this Essex derby success. After a goalless opening half at Aveley, the hosts took the lead midway through the second period when Chris Thomas scored
ALL four south-east Essex teams were beaten on their travels on Saturday in the Essex Senior League. Lowly Bowers and Pitsea saw their hopes of a draw at Barking-side foiled when Tommy Steel was on song with a 75th-minute winner for the hosts in a 3-
A SUPERB closing round of 68 enabled Shoebury golf professional Richard McEvoy to cash in with a big cheque in India. In his latest appearance on the full European Tour, at the Avantha Masters at the DLF Golf and Country Club in New Delhi, Thorpe Hall
SOUTHEND United skipper Adam Barrett believes avoiding relegation this season would be his biggest ever achievement with Blues. The long-serving Barrett, whose side drew 1-1 at home to fellow strugglers Tranmere Rovers on Saturday, has previously enjoyed
TWO men were attacked by hooded thugs in a house in Billericay. The attackers got into the house in Grey Lady Place, just off Stock Road, Billericay and attacked the victims, then left with several bags and boxes. The victims – both men in their early
A FREE internet cafe has opened on Basildon’s Cray- lands estate. Residents are being given the chance to improve their computer skills thanks to volunteer group, Friends of Craylands, which secured £15,000 funding. The cash will be used to install
MORE than 50 years ago the original slapstick duo Laurel and Hardy stayed in Southend’s Palace Hotel and now the pair have a lasting memorial at the landmark. They performed in the town in August 1952, and stayed at the town’s five-star Pier Hill
A MAN was hit over the head and slashed on the hands during a terrifying knifepoint raid. The victim was in Blackdown flats in North Road, Westcliff when he was confronted by four men. They bashed him over the head before threatening
FUNDING for police community support officers has been slashed by Essex County Council. The council announced it is cutting funding for PCSOs from £250,000 to £100,000 in the 2010/11 budget. Police say the reduction in cash, used to fund and match-fund
COMMUNITY groups can include their outdoor events in a series of Essex celebrations in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics. The county council plans a show for 10,000 people at Hylands Park, Chelmsford, in July 2012. Call 01245 347456 or e-mail belinda.farrell
