A FLASH new Indian restaurant can now be found tucked behind Rochford Square. I was immediately impressed when the doors of Regency Spice were opened for us to reveal a tastefully decorated room with white leather booths and chairs, crisp linen
FOLK lovers may have to wait until the end of June for their total Leigh Folk festival fix, but this year the organisers have cooked up something special to whet appetites. This bank holiday sees celebrated folk group the Unthanks take to the stage for
IT smells a bit like teen spirit at Chinnery’s this week, thanks to Nirvana tribute band Nervana. Boston-born drummer Steve Kilroy and bassist Dave Eve had both been a part of Australian Nirvana for the better part of the past five years. They toured
FIREFIGHTERS were called to the Ford Research Centre tonight after a prototype vehicle suffered an engine fire while under test. Crews from Basildon and Brentwood were called to the centre, in Dunton, Laindon, at around 6.20pm after reports the experimental
A YOUNG brainbox has wowed TV viewers by winning eight editions of Countdown in a row. Danny Pledger, from Southend, has made it through to the quarter-finals of the popular Channel 4 show, which features glamorous co-host, Rachel Riley, from Southend
A GROUP of sailors is set to recreate the heroic journey of the Leigh fishermen who risked their lives to rescue Allied troops from the beaches of Dunkirk during the Second World War. Between May 26 and June 4, 1940, almost 900 ships crossed
A HOUSING plan to complete the redevelopment of Shoebury Garrison has been rejected by councillors because the quality of the design was considered too “ordinary”. The development of 97 houses, including 10 affordable homes, on the 11-acre stretch of
A MAJOR development of 23 houses and a care home on a derelict site has been given the go-ahead. The scheme is for 23 houses and a three-storey care home with 78 bedrooms and private balconies at the former Borough Plating site in North Road
LEE Mead kicked off his solo tour in his home town on Sunday night to a packed Cliffs Pavilion. The 29-year-old, who found fame on BBC’s Any Dream Will Do and went on to a successful run as the lead in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, is
A MAN who built a glass elevator outside his home without permission is battling against a council order for him to take it down. Ian Garlick, of Rampart Terrace, Shoebury, has been told by Southend Council’s planning department to remove the lift shaft
VISITORS to Southend Airshow are being encouraged to take the train to ease the burden on congested roads. Tens of thousands of people will descend on Southend this Bank Holiday weekend to enjoy the annual Air Festival on Sunday May 30 and Monday May
POWER has been restored to a set of traffic lights which stopped working in Westcliff. The lights, at the junction of Chalkwell Avenue, The Ridgeway and Crosby Road in Westcliff stopped working shortly before 5pm this evening. Southend Council
A TWO-VEHICLE crash has closed a Hullbridge Road. Watery Lane is closed at the junction with Beeches Road following the crash. Emergency services are on the scene now and drivers are being advised to avoid the area. MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW
A GIANT TV screen will be installed on the roof of Southend’s Kursaal building, after councillors gave it the go-ahead. Going against the recommendations of officers to reject it, members of Southend Council’s development control committee
A Leigh house that became embroiled in a dispute over land has been sold at auction for £170,000. It was 1999 when Milica Markos first took her then neighbour Alan Goodfellow to court over a boundary dispute. At the time, the judge ruled he had wrongly
RAYLEIGH first XI enjoyed a five-wicket victory over Division One leaders Chignall. The defeat, combined with Writtle’s three-wicket win over Ingatestone, meant Chignall dropped to second, while Rayleigh are in third spot. Chignal, elected to bat first
THE owners of a golf and country club fear they have been the victims of a hate campaign as fraudulent letters were sent to other businesses saying they had gone into administration. Lords Golf and Country Club, in Rayleigh, found out about the scam
BASILDON Angling Centre will be running a series of six individual open matches to be held at Northlands Park lake, starting on Wednesday, June 2. The draw for each Wednesday evening match will take place at 5pm by the concrete slope on the cafe lake
A HANDYAVAN scheme is looking for more elderly people to take advantage of their free service. The Age UK HandyVan is a unique home security service where trained HandyVan fitters visit the homes of the over 60s. They carry out home safety checks
Castle Point's ageing Waterside Farm Leisure Centre could be replaced by a multi-million-pound facility thanks to an offer by a leading construction firm. Swedish builders Skanska have put forward plans for a new sports centre at the Canvey
IT has been mixed week at Rochford’s Doggetts with the hot weather producing quite a few carp on floating baits from most parts of the lake. The float fishermen are enjoying good sport despite the bright conditions although large shoals of bream are
A DOUBLE decker bus smashed into a lampost in Westcliff last night. Police had to tape off Eastwood Boulevard following the accident, which happened at about 4pm. No one was injured and the road was re-opened by 5.15pm. Did you see the crash? Call
HAWKWELL Athletic and Southend Manor tasted cup final success in the Essex County Girls Football League Cup finals. Athletic’s Claret & Blues triumphed in the under 11 showdown, with Manor prevailing in the under 15 final. But there was no joy for Southend
TRAVELLERS facing eviction from Dale Farm in Crays Hill have launched an international bulletin to raise awareness about their campaign to stay at the site. The quarterly document has been published for the 86 families hoping to stay at the
CRICKET in Southend has received a huge financial boost. The Cory Environmental Trust in Southend-on-Sea has agreed in principle to grant £75,000 towards a new project to expand activities at the Garon Park Centre of Excellence for Cricket, which hosts
A SALON is sending hair clippings to America to help soak up a huge oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico. Blonde Dye Bleach, in Woodgrange Drive, Southend, plans to send its first batch next week. It will be used to try to soak up the massive
WEST Ham co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold have increased their stake in the Premier League club to 60 per cent. Sullivan and Gold, who previously owned Birmingham, bought the Hammers from financially-stricken Icelandic group CB Holdings in January
YOBS hurled a bottle at a moving bus. The number 25, owned by First, was travelling along Whitmore Way, Basildon, when the hooligans struck. The bottle shattered a back window, causing £100 of damage. Laura Anderson, spokewoman
FRANCK Moussa could be on his way out of Southend United. The Belgian midfielder has yet to agree a new contract with Blues. And manager Steve Tilson feels that could be because he is looking to leave. “Franck is away at the moment but he hasn’t
ESSEX bowlers ensured they held a commanding advantage over Lancashire after two days of their LV= County Championship First Division match at Old Trafford. The Red Rose county’s batting order has rarely looked steady and they struggled as five of the
SOUTHEND United manager Steve Tilson is not sure Simon Francis will be keen to join Brentford. As revealed in yesterday’s Echo, the Bees have had an offer of around £150,000 accepted for the Blues right-back. But Tilson was keen to stress it was far
SCORCHING temperatures have arrived along with the announcement of a whole host of fun outdoor family events across Castle Point. For thrill seekers, youth-group Legacy XS will be hosting its BMX Jam on Sunday, June 13, at its skate park in Richmond
HIS personal journey to become the UK’s Eurovision hopeful was played out in front of millions of TV viewers. But Laindon lad Josh Dubovie has just endured an even more gruelling trip – a 42-hour slog from England to Norway ahead of this weekend
THOUSANDS of families and businesses were left in the dark during a three-hour power cut on the seafront. Problems with an underground cable cut the supply to more than 2,500 homes in the Alexandra Road area and along Southend seafront.
I went to the RSPB land of Canvey West Marsh on Saturday and was impressed with what I saw. It was a poignant moment, as I knew I was walking on the land where, in the late Seventies, the people of Canvey planted thousands of white wooden crosses
Defence Secretary Liam Fox is under fire for saying British forces should not be fighting to educate a broken 13th century nation like Afghanistan. Surely he is correct, as the only reason British troops should be deployed and die on foreign
Has Southend Council gone loco in the mini heatwave? I’m referring to the double yellow line madness to hit Shoebury. Someone needs to remind the council the idea is not to cause more parking problems, but to ease them. Where are we supposed
Victor York asked why Basildon Council could find £175,000 to invest in Lake Meadows, Billericay, yet no investment for Victoria Park in Laindon (May 17). He also suggested the council “misappropriated” section 106 money from developers into
I went to a demonstration in London on Saturday organised by Take Back Parliament, a non-political group concerned that the majority of people’s votes mean nothing when a government is formed. The demonstration was addressed by young first time
THIEVES stripped copper from a railway line causing a fire. At about 3am this morning firefighters were called to the railway lines near Hambro Hill in Rayleigh after reports of a fire. On arrival at the scene the crews reported that
BASILDON Council has prevented more than £500,000 of benefit fraud in the past year. The council has caught 53 benefit cheats, saving the taxpayer enough to pay 36 street sweepers or 27 bin men for a year. Phil Turner, councillor responsible for resources
A DRUNK driver who drove off after hitting in to a car with a heavily pregnant passenger has avoided a prison sentence. Jeffery Luxton, 62, was more than twice the drink-drive limit when he got behind the wheel of his car after leaving the
A PATIENT sectioned under the Mental Health Act walked out of Basildon Hospital’s secure unit, went shopping in the town centre, then caught a bus home. South Essex Partnership NHS Trust, which runs the unit, is now investigating how the 50-year-old
FIRE crews were called to Wickford after a shed fire spread to two homes. Crews began fighting the blaze, in Wick Lane, shortly before 3pm on Tuesday. Both homes were 100 per cent alight. It was believed that acetylene cylinders
