THE Mews is well-known to many people as one of Southend’s classier bars. Perhaps, less well known is the fact it also has a great restaurant upstairs. My partner and I went on a Saturday night when the restaurant was packed. I loved the “shabby-chic
MY hair’s got lift Brigitte Bardot would have been proud of and my pale pink lipstick’s perfect. I’ve squeezed myself into a new frock – puffed out, of course, by a frothy petticoat – and my Mary Janes are making my feet want to dance already. To celebrate
EVEN giant man-eating plants need to practice to succeed, and Audrey II, the villainous vegetable hulk at the heart of Little Shop of Horrors, is no exception. An entire weekend is being given over to rehearsing the performance of the character
COMMUTERS on the London Liverpool Street line suffered delays of up to an hour tonight after a lineside fire in the Brentwood area. It is believed the fire, close to Shenfield station, was sparked at around 5.15pm after would-be thieves cut
A CONSERVATION group is appealing for volunteers to help preserve a much-loved ancient woodland. Castle Point Wildlife Group is working to make Hadleigh’s West Wood more accessible for walkers and nature lovers, by improving footpaths, putting up signs
POLICE raided a Westcliff home and seized a haul of suspected class A and B drugs. Officers burst into the house in Albany Avenue in the early hours of Tuesday. The man, a 39-year-old from Westcliff, has been arrested in connection with various
A PAEDOPHILE who lived just yards from a primary school was caught with some 17,500 indecent images of children on his computer. Michael Hawkins, 39, of School Way, Leigh, was jailed for ten months, half of which will be served on licence, after pleading
THE Government's health and safety watchdog has warned it will oppose significant expansion of a Canvey caravan site after finding out people live there all year round. Part of Thorney Bay Park falls into an exclusion zone surrounding the
COPS have made their first arrest using new body-worn cameras. Southend Police's new advanced cycle team used the equipment to catach out a shoplifter who stuck at a store in Eastern Avenue. They had been called out at about 5pm on October 5 to reports
DEVELOPMENT work to transform an empty pub in Shoebury into a collection of houses, flats and a restaurant is finally under way four years after plans were submitted. The Shoeburyness Hotel, in High Street, has remained boarded up for more than six years
A CABBIE who was ticketed while collecting a disabled boy from a bingo hall has had his fine overturned. Roy Smith, 49, who has been a Basildon taxi driver for more than ten years, was called to Gala Bingo, in Southernhay, to pick up a mother
A LOLLIPOP lady is heading into retirement, having helped children cross the road for 20 years. Margaret Colbear has been helping pupils at Holt Farm Infant School, in Rochford, cross Ashingdon Road down the decades. She was surrounded by the current
A HALF-BUILT house described as an “eyesore” faces virtual demolition after the owner carried out extensions without planning permission. Southend Council decided to take enforcement action against the owner of the bungalow, in Springwater Road, Eastwood
NEW multi-storey car parks could be built in Southend town centre. Southend Council is seeking cash from the Government’s Homes and Communities Agency to spearhead plans for the new multimillion-pound car parks. Bosses say the new car parks would replace
A MAN was stabbed outside a church after being set upon by a gang of teenagers. The victim was walking along Long Road, Canvey, when he was approached by about four teenagers near to Our Lady of Canvey Church. They pushed him from behind before running
CAMPAIGNERS have criticised flytippers after clearing dozens of tyres, two motorbikes and piles of rubbish dumped in a river. The River Crouch Conservation Trust spent the day clearing rubbish from a 140-yard stretch of the River Crouch, where it runs
FIT again centre-back Mark Phillips completed 90 minutes for Southend United’s reserves against Ipswich Town yesterday – and then insisted he was ready for a first team recall. The 28-year-old had been out since late August with a hamstring
A MAN has been charged with burglary after he was arrested in Leigh yesterday. Paul Whiting, 35, of no fixed address, was arrested on the A127 yesterday morning. He was also charged with taking a vehicle without the owner's consent,
A NEW drop-in centre for parents with young children has been launched. Cafe Hub, at Christ Church, in Colbert Avenue, Thorpe Bay, runs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 11am until 2pm as a drop-in cafe for parents and carers to relax and chat
IMAGINE opening a bottle of champagne, jumping into a hot tub on the balcony and admiring seven miles of glorious coastline and views of Southend Pier. For someone with up to £650,000, this dream could soon be a reality as 16 plush apartments
A HEADTEACHER has spoken of his pride at the opening of a new £20million building at a Southend school. Simon Carpenter, principal at Futures Community College, spoke as the state-of-the-art upper school complex opened. He said the spacious new building
POLICE probing a brutal attack which left a man unconscious have released CCTV images of a man they want to trace. Officers believe the attack in Southend was so bad a martial arts expert may have been responsible. A 21-year-old man
