POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a teenage motorist was sprayed in the face with a mystery substance by three men. The lad was attacked by the trio after pulling over at the junction of Thundersley Park Road and Clarence Road, Benfleet
A PLANNED power cut to allow an upgrade to Southend hospital’s electrical services will put lifts, phones and lights temporarily out of action this Sunday. The work will be carried out between 7am and 7pm, with a total power shut-down for some areas
CYCLISTS have been assured that funding for current bike schemes in Southend is safe despite the demise of the awarding body. Following the abolition of Cycling England, the Department of Transport has confirmed that all funding agrees until
DESPITE being 91, a Leigh great-grandfather is still hitting the high notes after almost 40 years with his choir. Charles Benford is the longest-serving member of Leigh Orpheus Male Voice Choir and isn’t slowing down as he prepares for the group’s next
A STALWART of the Basildon sporting scene, Arthur Malcolm Burch, died on Tuesday October 10 after a long illness. The 87-year-old retired teacher was a mainstay of Basildon’s Cricket and Golf Clubs, but his sporting interests also included football,
A GIANT lorry shelter has been put up without checking whether it needed planning permission on land owned by a senior Tory councillor. Highway Haulage erected the shelter, which is 20ft tall and 40ft wide, two months ago. It stands on a industrial
A COUNCIL awards evening is being boycotted by an opposition councillor because he says it is inappropriate during the economic gloom. The £20,000 Stars Awards Ceremony, at Garon Park, takes place on Friday and celebrates achievements by council staff
A MAN arrested on suspicion of trying to kidnap schoolgirls has had his bail extended. Police began investigating the 22-year-old after approaches were made to young girls in Benfleet and Canvey. There were seven separate incidents reported in March
A BREAKFAST cereal turned a family’s stomach when it was found to contain beetles and larvae. The Simpson family were about to tuck into their morning meal when they noticed the bugs. Dad Craig, 28, made the Asda Ready Oats cereal for his three-year-old
A MAN has been charged with committing grevious bodily harm outside a Benfleet takeaway. It follows a punch-up which happened outside KFC, at Tarpots, in August. The victim was left with serious facial injuries. Police arrested later arrested a 29-
AN animal charity which has saved the lives of countless creatures, could be forced to close after 30 years. The Rescuers Wildlife Sanctuary in Benfleet has been told to stop taking in poorly animals, pending the outcome of an investigation by the RSPCA
With the approaching onset of the six-month trade fair, known as Christmas, some of us will be looking forward to the traditional works party where the usual merrymaking will follow and where some expected red faces and eyes lay claim to the
W H Diment once again exhibits a frightening lack of understanding, let alone loyalty, when writing about the Islamic issue (Oct 6). The deaths of more than 3,000 innocents in American, London and Madrid at the hands of terrorists were horrific
I took my dog for a walk along Southend seafront and was incensed by cyclists still riding on the pavement. What is wrong with these people? Their excuse used to be it was dangerous to ride on the road, but now they have a cycle lane and are
I could not agree more with Lib Dem leader Graham Longley on the need to restore Southend Council to the old committee system of governing the town. If all decisions are made by the nine cabinet members what is the point of having the other
The article about the Focus, in Southend (Oct 6), bought back so many memories of when I used to go there almost every night in the early 70s when my sisters and I were teenagers. It was called Southend Youth Centre in those days. I have very
The new swimming pool at Garons Sports Centre, Southend, does not have steps into the pool as the pool at Warriors does. Without any steps, it will be difficult for the elderly, disabled and overweight to use the pool. A lot of our money has
Thanks to Jim Worsdale for his excellent article on the tragically burned piers at Hastings and Southend (Oct 8). As a man who truly cares for our town, its history and future, Jim is right to keep the state of our great landmark in the public
SKIPP wishes to add its collective voice to Graham Longley’s call (Oct 6) to return Southend Council to a committee system of governance. The current cabinet system concentrates too much power in too few hands, with just nine councillors making
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt calls upon the jobless to take responsibility for their families and the number of children they have. At last, a minister has spoken up for the silent majority of taxpayers who are fed up with scroungers who abuse
A tractor shed its load of hay causing traffic chaos. The accident happened on the High Road, near to Tesco, at Pitsea at around 12.50pm on Thursday. The tractor's trailer shed its loads of hay over the road, causing queues as emergency services dealt
In the story about the proposed cycle route for Thorpe Hall Avenue, Southchurch Boulevard and Barnstable Road, in Southend (Oct 1), it was stated residents along the roads affected have been notified by the council in the consultation process
As far as I am aware, static speed cameras should be visible to motorists who approach them. Approaching Wickford town centre on London Road, there is a camera which was vandalised. The camera has been replaced and the hedge around it trimmed
Chemotherapy can be trying at times, but recent events have proved to me that having to deal with customer call centres can be equally exhausting. Thanks to my present weakened state I succumbed to a smart phone salesman with a South African
While driving through Billericay in early March, my car’s front wheel and tyre were totally mangled by a pothole. I put in a claim for £120 worth of damage and have just received a letter from Essex Claims Handlers, which tells me they have
I wonder what planet Basildon Council leader Tony Ball (Oct 5) comes from to assume senior citizens are better off than low income earners when contemplating charging them over 20 per cent more to use the sporting village swimming pool? I agree
Victor York (Sept 30) seems to confuse the Regional Assembly and the Regional Development Agency, which controlled many million pounds of funding around the region. The Regional Assembly and its panels, on which I served for 11 years, was abolished
It’s not an option to return to the committee system says Southend Council leader Nigel Holdcroft. It’s not an option until he and his cabinet know details of the proposal and can then make a sensible and rational decision to refute it and carry
A MAN has been convicted of attempted rape after he attacked a woman in her own home. Darcey Haynes, 42, went to the Southend home of the victim where he punched her in the head and ripped her clothes off. He sexually assaulted the woman prompting
AFTER spells in Australia, America and Belgium, Essex Pirates new boy Adrien Sturt has opted to follow in his father’s foot-steps by settling in Southend. The Adelaide born 24-year-old, who stands at 6 ‘10’’ inches tall, has been snapped up coach Tim
HARRY Crawford is loving being back in the plans of manager Paul Sturrock at Southend United. The 18-year-old striker was sent out on loan to Blue Square South Dover Athletic at the start of the season after falling down the pecking order at
FAMILY, friends and football lovers took part in a tribute football tournament in memory of a man who died of a heart attack on a Greek island. Stephen Oliver, 30, was enjoying a night out with friends in Corfu, when he collapsed in October 2009. He
A CAT has been left with damage to her skull after she was shot with an airgun. Sick yobs fired at Sasha, an 11-year-old Persian, as she was taking her morning stroll. The first her owner Rose Day, 88, knew of the injuries was later that day when the
A MUCH-LOVED chairman of school governors was given an emotional farewell by staff and pupils when she retired after 26 years. Maureen Whitham, 75, joined the board of Bromfords School in Wickford as a parent governor in 1984, while her son was a pupil
A BUSINESS is rising again after it was forced to make way for the multi-million pound Sadlers Farm bypass. The bulldozers are set to move in on the original Sadlers Farm Feeds site, which was compulsory purchased by Essex County Council as part of the
BILLERICAY MP John Baron has called on the Government to ensure two aging secondary schools get much-needed cash to improve and expand, despite the money promised to them being pulled. Renovation plans for Billericay School and Mayflower High, both
SOUTHEND schools could miss out because of the growth of academies, opposition councillors fear. Academies are schools which are free from council control. This means they can set pay and conditions for staff and decide how they teach and the lengths
CAMPAIGNERS have accused a developer of flouting environmental rules by starting work on the £1million revamp of Basildon Golf Course. Diggers and trucks moved on to the course, off Clayhill Road, yesterday morning, and started digging up part of the
MORE THAN 220 staff at NHS South West Essex are set to lose their jobs over the next three months as part of drastic cash-saving cuts. The redundancies are the latest to be announced by the troubled primary care trust, which less than two weeks
HE may have “retired” from his competitive days in the water, but swimming ace Mark Foster is certainly not resting on his laurels. The five-times Olympian, 40, who is currently commentating on the Commonwealth Games for the BBC, said he finds it hard
A BURST gas pipe closed a main road for two hours, causing major delays for motorists. Police were called to reports of a gas leak in Runwell Road, Wickford, at about 8am yesterday. They called out engineers from National Grid, who advised police to
