SCRATCH golfer Darren Lee is on red-hot form after winning his second successive medal when he took Rochford Hundred’s division one January Saturday award. He finished with a four under par gross 67 to just see off the challenge from Mark Walden (73-
LEIGH & Westcliff LTA will be holding an extraordinary meeting on Monday night to decide two matters which could have a major impact on the association. The announcement last November that Leigh Tennis Club will officially close on March 31 after owners
FOUR Southend venues face having their licences reviewed after police found evidence of cocaine use. Traces of the Class A drug were found in a series of police searches of pubs and bars. It is believed customers had taken cocaine in toilet
THE top clash in the Premier Division of the Southend and District Table Tennis League saw Legra A victorious over current champions Runnymede A, 7-2. Alex Abbott was unbeaten against a very strong Runnymede side. He was ably supported by John Poysden
A MAJOR waste treatment plant could still be developed on waste ground at Courtauld Road, Basildon, with work starting by summer next year. Essex County Council has confirmed it has scrapped plans approved in 2007 for a huge anaerobic digestor to deal
A CAR park next to a derelict multi-storey in Southend is set to close temporarily, motorists have been warned. The Elmer Approach car park, next to Farringdon multi-storey, is due to shut tomorrow. However, it is expected to reopen when the demolition
ONE LANE was closed on part of the M25 because emergency repairs had to be done after a manhole collapsed. The problem occured on the anti-clockwise section between junctions 30, A13 and Lakeside, and 29, A127. Around 11.45am the Highways
COSTA Coffee has been given the green light to open a new coffee shop in Leigh Broadway. The coffee giants plan to open their doors at an amusement arcade at 37 Leigh Broadway, on the corner of West Street. Members of Southend Council’s development
By what legal finagling of employment legislation are two Basildon firefighters deemed “guilty” of writing letters expressing their fears for the future of the county’s fire service to a member of the Essex Fire Authority (Jan 5)? An employment
Those who have set themselves up as judge and jury and, ultimately, executioners (Jan 3/5) on who has been the “worst” ever Prime Minister in the UK might do well to delay reaching a final conclusion – until the year 2110 perhaps? In a world
I am one of the rogue motorists who park on the pointless, uneven grass verges. With other rogue drivers, we park on the verges to allow more room and easier passage along the humped, tight, one-way systems. The council and police use us motorists
Once again the Echo has proved the value of having a local press, in exposing the actions of a clamping company which has held so many motorists to ransom over such a long time, while councils and those known as motoring organisations have done
Was surprised to read the report on St Luke’s Health Centre (Jan 6). I have used this surgery on a number of occasions and have been thoroughly satisfied with the service I have received. I have found both the doctors and staff to be polite
For a long time, Southend Hospital has been suffering from a chronic shortage of bed space. So much so that at considerable extra cost to hospital funds, some patients who are not fully ready to be discharged, are often transferred under hospital
A MAN was punched to the ground and hit with a piece of wood for refusing to hand over cash. The victim, a man in his 20s, was walking when he was approached by a man on the corner of Haven Road and Long Road in Canvey at 3.20pm on Tuesday, January
BEST known for their impressive beards, cowboy hats, and scorching blues rock, ZZ Top won legions of fans in the Seventies. And here to recreate the classic sound are top tribute act the ZZ Tops, who come all the way from Devon to play Riga this weekend
I’m thinking about buying a second hand car, but I don’t want to get ripped off with a dodgy vehicle. What are my rights? If you are buying a second hand car your rights will depend on where you bought it. If something goes wrong you will usually
Since my divorce three years ago I’ve been on income support and bringing up my two children alone. The youngest is coming up to her seventh birthday and I’ve had a letter telling me I will no longer be able to get income support and will have to look
Once again this Christmas I have over spent on presents. How can I prevent falling into this pattern again next year? Citizens Advice has produced a ‘Top tips for Christmas’ leaflet which outlines some basic rules on avoiding a ‘debt hangover
My 14 year old daughter was accused of stealing a £3 lip-gloss from a high street chemist. She denied the accusation and the police were called, but took no action. We thought that was the end of it, but have now received a letter demanding payment
DRUG dealers and addicts in Westcliff are being targeted by police. Numerous residents have complained about people loitering on the streets buying and selling class A drugs while dumping their needles on the pavements. Police have now launched a crackdown
LEIGH-ON-SEA Sailing Club’s Brass Monkey race on Saturday was won by Michael Iszatt. Nineteen competitors raced around the five lap course, with the slow handicappers completing four laps. Wilsonian SC member Michael Iszatt sailed his RS600 class
AVRAM Grant looks to have been given a stay of execution as West Ham manager after a board meeting at Upton Park ended with him still in place. Speculation has been rife that Grant is on the brink of the sack but he appears to have bought himself time
A FORMER accountant at the centre of a fraud investigation has been blocked by a court from selling his home. Leslie Lesser, 77, of Burlescoombe Road, Thorpe Bay, applied to Basildon Crown Court to lift an order preventing him disposing of his £500,000
A SALESMAN looking to shift a few pounds is trying his hand at every event scheduled for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Boris Wozstock, 33, from Leigh, ticked off his latest must-do sport when he took part in a lung-bursting training session
I WAS disappointed by our defeat to Chesterfield on Saturday but, for the first time this season, I haven’t looked at the DVD recording of the game. Sometimes I think things can play on your mind too much, so I’m looking forward to our next game and
WORK to create around 100 new allotment plots will soon get under way due to huge demand. Preparation work for plots at Victoria Park, in Laindon, is due to begin within the next few weeks as part of a £220,000 revamp of the park, which will also include
SAM Toluwase admits making his senior international debut will be the proudest moment of his career when he takes to the court on Sunday. The Essex Pirates star will be lining up for England against Wales at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.
SOUTHEND United added Coventry City to their list of FA Premier Academy League scalps under the management of Ricky Duncan as they claimed a 3-1 success over the Sky Blues in the Third Round of the FA Youth Cup. Three years ago Blues defeated Derby
ADAM Barrett is convinced his former Southend United team-mate Dougie Freedman can help Crystal Palace climb up the Championship table. And the Benfleet-based centre-back is desperate to also play a prominent part in transforming the Eagles’ fortunes
DETECTIVES are searching for a man in a flat cap following a mass pub brawl. They believe the man may have information about a fight at the Inn on the Green, in Stanford-le-Hope. Six people were arrested in connection with the punch-up which happened
A MAN was battered with a plank of wood after he refused to hand over £5. The victim was at the junction of Haven Road and Long Road, Canvey on Tuesday at 3.20pm when the attack happened. The would-be robber demanded he hand over cash before hitting
A TALENTED teenage swimmer, with no lower left arm, has had a break-through in her fight to get her benefits reinstated. Southend Council has U-turned and reissued Paralympic hopeful Jo-Jo Cranfield, 17, with a blue badge – going against Department for
Trains heading to Southend East, Thorpe Bay and Shoebury this morning have been cancelled following a track-side fire. The curtailed 7.40am and 7.42am services from London Fenchurch Street have been both delayed by up to 11 minutes.
DETECTIVES have been forced to undergo massive changes to the way they work after a countywide shake-up of CID. Previously in each of the county’s divisions, CID – or criminal investigation departments – were broken down by area. But, following an overhaul
BLUNDERING police staff racked up a repair bill of more than £20,000 in the past two years by putting petrol in diesel-powered vehicles. Figures released by Essex Police show employees filled up with the wrong fuel on more than 100 occasions
A police operation designed to drive out sex workers and kerbcrawlers has been hailed a success. Calls to police in the last year about vice girls in the Ambleside Drive area of Southend dramatically dropped. The good news is being put
A SCOUT leader with more than 40 years experience has admitted possessing and making 188,000 pornographic images of children. Stanton Hughes, 63, also admitted further charges of possessing extreme pornographic images, and has been removed
A FORMER teacher who is credited for getting hundreds of young people involved in sport has picked up an MBE from Prince Charles. Carlton Darrell has been teaching badminton to schoolchildren across Thurrock for more than 40 years. The 71-year-old,
TWO years ago Reece Baker and his pal Stuart Mount picked up guitars and decided they were going to learn how to play. Fast forward to 2011 and they’re heading up Basildon band Raquels – and going from strength to strength. They may
FOR his first live performance he sang into a microphone stuck out of a pub toilet window – as he was too young to get in. But it gave Terry Fane, now 68, a taste for the game, and after a career that’s seen him play almost every venue in Southend,
