ANGLERS are being urged to stop fishing in part of Canvey lake after a swan was found dead tangled up in fishing line. Distressed residents called Canvey councillor Dave Blackwell after they spotted the dead bird near the Oysterfleet pub. He told the
ATHLETES are set to benefit from a £200,000 track revamp at a popular sports centre. Southend Council has spent the cash on track and field at Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre, Garon Park, in Eastern Avenue, Southend, which was officially re-opened
BASILDON’S Northlands Park road lake is currently fishing very well. Jamie Wall had a 16lb common, Pete Jenkins a 17lb common, Tom Butler a mirror of 20lb and Chris Reed, using mainline cell, landed a 16lb 8oz common. As well as that, Lee Emerson
ESSEX’S Anglican and Catholic church leaders have united in a last-minute call to halt the eviction of 96 traveller families from Dale Farm. Stephen Cottrell, the Church of England Bishop of Chelmsford, and Thomas McMahon, Roman Catholic Bishop
JEAN-PAUL Kalala has completed a free transfer switch to Southend United. The tough tackling 29-year-old impressed when playing as a trialist against both Braintree Town and Ipswich. And manager Paul Sturrock is delighted to have added Kalala's battling
MORE than 2,000 cannabis plants worth hundreds of thousands of pounds have been found by police. Officers were called to the industrial unit in Juliet Way, Aveley by an electricity firm who had concerns about the unit. Police raided
SOUTHEND United have completed the transfers of right-back Ryan Leonard and striker Liam Dickinson. The duo have joined Blues on one year deals. And manager Paul Sturrock is pleased to have brought them to the club. "Ryan is someone I know well and
AN INVESTIGATION has been launched into police contact with a woman prior to her murder. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC)will be looking up into the circumstances which led to the death of Jeanette Goodwin, 47. She
A VICAR has called for Basildon to get its own homelessness centre after revealing churches were having to feed up to 25 rough sleepers around the town. The Rev Esther McCafferty, from St Martin’s Church, in St Martin’s Square, Basildon, said there were
THE London 2012 Olympics are just one year away and the countdown to the sporting event of the century has begun. The venues are almost completed, sports fans have snapped up tickets and organisers are getting ready for the deluge of people who will
THE London 2012 Olympics are just one year away and the countdown to the sporting event of the century has begun. The venues are almost completed, sports fans have snapped up tickets and organisers are getting ready for the deluge of people who will
TRAFFIC regulations for an Oympic test event could cause problems for Leigh’s popular fishing festival. On Sunday, the Hadleigh mountain biking course will host a competition designed to test the travel and security arrangements for the 2012 Games.
ESSEX spinner Tim Phillips admits he’s had a frustrating season in the Championship but says he’s determined to win his place back in the side, starting today against Leicestershire on a turning wicket in Southend. The 30-year-old is the leading wicket
ANGRY motorists claim Southend Council is pricing them out of driving to work after the cost of an annual parking permit rose from £550 to £850. Drivers who held annual parking permits for the now-defunct Farringdon multi-storey, in Elmer Approach, were
SOUTHEND United hope to complete a hat-trick of signings by the end of the week. Blues remain in transfer talks with right-back Ryan Leonard and midfielder Jean-Paul Kalala. And they are now also in discussions with a striker who played
THE world’s best mountain bikers will be watched by a sell out crowd of 5,000 fans at the Hadleigh Farm International on Sunday. A quality line-up has been assembled to test out the course which will also be staging the Olympic Games next summer. And
MODS and Rockers descended on a Benfleet pub to raise cash for charity. The Hoy and Helmet hosted the themed charity event in aid of Canvey’s Indee Rose Trust. Scooter and motorcycle clubs visited and exhibited their vehicles and local bands and musicians
ISLANDERS have pulled together to clear about 60 wheelbarrows of seaweed from Canvey’s most popular beach. Friends of Concord Beach members spent three days clearing the weed from the beach, off Eastern Esplanade. Colin Letchford, the group’s chairman
A Basildon art gallery has stumbled across a number of cobweb-covered paintings which are so good they want to show them off in the new Eastgate Shopping Centre art gallery. But first they need to trace the creators of the works of art, which were found
CRUEL thieves broke into the car of a mourner as she visited a grave at Pitsea crematorium. They stole the woman's handbag as she visited a grave at the cemetery in Church Road, Bowers Gifford on Sunday afternoon. *Full story in Thursday's Echo
COUNCILLORS deferred a decision on plans for a new education centre and shop at Barleylands Farm in Billericay following concerns about too much development at the green belt site. Peter Philpot, owner of the tourist farm, which already includes a craft
A NUTRITIONIST hopes to take the ice cream market by storm with a dairy-free homemade creation. Steve Bessant’s said his new frozen dessert is the country’s only coconut milk-based dessert. It is already selling in nine London stores and three shops
BEING in hospital can be a bewildering time for anyone, but for those suffering dementia or memory loss it can be even more isolating and frightening. But thanks to the efforts of medics and volunteers at Southend Hospital, these vulnerable patients
MATHS marvel and Southend star Rachel Riley has insisted Countdown will continue, despite controversy surrounding the future of the long-running Channel Four series. The word and numbers game show once boasted four million viewers, but figures
A ROW has broken out over where Laindon’s war memorial should go. The memorial, which was put up in the Thirties in High Road, has to be moved due to plans to regenerate Laindon Shopping Centre and the arrival of a Morrisons supermarket. Don Sheppard
SINGING stars and skydivers helped a charity golf day and dinner raise thousands of pounds for Little Havens Children’s Hospice. Essex pop star Olly Murs led the entertainment at the benefit dinner organised by Choice discount stores.
