ROCKS’ recent defeats are down to a lack of mental toughness — but Rookery Hill boss John Coventry says that will not stop him fighting to keep his team in the Ryman Premier Division. Speaking after their painful home 4-1 defeat to Margate on Tuesday
TWO fire crews attended a house fire in Hullbridge this afternoon after an iron was left on too long. Firefighters from Rayleigh Weir station were called to Grasmere Avenue in Hullbridge at 3.03pm this afternoon. Crews extinguished the small
A TALENTED student used her dressmaking skills to design and create a gown for the mayor of Castle Point. Daisy Banks, a 19-year-old student at Seevic College in Runnymede Chase, Thundersley, was chosen to design mayor Maryse Iles’s gown for last
A SELFLESS schoolboy has had his head shaved to raise money for a charity set up in memoryof his best friend, who died after suffering a brain tumour. Alfie Wellington, 12, of Point Road, Canvey was devastated by the death of 11-year-old Danny
SOUTHEND AC’s Paul Whittaker will be running his first marathon in London on Sunday hoping it is the start of a successful career over the distance. The 24-year-old is using Sunday’s race to “dip his toe in the water” of the 26.2-mile distance
BILLERICAY Striders’ David Butler is hoping a new marathon personal best at the sprightly age of 61 will lead him to a gold medal and, possibly, a national record in London on Sunday. Butler admits that marathons are “not really his bag” but he
FALLEN power cables closed Barling Road in Little Wakering for three hours earlier this afternoon. The road was closed shortly before 3pm at its junction with Shopland Road, but reopened before 6pm.
A TALENTED seamstress is pinning her hopes on a future in the fashion industry – despite narrowly missing out on the top spot in a popular BBC competition. Viewers of the Great British Sewing Bee saw Chinelo Bally, 26, from Laindon, beaten to the
CAMPAIGNERS against the Government’s bedroom tax collected hundreds of signatures on a petition calling for the measure to be scrapped. Southend Against the Cuts set up a stall outside Southend’s Odeon and chairman Tim Sneller said there was a
A FORMER Castle Point Labour councillor has been chosen to challenge Tory MP Rebecca Harris at next year’s general election. Joe Cooke, who represented St Georges Ward for a total of 11 years, will take on Mrs Harris, who was elected in 2010 with
BRITISH adventurer Bear Grylls has congratulated three Southend Scouts after they were picked to represent the UK at a jamboree in Japan next year. Twins Holly and Charlie Luckin, 15, from the Colombus Explorer Scout Unit in Shoebury, and Billy
ALMOST 170 teaching staff are on a council list showing there are concerns about their working in schools. They are not barred from working, but schools will be aware of the list of concerns, compiled by Essex County Council. A total of 23
A DRUNKEN thug was fined and ordered to pay compensation after viciously beating a litter picker. Craig Stone, 22, admitted beating 59- year-old Peter Horton around the head outside Varsity, in Chichester Road, Southend, when he appeared before
SOUTHEND United injury doubt Ryan Leonard must start get used to the extra attention coming his way from opposition players, according to his manager Phil Brown. Leonard has not trained this week due to an ankle problem and will face a late fitness
ROCHFORD Hundred complete their London Two North East campaign at home to Enfield Ignatians tomorrow. Third placed Hundred have triumphed in 11 of their last 12 games and will want to keep that fine run of results going against Enfield who are
SOUTHEND centre Chris Vaughan is urging his side to take nothing for granted against bottom of the table Exmouth in National Two South tomorrow. The already relegated Devon outfit have lost 14 of their last 15 games. But Vaughan is adamant
Haven Hospices is one of the best-loved charities in south Essex. Its adult hospice, Fair Havens, in Chalkwell, has cared for more than 25,000 patients since opening in 1983, and its children’s hospice, Little Havens, in Daws Heath Road, Thundersley
A TEENAGER has been hospitalised after a crash this morning. The female, in her late teens, sustained back injuries in the crash on Noak Hill Road, Noak Bridge, which happened just before 8.45am this morning. Fire crews from Basildon and Billericay
SOUTHEND United loanee Jakub Sokolik is targeting a double celebration at the end of the season. The Czech defender is keen to help the Shrimpers clinch promotion. And he is also desperate for his parent club Liverpool to win the Premier League
WESTCLIFF want to clinch promotion from London One North tomorrow, without having to rely on anyone else for a favour. Table-topping Westcliff head to North Walsham knowing victory will clinch them the title and a return to National Three London
A DISABLED woman who was told she would have to pay two council tax bills has been given a landmark reprieve after the Echo intervened. Gillian Avart, 59, moved into temporary accommodation in Brook Drive, Wickford, after her ground floor maisonette
A PREGNANT woman bled to death after two student paramedics waited 40 minutes before taking her to hospital, an inquest heard. An ambulance was called to Trudy Glenister’s home, in Lee Lotts, Great Wakering, after she began vomiting, suffering
A CONTROVERSIAL 7ft seawall will be built across Shoebury Common despite massive opposition from residents. About 100 anti-seawall campaigners packed into the Southend Council chamber and shouted “shame” as councillors approved the £5.18million
MOTORISTS are feared to have been scammed out of thousands of pounds after a cash card cloning machine was found at a busy pay-at-pump petrol station. The scam device was found by an off-duty policewoman at the Tesco Extra filling station in Prince
CAMPAIGNERS are celebrating after plans for a drive-through KFC were unanimously thrown out for the third time. Basildon Council’s planning committee went against the recommendation of officers and refused the scheme for the former Laindon Hotel
A CHRISTMAS Carol, the hi-tech 2013 production of the Dickens classic by Leigh Operatic and Dramatic Society, has received a top local honour. The show was awarded the annual Palace Theatre Trust prize for Best Amateur Production. The decision followed
HULLBRIDGE Sports’ under-15 side take on East Thurrock United in the Eastern Junior Alliance President’s Cup final on Sunday — and they have done it the hard way. The team have reached the final having had to travel away from home in every round
A COUNCILLOR walked out of a meeting, claiming he could no longer sit on a committee that presented “betrayal of primary school pupils” as a success. Ric Morgan left the People Scrutiny Committee held at the Civic Centre on Tuesday night after
DISGRACED Essex cricketer Danish Kaneria has protested his innocence over bribery accusations as he renews attempts to lift his playing ban. The Pakistani spinner openly criticised the England and Wales Cricket Board during an interview with the
THE last words of a woman killed at her Wickford home have been played to a murder trial jury. Tolu Kalejaiye, 44, of Wethersfield Way, tried to phone her boyfriend as she was attacked, but he did not answer and the call went to his voicemail.
A BENFLEET man is facing jail after pleading guilty to downloading thousands of indecent images of children in just nine months. Richard Eastwood, of St Clements Road, was arrested after police discovered the “vast number of images” on his computer
A GP surgery serving thousands of Wickford people is in crisis, with resignations and staff illness making it hard for patients to get an appointment. Some frustrated patients have been ended up waiting more than ten days to see a GP at the Robert
A FACTORY worker who lost her life at Hillsborough loved Liverpool, an inquest has heard. Marian McCabe, 21, of Basildon, followed the club across the country, often travelling from her Essex home to watch them play. Mother Christine McEvoy
