DRIVING to cafe Knead I expected to see the odd cyclist dotted around and I wasn’t disappointed. Riders in varying jersey colours brightened up what was already a sunny day and I pulled into Knead, funnily enough, behind a cyclist. Although
ESSEX has grown as a cycling county in the past two years. Ever since 20,000 people from across the globe came to Hadleigh on Saturday, August 11, 2012, Essex has been imprinted onto the cycling world’s radar. That day saw the Olympic Mountain
A WOMAN sleeping in her bed was attacked by a gang of burglars before they ran off with jewellery worth thousands of pounds. Five men broke into the house in Papenburg Road, Canvey, on Tuesday night at about 10.30pm. They threatened the victim
CAFE Knead at the Blue Egg has built quite a reputation amongst cyclists. Riders from across the county hold the Braintree cafe in high esteem after it was given a professional stamp of approval by some of the biggest names in British cycling,
ESSEX head coach Paul Grayson was thrilled after seeing his side beat Gloucestershire by 10 wickets at Chelmsford. The hosts had looked odds on to secure the Division Two victory going into the final day but were forced to bat for a second time
SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown said he was unwilling to break the bank for John-Joe O’Toole. Midfielder O’Toole has now joined Northampon Town after Brown revealed he was not keen to offer the goal-getter the wages he wanted. “I’m not slagging
A BRAVE schoolgirl had her long locks cut to raise more than £1,600 for charity. Ella Dopson, seven, from Canvey, decided to cut off her hair and donate it to the Little Princess Trust, a charity which provides wigs to youngsters who have lost
WEST HAM coaching legend Tony Carr has been replaced as the club’s academy chief after 40 years of service. Carr, from Stock Road, Billericay, is regarded as one of the country’s most successful ever football coaches, and has been working with
A POLICE helicopter scouring Canvey for a gang of suspected thieves nabbed a man driving with no insurance. Officers were called to Link Road after residents reported a group of suspicious looking people had been spotted in the area. They were
A DALE Farm protestor has been given £15,000 in compensation by Essex Police for how she was treated during the traveller site evictions. Ellen Yianni, 29, from Hounslow, claimed she was assaulted after being wrongly arrested and then held in poor
A MAN and a 16-year-old boy are facing a trial later this year accused of allegedly stabbing a man at his Maldon home. Michael Cooper, 27, and the teenager both denied charges of wounding with intent when they made a brief appearance at Chelmsford
POLICE are hunting a cyclist in connection with a meat theft. Steaks and lamb chops were stolen from Sainsbury’s in Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff at about 12.30pm on May 15. Police have now released a CCTV image of a woman they want to speak to
A FAMILY business is celebrating 50 years of hairdressing in Eastwood. Blood Sweat and Shears, in Rayleigh Road, Eastwood, was opened by current owner Michelle Shelley’s mother in 1964, just two months after Michelle was born. Her mother ran
Stuart Bingham will play world number 37 Mark Joyce in the second round of the Australian Open. Bingham, who famously won the event Down Under in 2012, booked his spot in the next round after cruising to a win over world number 90 Scott Donaldson
A WOMAN is being treated after being rescued from the sea. The Southend RNLI hovercraft rescued a woman, believed to be in her 20s, from the foreshore off Marine Parade at about 12.50pm. Paramedics are treating the woman, who was being carried
SOUTHEND High School for Boys have retained their Southend Schools Borough Athletics Championships for an amazing 32nd year. No one has been able to get close to Southend High since they were last beaten in a borough championships in 1982.
Both Rayleigh and Great Wakering warmed up for the Knock Out Cup Final with wins this week in the Southend Evening Cricket League. Rayleigh had a comfortable win over Canewdon with Carl Lees 40, Rhys Howard 47 and Keith Sharp 34 (not out) taking
A GRIEVING widower has slammed the Essex coroner’s service after it took 14 months to hear why his wife died – even though it was the same outcome as the provisional cause of death. Brian Wallis, of Cedar Close, Southend, feels he should not have
Daryl Impey, who last year became the first African to wear the Tour de France yellow jersey, has failed a drugs test, his team Orica-GreenEdge have announced. Impey was left off the team's squad for this year's Tour, announced on Tuesday, opening
David Millar will take part in the Tour de France Grand Depart, despite missing out on selection to ride, after being snapped up by broadcaster ITV. The 37-year-old Scot was distraught after failing to make Garmin-Sharp's final nine-man squad for
KING John School’s girls were crowned district champions at the Castle Point and Rochford Athletics Championships. The Year 7 girls and senior girls both won their age groups with the Year 8 and Year 9s both finishing runners up. The points were
CYCLING mad youngster Archie Thipthorpe has a bright future ahead of him after success on the BMX track. The five-year-old from Canvey Island helped Team Spitfire to victory in the Hersden Team Championship with three wins and a second place in
SOUTHEND High School for Girls pupils are celebrating plenty of success. The school’s senior girls tennis team of Olivia Sofroniou, Isabella Wolfe, Katie McGarrigle, Jessica Bunting and Joanna Rimmington have reached the final 32 of the National
WESTCLIFF swimmer Amelia Barnetson has national success in her sights after bagging two golds in the regional championships. The 13-year-old Southend High School for Girls pupil struck gold at the eastern finals with top spot in the 100m and 200m
SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown is running the rule over Braintree Town striker Dan Holman. The 24-year-old, inset, bagged 13 goals in the Conference for the Iron last season. And he has now joined the Shrimpers for pre-season training.
CHARITIES and community groups will get the chance to raise funds during the Southend Carnival procession. For the first time, community and not-for-profit groups can collect for themselves at the carnival procession on August 16. Garry Lowen
BILLERICAY driver Euan Johnson has made a fine start to his National easyKart Championship campaign. The 10-year-old has already achieved two podium places, coming second at the Clay Pigeon in Dorset and third at the Three Sisters track in Wigan
ROCHFORD’S Holt Farm Infants School took a team of eight pupils to compete in the Castle Point & Rochford Year 2 mini-tennis tournament. Each youngster played two matches each against Westerings and Thundersley schools, winning 10 of their
NATIONAL Express train operator c2c is putting on almost 5,000 extra seats to help people see the Tour de France sweep through London on Monday, July 7. A total of 17 trains will be doubled in capacity, from the standard length of four carriages
ARSONISTS struck a restaurant in Westcliff. Chairs, an air conditioning unit, rubbish and cooking oil were set alight at the back of Opicado restaurant in London Road on Thursday, June 26. The blaze happened between 2am and 7am. Police
RAYLEIGH’S women’s side lost their first match of the season at the weekend but remain top of the Beaumont Seymour League South Division. Without three of their strike bowlers, the team entertained Woodham Mortimer who scored 113-3. In reply, Rayleigh
A TWO-VEHICLE crash has closed a road. Two people were taken to Southend Hospital for treatment after the crash this morning in Rectory Road, Hockley. It happened at about 8.20am. Police closed the road between Windsor Gardens and Sweyne Avenue
CHURCHGOERS will sleep rough to raise funds to keep children and young people off the streets. Members of Leigh Road Baptist Church will sleep rough with just sleeping bags and cardboard boxes for protection to raise money for Southend YMCA on
TWO men have been cautioned following an attempted break-in at Leigh’s Grand Hotel. Following an appeal in the Echo, two men went to Southend police station and admitted an offence of criminal damage at the Leigh landmark, which is currently undergoing
COWGIRLS and boys are needed to raise money for Basildon Hospital. Mum Lynsey Miller, 33, is holding a wild west themed day in aid of the Polly Parrot appeal for children’s services. It’s after her eight-month-old daughter Emilie spent the
AN 8ft robot is coming back to Basildon next week. Dubbed the biggest entertainer on the planet, Titan the Robot will be at Basildon’s Festival Leisure Park on Friday, July 11. The robot, which has peformed with the likes of Rihanna and JLS
THORPE Hall professional Matt Southgate has qualified for the Open Championship. Southgate won the final round of qualifying at Sunningdale yesterday to secure his spot alongside the stars of golf at the Royal Liverpool course from July 13 to 20
FIFTEEN homes are now available for families under a new scheme which gives people cash incentives to move to a smaller property. Basildon Council launched its downsizing scheme in December last year, offering up to £1,500 to tenants to move into
A LORRY has hit a bridge, delaying trains across south Essex. Greater Anglia passengers have been told to expect cancellations and delays between Southend and Liverpool Street while engineers get to the site, in Shenfield, to look at the damage
A MOBILE home went up in flames in Benfleet. Firefighters were called to Kingsley Park Homes, in First Avenue, at 2.11am today. Crews found the home completely engulfed in flames. They extinguished the flames by 2.55am and made the area
A TEENAGE girl has chopped off 20 inches of her hair for charity. Riley Pergolis-Carpenter, 15, donate her hair to the Little Princess Trust – a charity that makes real hair wigs for children who have lost their hair through chemotherapy. Riley
A MOTORCYLE enthusiast is heartbroken after thieves stole rare bikes from his garden. Robert Young, 43, says he has felt sick ever since crooks stole the two vintage Yamahas from outside his home, in St Luke’s Road, Southend. Mr Young, who
A FORMER Wickford headteacher has been banned from teaching for life. The Education Secretary barred former Castledon School head, Carole Ritchie, from the profession after she admitted five counts of unacceptable professional misconduct at a teaching
ARTIST Jevan Watkins Jones has been taking a different look at plants for his latest exhibition. The show grew out of a residency with Essex University’s School of Biological Sciences, whose research into plant behaviour and state-of-the-art equipment
MUSIC legend Roy Orbison, who died in 1988, still has a worldwide following. Fans will be pleased to know a multimedia tribute show – Roy Orbison and Friends – is on its way to the Palace Theatre, Westcliff. Barry Steele has won acclaim from
A CAR-BUYING company is reviewing its security arrangements after a shocking gunpoint raid on its Southend office. The raid left the woman who manages the Boston Avenue office of the webuyanycar.com chain too scared to return to work. Her ordeal
CASTLE Point residents came out in force to celebrate the men and women who fight for our country. Canvey Town Council organised a fun-filled day of activities to mark Armed Forces Day and thank military personnel, past and present. The celebrations
A GREYHOUND won the race of his life – after his brother donated blood to keep him alive. Dexter, aged six, was close to death after he suffered internal bleeding while undergoing surgery for a suspected muscle tear. His condition of haemophilia
A SHORTLIST of the 50 worst roads in Castle Point could benefit from a share of £20million funding. County Hall has pledged to start repairing the 100 worst main roads in Essex after the Government gave the local authority a £4.4million boost.
A SEA of pink transformed Basildon’s Gloucester Park as thousands of women took on this year’s Race for Life. As well as pulling on their trainers, mums, daughters, sisters and friends put on tutus, feather boas and colourful wigs as they united
