A POPULAR Shoebury ice cream parlour has scooped national honours for the quality of its products. Gelato Italia narrowly missed out on the top spot, but was runner-up in the prestigious 2015 Mobiler of the Year Awards. Organised by the Ice
ESSEX’S contender for the Miss Universe title has been chosen at an event in Rayleigh. Victoria Winterford, 22, from Hornchurch, will go forward to the Miss Universe Great Britain finals in Cardiff, in June. The event was held at the Rayleigh Club
Aveley 1–3 Billericay Town Essex Senior Cup From Mill Field BILLERICAY Town marched into the final of the Essex Senior Cup with a 3-1 win at Thurrock rivals Aveley. In a repeat of the 2011 final, it was Town who booked their final
WITH Essex Police recently reporting Southend was the worst area in the county for accidents involving cyclists, we ask if our roads are safe for cyclists. YES by Martin Terry, Southend's councillor for transport. I BELIEVE Southend is a safe
A SECOND bid to secure funding for a proposed Rayleigh Town Museum has been submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund. Mike Davies, town historian and founder of Rayleigh Through the Looking Glass, saw his initial proposal rejected in December, but
A PETITION to stop funding cuts to Southend grammar schools was signed by more than 1,000 people in 24 hours. The borough’s four grammars face a funding crisis, with Southend High School for Boys struggling to balance the books with a £250,000
Police have released a CCTV picture of a man suspected of stealing a cash box containing a four-figure sum of money in Langdon Hills. The cash box was stolen from a security guard outside the Harvester restaurant, in High Road, on Thursday at about
A PUPIL from a Laindon secondary school won an interschool fairtrade cooking competition. Sophie Humphreys, 14, from the James Hornsby School, beat off competition from pupils from Beauchamps High School, in Wickford, and De La Salle School, in
The search is on to find unsung heroes in the local community. Castle Point Mayor’s Community Awards are all about recognising those who make outstanding contributions to the local community. It could be through helping neighbours, running
LOCAL businesses are invited to the next Southend-on-Sea Business Partnership Briefing. The free event takes place on Thursday, March 5 at the Park Inn Palace hotel. Rob Tinlin, Chief Executive of Southend Council will present the latest council
PUBS and clubs now have a new weapon in the fight to stop under-age drinkers using fake IDs. Rochford-based Q-Systems has developed the new ID scanner which aims to catch out youngsters using a range of forged identity documents. Rayleigh’s
A FORMER priest at an Eastwood church has been found guilty of sexually abusing a teenage boy at a children’s home. Tony McSweeney, 68, dubbed the “fat vicar”, is facing jail after being found guilty of indecent assault and three counts of making
A MAN wanted for breaking into places of worship has been arrested and charged – by an off duty police officer. Carl Weighman, 32, of no fixed abode, was spotted on a park bench in Chalkwell Park on Friday afternoon by PC Chris Daves. He was
DRIVERS are being warned to expect delays today as the A127 will be partially closed due to roadworks. Until 3.30pm today, there will be lanes closed at the Tesco roundabout in Southend. The works are scheduled until the end of March, but
SUCH is the controversial reputation of referee Trevor Kettle that news of him taking charge of a Southend United game is initially met by a series of groans from anyone connected with the Shrimpers. But, delve a bit deeper and it soon becomes
Det Con Leigh Valentine helped saved the life of a man who jumped off a road bridge by holding on to his arm as he dangled over a 30ft drop. Along with two colleagues, he received a police commendation for bravery. Here he tells HELEN BARNETT about
A BUSINESSMAN who blew the whistle on a billion- pound fraud cover up has spoken of the moment he was fired in a new BBC documentary – on TV tonight. Michael Woodford, 54, from Thorpe Bay, was first with Southend-based KeyMed before working his
SOUTHEND United surged back to winning ways with a 2-0 triumph against Carlisle at Roots Hall on Saturday, thanks to the luck of the Irish. Former Republic of Ireland under 21 international Michael Timlin fired the Shrimpers in front with a fantastic
PLAYERS Great feeling getting back to winning ways again with a much needed result. On to the next one, keep believing. @jonnywhite25 Great result and exactly what we needed. Goal of the season from my pal Tims. We must kick on now and
BILLERICAY Town have added six new players ahead of a busy end of season run-in. Town could play as many as 18 games in the next eight weeks, should they make the finals of the Essex Senior Cup and Ryman League Cup, and manager Craig Edwards has
A MUM who had her legs amputated has recovered enough to begin physiotherapy. Tracy Ralph, 34, from Hawkwell, was rushed into hospital on Christmas Eve with pneumonia. She was placed in an induced coma and contracted meningitis and septicaemia
SOUTHEND Council has been awarded the Investors in People (IIP) Gold standard for investing in their staff. The council joins the top 7% of IIP accredited organisations across the UK who demonstrate how they are investing in their staff. Investors
TWO teenage girls had to be winched to safety by a helicopter after being cut off from the tide. Southend Coastguard, Burnham RNLI, Essex Police and the RAF helicopter were launched to search for two 13-year-old girls who had become cut off from
MOURNERS turned out to pay their respects to a war veteran who stormed the beaches of France on D-Day. Norman Bradley, 91, from Southend passed away earlier this month following a short illness. Family, friends and members of the Southend Naval
RESILIENCE crews were called a serious crash on Canvey during a 15 hour strike by Fire Brigade Union members. The two crews were called to Link Road just before 6.30pm following a two vehicle accident. The crews cut a man, in his 70s, and woman
NIGEL Farage was in for a shock when he dropped in for a pint at his favourite south Essex boozer. The larger-than-life Ukip leader popped into the Hoy and Helmet pub, in South Benfleet, to celebrate launching the anti-EU party’s general election
A FINE dining restaurant has rebranded and reopened as an Italian – as its sister restaurant goes up for sale. Leigh fine dining restaurant the Palm Tree was put on sale on Wednesday after two years serving diners in Leigh Road, at the same time
A MAJOR electrical store could close to make way for housing. Plans have been drawn up to demolish Tower Radio, in London Road, Hadleigh, which is part of the Euronics group, and build 14 luxury apartments. There are currently five, threebedroom
A FATHER-of-two who was left with devastating injuries after having acid thrown in his face will appear on Crimewatch tonight to appeal for information. Darren Pidgeon, 27, from Rayleigh, was followed by two people as he drove to Kingsmere, in
A WOMAN with terminal cancer has launched a campaign to get Government funding restored for a drug which gave her months of extra life. Former nurse Linda Johnson says she’s too far gone now for the Government cuts to cancer drug funding to affect
PARKING changes brought into Leigh to boost trade could be having the opposite effect, traders claim. Shopkeepers have told the Echo the two-hour free parking introduced to Leigh Broadway in 2013 has actually stopped customers from parking in peak
IT USED to be a humble pumping station – but now estate agents are hoping to sell this rural building as south Essex's smallest office. For an asking price of £89,000, the 258-sq ft brick-built structure, sits in an acre of land off Fambridge Road
POLICE are warning residents not to leave their car keys lying round at night after a spate of burglaries. Thieves have stolen thousands of pounds of vehicles from houses across Basildon in the past week. Officers are urging people to be vigilant
