THE end of the month is looking exciting on the theatre circuit with the arrival of Andrew Lloyd-Webber's award-winning masterpiece Sunset Boulevard, on its way to the Cliffs Pavilion. Starring Ria Jones as Norma Desmond and Strictly Come Dancing
EAST Thurrock United will have to get past last year's conquerors Chelmsford City if they are to make it back-to-back Essex Senior Cup final appearances. Rocks will host the Clarets - who won last year's final 1-0 - while Billericay Town welcome
‘OtherVoices, Other Rooms’ - the exhibition opening at the Focal Point Gallery next week - has got to be one of the most poignantly fascinating it has held so far. It is dedicated to the beautiful graphite artwork of deceased local man Paul Anthony
A young ballroom dancer from Corringham has excelled in her field and made her way it into an international dancing competition.Rosie Ward, 26, who lives in Fobbing Road, is heading to the prestigious UK ‘Open to the World’ Championships later this month
CROWDS of mourners are expected to turn up to bid farewell to a much-loved and respected local musician and author. The funeral of Bob Hall, known fondly as "Banjo Bob", takes place at Southend Crematorium, Sutton Road on January 19. Bob was
BASILDON United goalkeeper Connor Wheatley is targeting silverware after making a positive impact between the posts. The 22-year-old goalkeeper has been a standout performer for the Bees this term, having kept 12 clean sheets in the Essex Senior
A Southend actor is starring in upcoming film festival Horror-on-Sea – after filming in the UK’s supposedly most haunted village. Roman Wood, who attended Southend’s St Christopher’s and South Essex College in his teens, plays one of the leads
The Chelmsford Winter Beer and Cider Festival is back. It will take place from February 14 to 17 between noon and 11pm every day at King Edward VI Grammar School (KEGS), Broomfield Road, Chelmsford. It will feature 190 different beers, over
Council tax in Southend is being raised by 4.5 per cent - just under £60 extra a year. The council needs to raise £9.7m in 2018/19 and is facing a £4.4million (29 per cent) reduction in funding from the government. By 2020, the council will
There are plans to build 24 more houses in a village. David Dedman, of Southend, has applied to demolish Rosedene Nurseries, in Barrow Hall Road, Barling Magna, and instead build a small estate of houses. The houses, designed by Westcliff-based
AN EXPLORER who has visited almost 150 countries in 20 years discovered Iran is not the country he expected when he took a two week trip there.Vin Harrop, 80, of Rosslyn Road, Billericay, visited five cities in the country with his wife, Gaye, 76, for
RYAN Leonard cannot wait to get started at Sheffield United. The 25-year-old has finally completed a £750,000 switch to the Championship club. And he is excited to be testing himself at a high level. “I’ve been playing in League One and
An effort to stop the high levels of development in Leigh have been panned. Yesterday afternoon, Southend Council’s cabinet committee were met with the concerns of town councillors, Carole Mulroney and Peter Wexham, who called for provisions to
A school has issued out a letter to parents after their pupil was stalked by a man in a van. The girl, Year 7, from Beauchamps School, in Beauchamps Drive, was walking on Hyde Way on her way to school when a van followed her for a short distance
Basildon Council is commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day 2018 by hosting a special exhibition.The exhibition, in Towngate Theatre, is titled ‘No Child’s Play’ and it tells the story of survival as children of the Holocaust struggled to hold onto their
SOUTHEND Hospital has joined forces with a charity to collect food for local homeless people this winter. The hospital has teamed up with homeless charity, Harp, and donated a table full of food, which included staples like canned goods and cereals and
Joggers took part in a landmark run through Hockley Woods. The Hockley parkrun held its 150th event last weekend with teams of runners getting out early in the morning for the 5km course. The run is not a competitive race, it saw runners of
A Rayleigh girl was only five years old when she got behind the camera and filmed handwriting tutorials to help pupils across the UK. Hannah-Jane Kenton, who is now ten, began helping her mum Melanie Harwood film helpful handwriting tips five years
A 77-year-old woman will be volunteering at this year’s Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. Rosemary Head, who lives in Laindon, will be flying to South Korea to support British athletes competing in the paralympic games. After volunteering
SOUTHEND United chairman Ron Martin has vowed to strengthen the Shrimpers squad during the January transfer window. Blues have lost star midfielder Ryan Leonard to Sheffield United after also opting to release striker Nile Ranger. But Martin
SOUTHEND Hospital’s Ladybird Nursery has impressed Ofsted inspectors.“Children are motivated learners who confidently involve adults in their play” is just one of the highlights of the latest ‘good’ Ofsted inspection for the nursery, which was described
SOUTH Woodham Ferrers suffered a 10th defeat in succession, losing 36-5 at Old Haberdashers. The setback kept Woodham bottom of the London North standings. But skipper Warren Duggan felt the final scoreline was not a fair reflection of the
MARK Billings ran riot as table-topping Rochford Hundred extended their 100 per cent record with a convincing 69-0 win against Ipswich. Billings bagged five tries as Rochford moved 10 points clear at the top of the London Two North East standings
WESTCLIFF came back from the Christmas break with a bang - beating Sidcup 47-12. Westcliff had been without a game for three weeks during the festive period. But they resumed their London & SE Premier season on Saturday with a big win which
A man “confessed” his involvement in the robbery which left a man dead, a court has heard. Andrew McVicar, 33, of Dewsgreen, Basildon, is one of two men charged with the manslaughter of 53-year-old Tim Smith which is alleged to have taken place
SOUTHEND Saxons were left ruing a slow start after suffering a 31-25 defeat at Guildford. Southend found themselves 24-0 down inside the opening 22 minutes of the game. And Saxons head coach Josh Ward felt the first half performance was the
Residents fear that a travellers site will become a “graveyard for mobile homes” after two caravans were set alight and dumped. Residents have spoken of their frustrations of the continuing mess and disorder that is happening at the Hovefields
Jonathan Ross has taken to Twitter to share his favourite memories of Southend’s popular Never Never Land, asking his followers what had happened to the display. The famous TV presenter, best known for his BBC One chat show Friday Night with Jonathan
The 5p charge on carrier bags is set to be extended under plans to tackle the "throwaway culture" in a 25-year Environment Plan being published later this week. Corner shops and other retailers with fewer than 250 employees are currently exempted
A MEMBER of staff at a college is doing something active every day in January to raise mental health awareness.Kaia Frazer, student services administrator at South Essex College, is taking part in mental health charity Mind’s Red January.The employee
COMMUNITY and voluntary groups can apply for £2,000 to fund their projects.Basildon Council’s Grants to Organisations fund is open to applications until Friday, January 26.In the last stage the Billericay Community Garden was awarded £2,000 towards its
THREE hospital trusts will today decide whether or not to progress with a merger which they believe will save the NHS £214million and cut emergency admissions.The trust boards of Basildon, Southend and Broomfield Hospitals will consider the benefits of
Two men have been arrested following an armed robbery at a confectionary shop. The suspects, a 27-year-old man from Rayleigh and a 35-year-old man from Basildon, entered M&S Confectioners in London Road, Rayleigh, on Sunday at around 6.10am
A family say they have been left at breaking point after they are still living in a fire-ravaged council house 10 months on. Tanya Stevens, who lives with her husband Brian and son in Mornington Road, Canvey, said she has repeatedly asked Castle
A WIFE and mother has described the terrifying moment masked men fatally injured her husband during an armed raid. Lesley Pighini appeared at Basildon Crown Court yesterday where three men are charged in connection with the death of her husband
The family of a woman who was taken off life support without their consent after contracting sepsis in a hospital ward are looking for answers from the hospital where she died. Valerie Holden, from Grays, went into Basildon Hospital to have a cancerous
COUNCIL officers could have more powers to inspect and check Uber drivers who pick up residents in Southend. At yesterday’s full cabinet meeting, Southend Council agreed a motion to allow officers to make checks on the Uber’s licence and inspect
PLANS are in place to build a block of 18 flats in place of run down industrial buildings at Roots Hall in Southend. A planning application has been submitted to Southend Council to demolish a two-storey former B2-General Industrial building at
A WOMAN suffered serious injuries after she fell from a window of a house in Leigh. Police were called to an address in London Road on Sunday at about 12.30pm following a concerned call about the welfare of the people inside the property. Witnesses
