THE loss of historic buildings which shaped the character of Essex has been lamented by many people. Much of Southend's Victorian heritage was destroyed ruthlessly in the Sixties and Seventies, beginning with the ornate Hotel Victoria at Victoria Circus
A RUSH-hour crash on the London-bound A127 has caused traffic gridlock. The accident happened about 5.30pm near the A130 junction and cars are reported to be queueing for about a mile, all the way back to Rayleigh Weir. Firefighters from Hadleigh and
SIX schools have joined together to issue a blanket ban on pupils bringing mobile phones and mp3 players with them. Sue Murphy, headteacher at Shoeburyness High, one of the schools involved, said lessons had improved "phenomenally" since they barred
JAMES Foster has already achieved a lot in his career - and he's not finished yet. The Essex wicket-keeper has played seven Test matches and 11 One-Day Internationals for England, scored more than 7,000 runs and collected well over 500 dismissals.
BILLERICAY Town is about to go FA Cup crazy. The club is urging the community to get behind the team who, on Saturday, will play the most high-profile game in the club's 127-year history. About 3,000 fans will descend on the Town's New Lodge home ground
TWO Vietnamese men arrested as part of a multi-million pound drugs ring were living in Southend. Around 30 officers from Essex Police smashed the cannabis ring with co-ordinated swoops early on Tuesday morning, at industrial and residential addresses
THE dream is over for an aspiring actor after he was voted off an American reality TV dancing contest last night. Kenny Solomons, 21, of Parkanaur Avenue, Thorpe Bay, said he exceeded his own expectations by making it to week four of the show Dirty Dancing
AN air cadet leader has withdrawn his support for Castle Point's annual fireworks display, after teenage volunteers were subjected to abuse and assaults from the crowd. Flight Lieutenant Nick Watson said his members faced torrents of foul-mouthed abuse
WHILE most of his team-mates are away playing cricket in sunnier climes, Essex wicket-keeper James Foster will spend the winter coaching children. The 27-year-old, who has played seven Test matches and 11 One-Day Internationals for England, has decided
A DRIVER involved in an accident while almost three times over the drink-drive limit has been jailed for three months. Anthony Potter, 24, crashed on September 30. As a result, an elderly woman had to be cut from her car. Southend magistrates heard
A SUPERMARKET worker said he was not part of a violent gang who had stockings pulled over their heads, because he was "God fearing" and "didn't wear stockings". Yesterday, Kingsley Brown, 27, told Basildon Crown Court he had "no idea" how incriminating
AN AIR raid siren, traditional navy rum and original Army uniforms will help transport Basildon veterans back in time. PC Bret Mercer, of Laindon police, has worked on his patch for 17 years and attended every local Remembrance Sunday service since he
A NUMBER of Southend schools have joined forces to ensure mobile phones and MP3 players are banned from school classrooms. What, though, should teachers do if students flout this ban? Perhaps that old punishment, writing out lines, provides the answer
IT may not be big time, but at least it's a symbolic occasion. Southend Airport will once again offer regular scheduled flights to the European mainland. Flywatch's five flights a week service to Le Touquet will offer a speedy Paris connection, and the
THE first scheduled passenger flights from Southend to France in almost 30 years will start operating early next year. Flywatch Air Services will run five flights a week from Southend Airport to Le Touquet in March, 2008. From there, passengers will
SOUTHEND-based Active Soccer and Sport Academy (ASSA), have become the first sponsors of Southend's South East Essex College Football Academy tracksuits. The company has provided the 18-man squad and staff with red tracksuits to travel to their 22
HISTORIC Chalkwell Hall will be given an overhaul by an arts group, despite councillors' worries over two wind turbines planned for the roof. Arts group Metal, which earlier this year took over the Grade II-listed Georgian building, in Chalkwell Park
THE scoreline doesn't look good from the match at Forest on Tuesday but I honestly don't think we deserved to lose 4-1. We started well with Mark Gower scoring a great goal and I thought we controlled the majority of the first half and looked comfortable
High tides for Monday November 12 are at: 0026 and 1244 High tides for Tuesday November 13 are at: 0053 and 1317 High tides for Wednesday November 14 are at: 0126 and 1355 High tides for Thursday November 15 are at: 0204 and 1435 High tides for
ROCHFORD teenager Tim Collett is hell-bent on breaking into the national rankings after making a big impact since arriving at the Sutton Tennis Academy. The 16-year-old upped sticks from Essex and moved to south-west London in September after being
A HUGE screen showing live CCTV footage will be put up in Southend over the festive period in an effort to make revellers feel safe about their surroundings. The projector screen will be set up on Friday and Saturday nights, at a cost of £400 a time,
Properties to Let in South Essex UNITS & OFFICES TO LET Burnt Mills area BASILDON Please call 07947 001167 SOUTHEND room to let, unfurnished, for single person in house share close to town/ BR & Hospital, deps/refs required, no pets/DSS, newly decorated
THE first thing noticeable at Thorpe Hall currently is the excellent condition of the greens and fairways. The ground is a bit soft, which is natural for this time of year, but the course is being much enjoyed by the members. This was particularly
WITH five goals and a whole host of man of the match performances behind him already this season, Southend United midfielder Alan McCor-mack is determined to steer the Shrimpers to promotion. The tough tackler, who has just been given a sponsored car
A £4,000 gate to deter car cruisers from racing on Canvey is set to be installed next week. The lockable gate will go up across Northwick Road, close to Morrisons supermarket and the Willow Cemetery on November 17. Essex Police and Castle Point Council
RICKY Kling has signed a contract to race for Lakeside Hammers next season. The Swedish starlet joined the Hammers in the latter stages of the 2007 campaign following the demise of fellow Elite League club Oxford and made steady progress to become
ALL summer long, it appeared to be only a matter of time before England left-back Nicky Shorey signed for West Ham United. The Reading player looked certain to complete a £5million switch to Upton Park, but the transfer never took place, leaving George
LEGRA A showed they are a force to be reckoned with when they overcame Rawreth B 7-2 in the Premier Division of the Southend and District Table Tennis League. Jamie Willson led the way with a hat-trick which included a tough battle against Eric Green
Rhys Henry bagged two goals in the last two minutes to secure Southend United a 3-1 victory over Croydon Athletic in the first round of the FA Youth Cup at Roots Hall last night. The Shrimpers had seemed set for a shock exit when Harrison Carnegie
SOUTHEND United striker Charlie MacDonald is determined to prove his worth at Football League level in the next few weeks. With top scorer Leon Clarke handed a three match suspension following his red card at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night, MacDonald
HOUSEHOLDERS in Billericay will soon be getting a comprehensive new free town guide through their doors. The fifth annual guide - produced and funded by Billericay Town Council - was officially launched this week at Canon Roche Hall, in Laindon Road,
A POPULAR community hall is set for a £50,000 revamp. Lee Chapel South Community Hall, in Kipcaps, Basildon, will benefit from a number of improvements designed to make it more accessible for disabled people. The refurbishment, due to start this week
BIG Brother winner Brian Belo will appear on screen in his favourite soap later this month. Brian, 20, was offered a part as an extra in Hollyoaks after speaking of his love for the show during his stay in the Channel 4 house. The star struck Basildon
FIREFIGHTERS were called out after an old garden shed caught alight. The fire started in Richmond Avenue, Prittlewell at 9pm on Wednesday.
A VIETNAMESE woman who was caught running a cannabis factory in the loft of her rented flat has walked free from court. Nail technician Ngoc Thi Do, 27, was given a seven-month suspended prison sentence by a judge at Basildon Crown Court. The mother-of-one
A SUPERMARKET owner has spoken of his anger after a thief walked out of a supermarket with a Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal box filled with cash. The crook, who is believed to be in his 40s, dropped money into the box on display in Costcutters in
THE funeral of a schoolboy killed in a horrific holiday car accident will take place today (Thursday). The cortege carrying tragic six-year-old Akshay Singh Patwal, to the service will leave the family home in Cherry Tree Close, Grays, at 2.30pm. It
THE Christmas lights will be switched on in Southend town centre by Cinderella's ugly sisters. Darren Southworth and Paul Burnham, who are playing the parts in the Cliffs pantomime, will switch on the lights at 5pm on Saturday, November 17. Turning
A TEENAGER praised his school for helping him overcome dyslexia with tailored lessons to help him achieve his goals. David Gilson, 16, has benefited from five years of one-to-one tuition at Belfairs High School in Leigh, resulting in improvements in
EYESIGHT is perhaps the most vital of the six senses, yet the biggest risk to our sight as we age is a relatively unheard of complaint. Macular disease is the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 65. Macular degeneration affects over
THIS sunday, millions of us will fall silent to remember those who gave their lives for their country in conflict. Remembrance services this year will be more poignant than ever because of the tragic losses suffered by British forces in the past 12 months
THE last chance to see Southend's weekly free seafront firework display is this Saturday, at 8pm. The displays - organised by the Southend Seafront Illuminations and Business Association - are fired from a barge off Marine Parade, giving good viewing
RAYLEIGH has a new town centre Christmas tree, thanks to the efforts of Rotarians. It has taken six months to agree the right kind of tree with local councils, but now the Atlas cedar is finally in place outside Holy Trinity Church, in the High Street
COUNCILLORS have visited a rundown recreation ground following complaints about the state of its play area. Castle Point Council has received a chorus of disapproval about the condition of Tarpots Recreation Ground, where ageing play equipment has now
THIEVES tricked a woman out of her upmarket Mercedes car, then drove off in it. The woman in her twenties, stopped her silver Mercedes SLK in Brimfield Road, Purfleet, because a wheelie-bin was lying in the road. She got out to move it and a white man
Police are hunting for a man suspected of carrying out burglaries across the south of England and the Midlands, including Essex. Peter Sonny Martin O'Halloran is believed to have targeted Essex, as well as the Cotswolds, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire and
Members of the Grays' 7th Scout Group turned out for an open afternoon marking 100 years of Scouting. The event at Grays United Reform Church, Bradleigh Avenue, was attended by old Scouts, some of whom were members when the Grays group was formed in
The work and achievements of some of Thurrock's finest citizens were celebrated at the Thurrock Civic Awards at Blackshots Civic Hall. More than 400 guests heard of the remarkable achievements, years of dedication and selflessness from the nominees.
STANFORD-LE-HOPE children raised more than £2,000 for the National Society for the Prevention of Child Cruelty after taking part in a variety of sponsored events. Pupils at Arthur Bugler Junior School took part in spelling and times tables tests as well
ALL sorts of abandoned junk and household rubbish was collected in a six-hour cleaning blitz on the Craylands estate. Basildon Council held a rubbish amnesty, where residents had unwanted household clutter taken away. People living on the estate were
VOLUNTEERS are needed to provide life-saving treatment in the vital minutes before an ambulance arrives. First Responders are given full training before they go on call to deal with emergencies in their area. The team uses resuscitation techniques and
A KEEN naturalist has turned his love of bird watching into a burgeoning career in conservation after taking up a post as a wildlife warden. Marc Outten, 35, can often be spotted roaming the RSPB nature reserves in Vange and on Canvey, binoculars at
THERE must be something in the water at St Bernard's in Westcliff. The convent school has produced several high flyers over the years such as Oscar winner Helen Mirren, actress Emma Chambers, who played Alice in the Vicar of Dibley and successful author
