A QUEEN tribute act is set to appear at the Civic Hall, in Grays. The hall welcomes “Magic – A Kind of Queen” with their new six-piece line-up on Friday, March 27. The tribute concert to Freddie Mercury and Queen will include classic Queen tracks, Bohemian
THE Rev Dr Clive Jackson rides his Harley Davidson into the Palace Theatre on Friday, February 20, to convene a surgery of musical homage to the American classics. Complete with trademark long hair, weird eye makeup and big, swishing flares, Doctor and
TOO Damn Glam teleports into Storm tomorrow night with an intergalactic treat for Southend clubbers. The club is holding a Space Invaders-themed night and has scoured the far reaches of the universe to capture a very special robotic guest, Kryoman, who
GERRY Cross the Mersey sails into the Thameside Theatre, Grays, on Thursday, February 26. A musical journey through the life and times of Sixties singing star Gerry Marsden, he will be talking about his early beginnings in Liverpool, right up to present
THE Overtures swap the bright lights of Las Vegas for Basildon when they bring their Bootleg Sixties show to the Towngate Theatre. Back in the UK following a residency at the Suncoast Showroom in the American gambling capital, they will be sending the
A MAN has walked free from court after being cleared of sexually abusing a schoolgirl more than 20 years ago. Michael Brown, 54, was on trial accused of repeatedly assaulting the girl in his former home, in Harper Way, Rayleigh. The girl, who is now
TWO cars were involved in a rush-hour crash in Southend. It happened in Victoria Avenue near the Blue Boar pub about 5pm on Friday. One of the cars was a black Saab and the crash was in the southbound carriageway.
TWO Vietnamese immigrants were part of a slick operation which netted more than £2million a year from cannabis factories. Phi Van Duong, 43, and Tap Van Duong, 30, were linked to 40 cannabis factories set up and run in houses and warehouses
TRAFFIC was brought to a standstill when an ambulance was called to a heart attack victim. The incident happened in Rectory Grove, Leigh at the crossing with Broadway West this afternoon. It is not known if the patient was in a car or was a pedestrian
A PLANNING application has been submitted for a new youth centre in Shoebury. The £2.9million building would replace the current youth centre in Delaware Road. The application also asks for permission to build a cafe on the site. Southend councillors
LONG-suffering residents who have had a string of power cuts in recent months have been hit once again. Twice this week, 37 residents in Northumberland Avenue, Southend, lost power. They had already endured seven power cuts in four months. Electricity
A RESCUE boat used to save dolphins and seals stranded in the estuary has been stolen by thieves. The inflatable had been stored on a trailer at Leigh Motorboat Club, on Leigh Marsh, when it was dragged away. The £2,000 boat is owned by British Diver
A MAN has been left devastated after burglars stole a £50,000 haul from his home while he slept upstairs. Paul Foster, 34, can’t believe his two prized bikes have gone, including a customised £28,000 Kawasaki ZX10R. To add to his misery
BEN Green feels his Southend side must win eight of their remaining 11 matches to stay up this season, starting with tomorrow’s clash at Wharfedale. The Seasiders have suffered three successive narrow defeats to make it nine league reverses in a row
A LOT been written and said since last Tuesday’s match against Scunthorpe United was called off late in the day. I is with this in mind that I felt it only appropriate that we put across the facts of what happened on the day rather than the
A ROAD on Southend seafront was closed yesterday after a water main burst. It is thought the freezing cold weather caused the cast iron pipe, under Eastern Esplanade, to spring a leak. Waterboard officials and Southend Council agreed the road should
WATERY Lane in Hullbridge was flooded again this morning flowing heavy overnight rain and sleet. There have been no reports of any vehicles trapped in the floodwater. At the end of January four cars were trapped by water up to three feet deep. The
The Echo reported council homes in Southend are set to benefit from £57m funding for repairs and improvements (Jan 29). I am a member of the Cluny Residents Associa-tion. We hold regular meetings at which there are speakers from South Essex Homes where
April Fools Day has arrived early at Southend Council’s offices! It wants to charge a £200 administration fee and £100 per year for shops to have A- boards advertising their premises, and also for seating outside the coffee shops in Southend High Street
BILLERICAY residents must get involved in shaping the future of health services in their town or face losing out. That is the message from MP John Baron ahead of a 12-week public consultation to begin next month. A report compiled by Mr Baron, GPs,
Southend Pier has been allowed by the council to deteriorate to the condition almost of no return just like Brighton’s West Pier that sadly now has lost its will to live. So many entrepreneurs have come forth with rescue packages and the dosh to re-invent
NEARLY 5,000 court summons have been sent to companies which have not paid their business rates. But Southend Council, which is in charge of collecting the rates, says taking firms to court is a last resort. Instead, it says it wants to encourage struggling
A LEIGH policeman is running his last ever London Marathon for a little girl who is battling cancer. The run may be a gruelling 26 miles, but PC Phil Collie has the end in sight because of inspirational children like Olivia Taylor. The two-year-old,
A GRIEVING dad is running the London Marathon in memory of his 25-year-old son who died suddenly just before Christmas from a little-known condition. Grant Rothwell, from Hawkwell, died unexpectedly on December 16 after suffering from uncontrolled epilepsy
BT says it is seeking “substantial damages” after its contract to run computer services for Essex County Council was cancelled. Union chiefs claimed the authority stood to lose millions of pounds after ditching the deal. But County Hall bosses insisted
MORE than 50 children enjoyed a charity fundraiser at Our Lady of Ransom Toddler Group, in London Road, Rayleigh. More than 50 children were involved in the weather-themed Chatterbox Challenge event. The youngsters were raising funds for the I Can charity
THE brother of a man who died from diabetes is hoping to raise awareness of the condition and funding for its research. James Shoobert, 24, of Ayletts, Basildon, will be competing in the London Marathon on April 26 in memory of his brother Adam. He
PENSIONERS and savers in south Essex will be hit hard by British banks’ lowest-ever interest rates. Yesterday, the Bank of England announced it was cutting interest rates to an all-time low of 1 per cent. Older people, who rely on income
WORKERS at Ford Dunton will be offerered voluntary redundancy as the car giant slashes up to 850 jobs across the country. The Dunton research and engineering plant is one of seven sites across the country cutting 350 jobs. A further
THERE are many areas of our game which are working well at the moment but we need to collectively get things together. At the risk of sounding like a broken record we are moving in the right direction but it’s results we need now. Next up for us,
A MAN accused of forcing his way into a woman’s bedroom was cleared after a judge ruled there was not enough evidence to conclude he intended to sexually assault her. Paul Bexley, 46, was alleged to have broken into the woman’s Shoebury home
A FOOTBALL nut is on a charity mission to watch a game at every single Football League ground in the land. Southend United fan Mark Corney, 31, hopes to raise at least £2,000 for charity by catching a match at all 94 League grounds by the end of the
THE inquest into the death of a baby at Great Ormond Street Hospital has been adjourned while police continue to investigate. Poppy Davies was left in a critical condition with severe brain damage after being transferred to the top London hospital for
CUB scouts from across Stanford-le-Hope competed in the annual totem pole competition. The competition had six different bases which all had different challenges for them to complete. Some of these bases included, first aid, who’s who?, leaf and tree
FIREFIGHTERS spent two hours battling a chimney fire in a family home. The blaze started at a house in East Street, Prittlewell, at about 6.30pm on Wednesday. It is believed to have begun from a log burner that caused soot in the chimney to catch alight
STUDENTS from South East Essex College were really on the ball when they applied to famous football team Barcelona for merchandise to help them raise money for charity. The team donated a pennant signed with world-famous names such as Lionel Messi
SOUTHEND has been chosen as one of 12 pilot areas for a scheme aimed at helping the most disadvantaged families. The initiative, which will be formally launched in March, is part of a Government programme run by the Department for Children, Schools and
FIRMS struggling to cope with the recession are to be lent a helping hand through a series of free advice clinics. Companies across Basildon can get advice on how to ride out the storm with the free business health checks, throughout February and early
BLUES boss Steve Tilson knows his team must keep Swindon Town striker Simon Cox quiet at the County Ground tomorrow. But if things had worked out differently the in-form forward could have been lining up for the Shrimpers. Cox has already bagged 18
SOUTHEND air cadets joined more than 400 colleagues from London and the south east in a parade through the capital to celebrate the 68th anniversary of the formation of the Air Training Corps. The band of 1312 Southend Squadron led the parade, marching
A HORSE sanctuary could be under threat from closure due to a combination of severe weather and the recession. The Remus Horse Sanctuary, based at Little Farm, in Buttsbury, near Billericay, has been hit twice by flooding in recent weeks after the nearby
SHOPPERS in the Victoria Shopping Centre had the seaside brought inside when a beach hut appeared in the centre. Art students from South East Essex College were given the task of designing a beach hut for the shopping centre. Each student designed a
THE governing body of St Clere’s School, in Stanford-le-Hope, is planning to establish a charitable trust. The St Clere’s Co-operative Learning Community Trust will establish long-term partnerships with a wide variety of other organisations. These include
MORE residents have criticised plans to introduce a weekly cleaning and gardening charge for people living in council houses. Residents at Evergreen Court, Wickford, have said they should not be asked to pay someone to the jobs they have been doing
SHRIMPERS shot-stopper Steve Mildenhall is seeking a successful return to his hometown club tomorrow. The experienced keeper was born in Swindon and emerged through their ranks to figure for the first team. But such sentiment will count for nothing
THE show Potted Pirates sails into the Palace Theatre, Westcliff, on Wednesday, February 18. Following the success of Potted Potter, CBBC double-act Dan and Jeff return with this new compressed caper. In search of talking parrots and
A BENEFIT cheat who fraudently claimed more than £13,000 while working for BT has been spared jail. Lisa Webb, 25, admitted receiving £13,848 in income support which she was not entitled to. Webb, who is pregnant with her third child, made the false
ONE business could be evicted and three more face massive disruption as part of plans to develop Hadleigh Castle Country Park for the 2012 Olympics. More than 40,000 spectators are expected at the 550-acre stretch of land surrounding the castle grounds
