Archive

BLUE SQUARE SOUTH: Thurrock kept their play-off hopes alive tonight when goals from Kenny Clark, David Bryant and Leon McKenzie saw them to a 3-2 win at Bromley.

CANVEY'S Concord Rangers established themselves as clear favourites to finish runners-up in Ryman One North tonight. They drew 2-2 at one of their main challengers, East Thurrock United. Goal machine Lyle Taylor gave Concord, who now visit third-placed

PUPILS, parents and even grandparents joined in the fun when a Shoebury school celebrated its 50th birthday. Thorpdene Junior School billed the day Thorpefest, and just like at a rock festival, visitors – in this case adults – had to wear wristbands.

GLAMOUR of the Kill will be summoning fans to Chinnery’s on Southend Seafront this Saturday. The metalcore four-piece play the venue as part of a run of gigs to promote their forthcoming debut album, the Summoning. Blending styles as diverse as pop

A TEENAGER has won a karate competition as part of a children’s television show. Jedd Mann, 13, of The Limes, Rayleigh, spent three weeks learning the art in Japan with his dad Paul, 45, as part of the CBBC documentary Hai! Karate – Journey to Japan.

A FREE texting scheme for youngsters is being launched by Rochford District Council next month. The pilot will initially be rolled out to young people aged between 11 and 19 years old and aims to improve residents’ access to services. The council’

ROCHFORD residents can sign up to an online council scheme to remind them to vote in the forthcoming elections. By signing up to Rochford District Council’s Election Alarm Clock, people can get email alerts and information about the upcoming elections

BIN collections in Rochford district will continue as normal over the Easter period. Householders expecting a bin collection on Good Friday or Easter Monday are asked to present their bins for collection as normal. Collections will continue

IN an extremely close race to take the Southend League Premier Division title, Runnymede A need five points from their last match to overtake Rawreth A and B, who are level pegging at the top of the table, to claim the honours. Dave Bowles, Stuart

THERE are few things in life as certain as death, yet it largely remains a taboo subject. Those who suffer bereavements are often left feeling isolated and have have to cope alone. But thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers, those grieving

A BUSINESSMAN wants to get the good times rolling again by creating a vibrant roller skating rink in south Essex. Clive Meech, 40, is eager to see a return to the big hair and disco beats of the Eighties, which were once a common sight at the Roller

A £14MILLION scheme to turn a neglected part of Pitsea town centre into flats and shops has been given the go-ahead. Basildon Council revealed work on the 121 flats and five new stores is set to begin within the next two weeks. Shopkeepers have backed

A McFLURRY of film crews crowded round a Basildon fast food restaurant for a new TV commercial. Lights, cameras and plenty of action could be seen at McDonald’s, at Basildon’s Festival Leisure Park, on Friday. Passing motorists got a portion of surprise

A TOTAL of 64 children from six schools across Southend came together at Chase High School for the gym and cheerleading festival organised and run by competitions manager Tracy Bennett. The whole purpose of the festival was for everyone to try some of

THORPE Bay’s Alleyn Court reigned supreme when 17 teams competed in the Southend primary schools end of season tournament. Teams took part in four leagues with the winners of each playing in the main cup event, the second placed line-ups in the shield

THE A13 had to be closed after a serious crash between two cars. A currently unknown number of people had to be airlifted to hospital with serious injuries following the crash, which happened on the Southend-bound carriageway at Wennington near Rainham

A NEW sanctuary for rare insects and butterflies is set to be created in a Canvey orchard, but there are concerns mature trees will be felled as a result. The haven for invertebrates is being established in two hectares of greenery, between Ormsby Road

A STALKER has been jailed after he became so infatuated with his work colleague he tried to frame her husband for possessing child abuse images. IIkka Karttunnen has been given a four and a half year sentence for harrassment after a pen drive full of

FOREST Glade chairman Derrick Pearson believes the football club attaining the Football Association Develop-ment Status is a major milestone in its bid to provide football for everyone. The Billericay-based club was presented with the award on Saturday

THE number of children in Southend, Rochford and Castle Point who are obese has increased despite a downward trend across the East of England. An NHS East of England Board meeting heard childhood obesity has reduced in both reception year and

WESTCLIFF took control of this game in the first 20 minutes. And this early dominance meant that they reaped the reward and never looked back as they triumphed 30-10 at Stevenage Town. On eight minutes John Sigwart crossed for a try. His effort was

ROCHFORD Hundred boosted their survival hopes with a shock 37-25 over fifth placed Ruislip. Tom Ashton bagged 22 points and Hundred are now locked level on points with relegation rivals Harpenden. Despite the final score-line, the match started off

BOSSES at a plush gym have been urged to “have a heart” after a group of cardio patients say they were treated unfairly. Around 25 members of an exercise group for people who have suffered heart attacks or endured by-passes and transplants, say they

COLLEGE students donned gowns and mortar boards when they became the first to graduate from Seevic with a degree. In total, 19 students from the Thundersley college successfully completed the two-year foundation degree in Early Years which is validated

SOUTHEND United fans have given a cautious welcome to Government plans to give supporters more say over how their clubs are run. As part of their election manifesto, the Labour government is preparing a raft of measures that they think would avoid clubs

A COUNCILLOR fears lives could be put at risk after “confusing” signs were put up at a paddling pool. Signs at the old paddling pool, near the Concord Cafe, on what is known as Concord Beach, read “Labworth Paddling Pools”. Nick Harvey

SOUTHEND Central Museum plays host to an art exhibition with a difference this week. A group of second year mature art students from South Essex College have created a set of installations specifically for exhibition at the venue. The installations,

A LATE drop goal from Morgan Thompson condemned Southend to a cruel 28-27 defeat against Ealing. The Seasiders, who have still to beat a top four side this season, raced into a 21-7 lead against the Londoners. But they were unable to

THE team behind a bid to build a supersonic car will be the guests of the Southend Vulcan Restoration Trust next month. World land speed record holders, Sir Richard Noble and his Bloodhound Super Sonic Car team, aim to break the 1000mph barrier

THE fight to ensure 640 workers facing redundancy at Eon in Rayleigh are treated fairly has been taken on by a Euro MP. Richard Howitt, Labour MEP for the East of England, will meet with staff, managers and union leaders when he visits the company in

ESSEX Pirates are celebrating their first back-to-back wins of the British Basketball League season. The Southend-based side saw off Guildford Heat 93-84 on Saturday. And they then followed that up with a 73-64 triumph at London Capital to leave head

A MAN who built a log cabin could be forced to tear parts of it down, if Southend Council takes action against him. Brian Ayling, 64, built the cabin, with council planning permission, in Ennismore Gardens, Southend, in 2004, and has been living

RELYING on her wit and charisma, Kat Shoob is a well-liked radio personality known for her opinions rather than her looks. And that’s just the way she likes it. One half of a popular radio duo, Kat co-hosts with Rich Clarke on the Big Top 40 Show on

GIANFRANCO Zola has made it clear he intends to stay at West Ham and guide them to Premier League safety. Zola spoke out from his plush family home on Sardinia, where he returned following the 1-0 defeat by Stoke that has left his side on the brink

CANVEY Island clinched promotion with a 40-9 win over Upminster. The Islanders, who have won 16 of their 21 league games this season, are now assured second place and will be playing in London 2NE next season. They came out firing on all cylinders against

CONCORD Rangers face three key games in seven days from tonight that could determine whether they are set to finish the season in Ryman One North runners-up spot. The Thames Road side visit an East Thurrock outside now fourth but trailing them by nine

ANTHONY Grant has set an unwanted club record, scoring more own goals than any previous Blues player. Grant’s scored past his own goalkeeper Steve Mildenhall at Bristol Rovers on Saturday and has now netted four own goals. He also scored for Bristol

NEW Billericay Town boss John Mifsud faces a baptism of fire tonight when he leads the New Lodge side into Ryman Premier Division action for the first time. For Mifsud starts his first team managerial life with a home game against a play-off-chasing

SOUTHEND United have insisted that David Webb is still working for the club. Webb came back to Roots Hall for the fifth time at the start of the month to take over from Paul Brush as assistant manager. But the former Chelsea defender

PLANS have been submitted to turn a Hockley office into a new dental surgery. Dr Esmail Harunani, of Harunani and Co, has applied to turn Montrose House, in Southend Road, into Rochford district’s latest practice. Many of the town’s residents, and some

BOMB disposal teams have this morning detonated old shells discovered off the seafront at Chalkwell. The ordnance was detonated in an area around the Crow Stone at around 8am this morning, Tuesday, March 30.

A 68-year-old woman was given first aid after inhaling smoke when the bedroom of her Shoebury home caught fire. The fire broke out at around 8.36pm last night, Monday, March 29, at a house in Admiral's Walk, and crews from Shoebury and Rayleigh

A GROUP formed to promote Basildon’s public art is gathering support. More than 50 people have joined Basildon Arts Collective. Last week, it met to appoint a chairman and secretary, choose an official logo, and announce the launch of

TWO community groups are celebrating after they each won a share of a £100,000 grant. A sustainable arts centre and a community hall were set to go head to head for the cash bonanza, but Essex County Council was forced to abandon the vote after Thundersley

POLICE are investigating after a house in Basildon was petrol bombed. Firefighters were called to the house in Hollands Walk, Basildon, at 5.40pm yesterday after fire broke out. When the crews arrived the fire was already out.

A MAN and two teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of stabbing a man and carrying out a series of armed street robberies which started in Basildon. The trio aged 24, 18 and 16, who are all from Colchester, were quizzed by detectives at

A £14MILLION scheme to turn a neglected part of Pitsea town centre into flats and shops has been given the go-ahead. Basildon Council revealed work on the 121 flats and five new stores is set to begin within the next two weeks. Shopkeepers have backed

AN off-duty policeman who saved the life of a little boy at Colchester Zoo has been awarded one of the country’s highest life-saving honours. Darren Warner, 33, from Wickford, is to be given a Royal Humane Society Certificate of commendation after giving