A CONSERVATION group has criticised Southend Council for using concrete to repair stone seawalls in Westcliff. Suzi Hawkins, chairman of Conservation Association Westcliff, says long overdue repairs to the walls, steps and slipways to the beach are being
DRIVERS forced to pay fees of more than £400 when their vehicles have been clamped have no right of appeal if they feel they have been treated unfairly. In the last week, the Echo has reported on a mum forced to pay £350 after parking for just a few
AN UNPOPULAR plan to turn a landmark pub into a car wash has been recommended for approval. Developers want permission for the three-year development at the vacant Railway Hotel in High Road, Pitsea. The application will be considered by Basildon Council
A MAN was viciously attacked after being asked for a cigarette - leaving him in hospital needing surgery to repair his face. The 48-year-old man was outside Zabrano restaurant in Leigh Road, Leigh, at around 1am on Saturday, smoking a cigarette
A BRUTAL attack that severely disfigured a man's face has left him needing surgery. The 19-year-old man was in an alleyway by the Knight of Aveley pub in Derry Avenue, South Ockendon, when five men walked up to him and landed a series of punches and
POLICE are hunting a pervert who exposed himself at a woman in Westcliff. The 39-year-old woman was walking in Inverness Avenue on Friday around 8.30am, when the man passed by and dropped his trousers. He then carried on walking towards
SOUTHEND Council has a new, expanded cabinet following a reshuffle. Anna Waite, who has steered the council through controversial transport and planning issues, such as the Priory Crescent road widening, over the last three years, will take over social
TERRIFIED residents have been spreading false rumours of child abductions in south Essex, according to police. Essex Police said it has been inundated with calls from frightened parents, asking about a spate of child abductions rumoured to
LIFE on the ocean waves is home from home for yachtsman John Margarson – or at least it will be for the next 30 days. The 60-year-old from Thorpe Bay is about to embark on a 3,000-mile voyage across the Atlantic Ocean as part of the world famous
A HEADTEACHER has arrived home after spending eight months raising educational standards in the Middle East. Margaret Wilson, of King John School, Thundersley, has been training up future headteachers for two terms in the desert heat of Abu Dhabi. She
THE rebirth of one of Leigh’s most iconic buildings could be in jeopardy after Southend Council hit owners with a “deal-breaking” planning clause. Council chiefs gave the Grand Hotel, in Broadway, permission for a terrace at the front. It will be run
