TWO of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s proteges will share the stage at the Cliffs Pavilion on Sunday. Southend singer Lee Mead will be welcoming fellow BBC talent show contestant Niamh Perry to join him at the Westcliff theatre. Niamh, who finished fifth in
SEVERAL road closures will be in place on roads into Southend at different times over this weekend. Utility companies are currently carrying out works in advance of the road improvement scheme at Cuckoo Corner which starts at the end of June.
THE Southend & District LTA junior grands prix started its summer season with the first round at Rochford tennis club. Sunday’s action started with the mini tennis green (U10) boys’ and girls’ combined leagues. Rochford’s Ben Ford was drawn against
PROBLEM families who make the lives of their neighbours a misery with antisocial behaviour are the target of a new community programme. Southend Council’s youth offending team joined forces with South Essex Homes to win £230,000 of Government funding
CONTROVERSIAL plans to build 150 homes on former green belt land are set to be voted on by councillors next week. Castle Point Council’s chief development control officer has recommended councillors approve Barratt Homes’ plans for the land north of
WHAT do a construction worker, investment banker and an agency worker have in common? They have all returned to education after a number of years and are looking forward to drastic career changes. South Essex College is celebrating Adult Learners Week
A TALENTED teacher will tonight make his debut as the host of a TV show. Alan Mechem, 28, will present Addicted To Gaming, which highlights the pitfalls of getting hooked on computer games. Mr Mechem’s silver screen career began two years ago when he
Detectives have appealed for information after a man was seriously injured in a street attack in Southend. The 24-year-old man from Canvey suffered a fractured skull and fractured jaw in the incident in London Road which happened at about 4.30am
ROCHFORD crashed out of their second Essex team competition in quick succession on Sunday when they lost their second round Leslie Wood Trophy clash with West Essex. Only the week before Rochford lost in the premier Thornton Cup, but again fell well
A DRUNK-DRIVER who killed a man has been deported – but it took five months for the victim’s family to be told. Njabulo Nyathi, 48, has been sent back to Zimbabwe after serving less than half of a five-year sentence for causing the death of 22-year-old
A BAG of clothes was stolen from outside a woman's house in Leigh. A woman from Southsea Avenue saw the bag taken at 8.40am on Tuesday, May 18. She saw suspects in a white Ford Transit van which was on a Y registration plate remove the bag. The van
A RAPIST has been given an indeterminate prison sentence after he attacked a girl on her way to work. Chishala Bwalya, a 29-year-old student from Norwich Avenue, Southend, appeared at Basildon Crown Court where he was told he must serve a minimum
A PAEDOPHILE who admitted having more than 2,500 indecent images and films of children has been locked up for six months. Michael Noonan, 57, of Fenners Way, Basildon, said he had not been responsible for the downloading, but had found them
THE latest plan to redevelop Shoebury Garrison for housing has been recommended for approval by Southend Council. Plans to build a mix of 97 affordable and private houses on the 11-acre stretch of land at Gunnery Hill have been put forward,
THEATRE students from Shoebury are celebrating a double achievement as they prepare to take to the stage in London's West End. Pupils from the theatre arts department at Shoeburyness High School, Caulfield Road, will be performing at Her Majesty
I would ask Essex County Council why none of the local residents were informed of the proposal for a concrete crusher on Charfleets, Canvey. The wildlife agency was consulted, so was Castle Point Council and Canvey Town Council. None of these
I was struck by the likeness of Liberal leader Nick Clegg to Private Pike from Dad’s Army, but subsequently appalled when he acted like him. He now runs the risk of proving himself and his party a nonentity in the present Government, with the
I was fascinated by the letter from David Beale (May 14) in which he claims the ambience and safety of Shoebury East Beach has been improved since Southend Council forced through a number of so-called improvements. Now the council has turned
Councillor Malcolm Buckley showed his true colours in his response to the discovery of orchids on Basildon Golf Course, (May 13). And council leader Tony Ball must have had a chuckle when he made Mr Buckley cabinet member for the environment.
What a coincidence that the proposal to sell land to the west of Markhams Chase in Lee Chapel North, Basildon, with outline planning approval for 46 homes was advertised a week after local elections. This site encompasses a well-used sports and
While dogs and their behaviour are their owners’ responsibility, the subject is following the anti-smoking direction. Canvey Town Council should be tactful with its way forward so as not to alienate owners or residents. Dogs should be banned
A MAVERICK councillor has rejoined the Tory group on Southend Council after a four-month spell as an independent. Dr Jason Luty, who represents Eastwood ward, had a long-running dispute with the Westborough Residents’ Association and the leader of the
LITTLE Flynn Ellis is defying the doctors who feared he would struggle to walk, let alone run, by tearing around like any other toddler. The youngster, aged just 20 months, has a real appetite for life and takes living with an extremely rare
THIS man is believed to have stolen three bottles of wine from a shop in Canvey High Street. Police have issued CCTV images in an effort to catch a man who walked into Mace and stole £15 of goods on May 3. Anyone with information should
I SAID at the start of the season that we would play our cricket the ‘Essex way’. So when we went into bat needing 330 to win on the final day in the Championship match against Kent, it would have been fair to expect a thrilling run chase with our history
A DOZEN new jobs are being created at a Basildon insurance firm. LV= is advertising for new staff for its claims department, based at Kelting House, in Southernhay. The company employs more that 4,000 people at 28 sites nationwide, and says if it finds
A ROW has broken out over new road safety measures in Langdon Hills. Resident Danny Lovey, 64, insists two mini roundabouts in the High Road have failed to slow down motorists and instead have caused more problems. But John Dornan, county councillor
A CRIME-BUSTING initative has been launched at libraries across Southend. The Library Watch scheme aims to combat crime and antisocial behaviour by keeping staff informed about ongoing problems. They will also provide reassurance by holding regular,
FISHERMEN will find nothing to carp about this freshwater injection. The lake at Northlands Park in Pitsea received more than 600 new carp on Thursday, as part of a programme to boost the number of lakeside catches in the Basildon district
FESTIVAL-goers have hit out at the organisation of a local music event. The SX Festival, held last weekend at Tabors Farm, in Shopland Road, Rochford, attracted 6,000 revellers who could see performances on five stages ranging from folk
SOUTHEND Council is offering its help to any neighbours planning to get involved with this year's Big Lunch event. On Sunday, July 18, the Eden Project wants people across Britain to sit down with their neighbours in streets, parks or playgrounds and
DETECTIVES probing the theft of £3,000 from a woman with Down's Syndrome are hunting her former carer. Dancia Sadzia, 31 formerly of Littlebury Green, Pitsea formerly worked at Rectory Gardens, Pitsea. But police are looking to trace her in connection
TWO rounds of 69 saw Rayleigh based professional Jack Clarke win the Jamesons Essex PGA Open Championship at Frinton Golf Club. This PGA-run event, which was sponsored by Clacton chartered accountants Jamesons, is the most important event in
COLCHESTER United have given manager Aidy Boothroyd permission to talk to Coventry City about the Sky Blues’ vacant manager’s job. U’s chairman Robbie Cowling confirmed a compensation deal had been thrashed out with the Championship club is Boothroyd
A WARNING has been sent out about 'unclaimed prize' letters which are doing the rounds. Southend Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership has been made aware of residents receiving letters claiming they have won a prize and prompting them to send
SOUTHEND United have confirmed a quartet of pre-season friendlies. Blues will visit Blue Square South Thurrock on Saturday July 10 (3pm) before travelling to Canvey Island on Monday July 12 (7pm). A trip to Dartford follows on Friday July 16, and Steve
FROM White Ensign to Wembley. That’s the amazing footballing journey Dagenham and Redbridge striker Paul Benson will be confident of completing when his side visit Morecambe tonight for the second leg of their League Two semi-final play off. Just
ANDY Holloway has taken over the running of Southend Rugby Club’s first team. Holloway, who was the Seasiders’ head coach last season, now has overall responsibilty for the playing side of things following the departure of director of rugby Ben Green
CAMPAIGNERS opposing plans to build a huge prison in Runwell have been given fresh hope. New Tory Justice Secretary Ken Clarke is under pressure to put a freeze on nationwide prison building plans, with the Prison Reform Trust also calling on the Government
THIS is how a 15m-high wind turbine might look if it gets built at a new eco-friendly primary school. Plans for the turbine at the £8million Hinguar Primary School in Gunners Park, Shoebury, have been submitted by Southend Council’s schools
WOMEN are being urged to grab their last chance to enter the Race for Life charity fun run taking place in Southend this weekend. About 3,600 runners have signed up for the race, which is taking place on Sunday in aid of Cancer Research UK, but there
LIVING with the fear that your heart could give out at any moment is something brave Karen Farminer knows all about. Karen, 50, has been coping for more than 22 years with pulmonary hypertension, a condition so rare that only 3 per cent of
TRAIN services are being delayed by around five minutes due to signalling problems. The delays are only affecting c2c services from London Fenchurch Street to Shoebury. The problem is between Barking and Upminster due to signal problems in the Becontree
A MAJOR development of 23 houses and a care home on a derelict site looks set to get the go-ahead. The site in North Road, Westcliff, has been subject to a number of planning applications. Now a revised scheme addressing previous concerns about layout
A YOUNG girl was injured in a collision with a car in Southend. The ten year old was walking across the Tesco Express store car park off Southchurch Road when the incident happened at about 7.45pm on Wednesday. She was taken to Southend
CRUEL thugs have shot and killed two ducks in Southend parks. Police and the RSCPA have condemned those responsible and urged members of the public to come forward with information. In the first incident, last Thursday evening, a duck, which had a
FIRE crews attended a car fire in Southend overnight. Southend firefighters were called to the blaze at 2.05am in Royston Avenue. The fire was quickly extinguished.
AN emergency operator who answered a call from a man trapped in a fierce blaze has received a special award for her calm reassurance. Alison Loades was on duty as an operator for the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service when she answered the 999 call
TENANTS are calling on a housing association to replace dozens of garages to protect cars from vandalism on a troubled estate. Jackie Falconer, 63, from Mellow Purgess, Laindon, said there used to be around 50 secure residents’ garages near her house
CASTLE Point has a new mayor who was quickly summed up as a “top bloke”. David Cross was nominated by fellow Tory, and council deputy leader, Jeffrey Stanley. The annual mayor-making took place in front of a packed public gallery, and full council chamber
