IF YOU can’t get to the Edinburgh Fringe this year, is doesnae matter, because award-winning comedian Richard Sandling is bringing part of it to Southend. The fortnightly Edinburgh preview shows will feature a mixture of new and established
A 30-year-old woman has appeared in court after being charged with two robberies. Katy Holmes, of no fixed address, was arrested on Thursday afternoon and charged yesterday with two counts of robbery. She was charged with robbery and
SOUTHEND has just one cinema where you can still watch a film, but dotted around the town are other, older buildings, some forlorn, some still thriving, that once played a more glamorous role on the high street, back in the heyday of the silver screen
RESIDENTS have reacted with fury to a letter sent by the probation service about the controversial Felmores bail hostel in Basildon. Campaigners posted the letter, from Essex Probation’s chief executive Mary Archer to South Basildon and East Thurrock
A BLUEPRINT setting out radical changes to the county’s police force to help make massive savings, will be unveiled in a matter of weeks. The report, dubbed the Blueprint for the Future of Policing in Essex, will be revealed for the first time in August
Soldiers have been given the Freedom of the Borough in recognition of their extraordinary efforts. Troops from the Royal Anglian Regiment, who have served in Afghanistan, received their awards at a ceremony in the Basildon town centre last
I’M not easily scared, but if I was given the option of swimming with a great white shark or letting a tarantula crawl across my body, I would happily risk my life with Jaws every time. So when I was offered the chance to be cured of my fear of spiders
CRIME on the railways across Essex dropped by more than five per cent in the last year. Between 2010 and 2011, British Transport Police recorded 12,043 offences which happened in and around stations and on railway lines, a 5.3 per cent drop on the 12,716
COUNCILLORS have been told to boycott the official opening of a drug and alcohol addiction support centre because it is operating without proper planning consent. The Open Road centre for drug addicts, alcoholics and their families in Southview
WORK to improve safety on a controversial slip road junction in Basildon has been carried out. White lines have been painted on the A176/A127 junction at Noak Bridge. Additional “give way” signs have recently been added at the end of the slip lane,
A PERSONAL VIEW BY ECHO COLUMNIST JIM WORSDALE: I KNOW Aloke Basu, the GP awaiting sentencing for causing death by dangerous driving over the killing of an elderly pedestrian in Southend last year. I know he was foolish to be behind the wheel
A £300MILLION vision for Southend has been revealed with ten town centre and seafront areas being targeted for redevelopment. The plan includes hundreds of new homes, further pedestranisation of the town centre, expanding Southend High Street
A LIFELINE service for people with disabilities is to open a temporary branch in Southend town centre. The council-run Avro day centre in Avro Road, Southend, helps people with learning difficulties and other disabilities to learn practical
COMMUNITY heroes who gave up their own time to help others have been celebrated at a gala evening. Basildon, Billericay and Wickford Council for Voluntary Service hosted the Volunteers’ Awards Ceremony at Pitsea Leisure Centre, in Northlands Pavements
Essex cricketer Alastair Cook is made an MBE for services to cricket. Cook, 26, is one of England's Ashes-winning cricketers to be honoured. He was player of the series. Gloucester-born Cook, 26, scored 766 runs, the second highest total
