A CONGREGATION are pruning and preening their gardens in preparation to raise money for their church. Eight keen gardeners will be showing off their work to raise money for St Mary the Virgin church, in High Road, Benfleet. It is the first
WICKFORD Royal British Legion has celebrated 85 years of being there for local veterans. Since 1928 armed forces members, both past and present, have been meeting in a British Legion hall in Runwell Road. The branch opened seven years after
A CONGREGATION is hoping to restore a medieval stained glass window back to its former glory to take pride of place in their church. The colourful window is thought to date as far back as the 12th century and was removed from St Peter’s Church,
AN irate homeowner is more angry with the police than the crooks who tried raid his home after officers failed to show up for more than a week. The man claims police failed to come, despite neighbours calling officers while the criminals were trying
AN Aids charity is set to return to Southend just five months after it left. The Terrence Higgins Trust closed its Southend centre at the end of March after the local NHS Trust cut its funding. But the charity looks set to sign a new contract
A COMPANY has refuted claims its plans to store more hazardous chemicals at its Canvey site would put islanders at risk. Oikos, has applied to Castle Point Council for permission to vary a licence granted in 2011 allowing hazardous substances to
HURDLES pair Gianni Frankis and Hayley McLean both won gold medals for Essex at the UK Intercounties Championships in Bedford. And their efforts helped Essex win the overall title at the championships. Frankis, left, from Pitsea, ran a wind
SOUTHEND AC’s Kerry Holland won the women’s race at the Mel Batty 10km – smashing her own course record in the process. Holland completed the race – set up to honour south Essex running legend Batty, a former world 10-mile record holder – in 38m
A GERMAN lorry driver, who admitted killing an elderly motorist in a horrific crash on the M25, was today jailed for four-and-a-half years. Ronald Moughton, 79, from Ilford, was pronounced dead at the scene of a ten-vehicle pile- up at junction
REBEL south Essex Tories helped stop the UK taking any military action against Syria. Conservative MPs David Amess, for Southend West and John Baron, for Basildon and Billericay all helped vote down the Government’s call to back the possibility
ARMED police stormed a Southend industrial estate. Officers raided the warehouse on the Greyhound Estate off Sutton Road at 11am this morning after reports from nearby residents that they could smell cannabis. When police entered the building
A MIDWIFE will trek a kilometre for every year of her life to honour two premature babies and raise cash for children’s care at Basildon Hospital. To mark her 50th birthday, Lisette Harris is taking part in a 50k sponsored walk, following the Thames
A MUM has been given fresh hope in her battle to help her severely disabled daughter undergo a controversial operation. Alison Thorpe, 51, is prepared to go to court to get permission to allow daughter Katie to have a partial hysterectomy.
THE number of visitors to Southend Pier is up more than a third this year, after the new Royal Pavilion was installed. So far this year, 161,233 people have visited the landmark, which is the longest pleasure pier in the world – almost 42,000 more
THE last two financial years have seen businesses across south Essex fined a total of more than £200,000 for employing illegal immigrant workers. Figures obtained from the Home Office under the Freedom of Information Act show that 21 businesses
YOU’RE always going to get setbacks and defeats in football but it’s how you react to them that matters the most. That’s the situation we currently find ourselves in after suffering a cruel defeat at Chesterfield but it’s up to us to show that
ESSEX MPs have clashed over whether Britain should take action against Syria for the alleged use of chemical weapons. The county’s MPs took part in a debate in Parliament yesterday in response to reports Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime had
SOUTHEND Airport has announced it will be helping to bring the town’s popular airshow back to life. The annual extravaganza is being revived by volunteers Tom Curtis and John Delaney – who are giving up their time to work on the project. The
KEVAN Hurst has been delighted by Southend United’s promising start to the season and is now desperate to help play a part in it continuing. Blues have picked up nine points from the opening 12 on offer so far this term. And, having now recovered
A MAN had to be treated for a bite and possible allergic reaction from a stingray. The victim, in his early twenties, had been cleaning his fish tank when he was bitten by the pet at home in York Road, Southend. He was taken to Southend Hospital
A GROUP of travellers have moved into a superstore car park in Shoebury. Two motor homes are currently parked by a fence at the back of the carpark at Asda, on North Shoebury Road. John Clarke,a builder from Southend, noticed the travellers
A WORKING single mum was visited by a top Labour politician after being told she was better off on benefits. Chelsea Press, 23, from Basildon, received a visit from Labour’s deputy leader Harriet Harman yesterday to highlight the plight facing
HER beautiful, distinctive, bluesy tones have got respected local musicians wanting to work with her, but Debbie Taylor is about as unassuming as you can get about it. She has performed and recorded with several bands over the years, including
TWO dancers from Southend have won titles at the world street dance championships. Ben Fry, 15, and Toni Straughn, 12, competed at the event in Glasgow. They are members of Elusive Dance, in Granger Road, Southend. Lewis Riches, who runs the
A HOME insurance firm, which prides itself on doing “a bit more”, has apologised for letting down customers when their homes flooded on Saturday. Several families in Fairmead, Rayleigh, who had 18 inches of water in their homes, were covered by
MAMMA MIA! A taste of Italy came to the streets of Southend as part of an annual festival. The Royals Shopping Centre hosted the Italian Festival which saw foodand classic cars from the country celebrated. Visitors tasted authentic Italian
FREDDY Eastwood will be targeting his best run of goalscoring form in eight years when Southend United visit Wycombe Wanderers tomorrow. Not since 2005 has the 29-year-old scored in four successive league games. But, having netted in his last
YOU have to be a tough cookie to showcase your baking skills on a nationally televised competition. But that’s exactly what Southend-born Ruby Tandoh, 21, has done in entering the Great British Bake Off. Ruby is the youngest of the 12 competitors
A DISABLED man took his wife to hospital after becoming frustrated with 999 operators, who classified her ailments as non life-threatening. Brian Willoughby, 64, of Stevens Close, Canvey, feared his wife Elizabeth, 65, was having a heart attack
A TEENAGER was airlifted to a London hospital yesterday afternoon after an incident at a home in Thorpe Bay. The boy was taken ill at the house in Fermoy Road at about 3.30pm. Police were called and closed off the road for almost an hour while
A WOMAN in the second year of remission after battling cancer has had her bicycle stolen days before she takes part in a charity ride for a cancer charity. Thieves took Amy Beckett’s purple mountain bike from a lock-up at her workplace, in Victoria
A MAN has been charged with rape after an alleged attack in Westcliff on bank holiday Monday. Charlie Montgomery, 26, of Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff, was arrested on Tuesday afternoon and is accused of raping a woman in the early hours of the
A BASILDON building firm is well and truly made up in Chelsea after winning a prestigious contract. Be Sure Building Maintenance Service, in Paycock Mews, has secured a £190,000 contract to renovate posh apartments in the west London suburb.
THREE heroic school pals risked their own lives to save a man who was drowning in Old Leigh. As onlookers screamed in fear, brave 12-year-old Fin Guest went in to the waters to rescue the man, believed to be in his forties, who had got into difficulty
