Archive
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Mistley: Council sued over beer bill
A High Court writ demanding repayment of money said to be owed by a former sports and social club has been served on a parish council. Brewer Carlsberg Tetley is demanding the payment of bills by Mistley Parish Council, mainly for beer supplied to the
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Colchester: Appeal target reached
We've done it! The Eye Scan Appeal supported by This Is Essex partner paper the Gazette has reached its £15,000 target to buy a vital piece of equipment for Essex County Hospital. Within just two months of launching its appeal the Colchester League of
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Clacton: Old school site set to be developed
Controversial plans to develop the site of a former infants school in Clacton have been given the all-clear by a government inspector. Essex County Council applied for planning permission to build homes on St Osyth Road Infants School which has been closed
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Billericay and Wickford fight for freedom
Democracy for Wickford and Billericay residents looks set to hit the political agenda this summer. Councillors for the two towns have asked for the problem of Basildon Council overturning their decisions to be urgently addressed. Frustrated members recently
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Soccer: Fairfax and Beech are treble kings
Southend's's Fairfax Rangers and crack Basildon outfit Beech United are the Southend Junior League treble kings. Having triumphed in their respective Premier Divisions and East Anglian Cups this season, both were searching for their third major honour
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Golf: Medal winners
The Forrester Park Golf Club ladies section played a Texas Scramble when the winners were Chris Myers, Doreen Mortlock, Eileen Bolton with a net 64.34 while the runners-up were Maggie Lintner, Anne Hamilton, Doris Bays (net 65.8). On Tuesday, the ladies
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Cricket: Sainsbury bowls tight last over to see Rayne to victory
Rayne visited old rivals Hullbridge on Saturday, and looking to carry on their good form from the previous week. Rayne batted first and after the loss of Dawson, Mick Richardson and Mark Sainsbury dominated the Hullbridge attack. They took Rayne to 147
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Cricket: King of the Castle
Rayne lost out to Hedingham in a high scoring match on Sunday, with six players scoring over 40. For Rayne, Dave Dawson (63) and Mick Richardson (93) shared 167 for the first wicket, and Ian Clark chipped in with an unbeaten 45 as Rayne set a challenging
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Bowls: Charity tournament is heralded a major success
Saturday April 24 saw the Hunters Carpet Bowls Club hold their annual charity tournament, and this year's charity was The Essex Air Ambulance Service. 75 teams took part playing on 15 rinks. The first round was played on a round robin basis, the 15 winners
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Basildon: Hot footing around Gloucester Park
Runners will be hot footing it around Gloucester Park, Basildon, next month to raise cash for the valuable work of Victim Support. The run, which works out at a strenuous 5km or 3.1 miles, will start at the athletics track of the Basildon Council-owned
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Braintree girl 14, swims Channel for charity
Fourteen-year-old Braintree swimmer Ruth Fay is to take part in a cross-Channel marathon as part of her quest to help find a cure for cancer. Ruth, of Nelson Gardens, is determined to help the fight against the disease after seeing two close relatives
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Colchester man accused of murder
Police charged a man with murder last night following an incident the previous evening in Gurney Benham Close, Colchester. The 25-year-old man from Colchester will appear before Colchester magistrates Court today, an Essex Police spokesman has confirmed
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Jail for Colchester man who had sex with girl, 12
A man has been jailed for two and a half years for having sex with a 12-year-old girl. A court heard the man responsible was 34 at the time of the offences. And Chelmsford Crown Court also heard how matters came to light when an intimate letter written
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Colchester: TV stars' night on the town
EastEnders bad boys the Di Marco brothers were in town -but they weren't out to cause trouble. The pair - actors Marc Bannerman and Michael Greco - helped re-launch the new look Hippodrome Experience nightclub in Colchester High Street last night. Dancers
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Freemasonry quiz for Essex Police
All Essex Police employees will be asked to declare if they are freemasons - but will not be forced to do so. In the next few weeks a questionnaire will be sent to staff asking them if they want to volunteer the information. The news comes amid renewed
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Basildon: Homeless man held as slave
Slavery is alive and kicking in Essex according to a homeless man who was picked up off the streets and forced to work for a family of travellers. John Williams, 28, described how on October 31 last year he was taken from London to Basildon and forced
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Corringham: 'My son died waiting for ambulance'
A grieving Corringham mother is battling for an improved emergency service after an ambulance took 13 minutes to reach her dying son. Tracy Alton says she will never know if seven-year-old Michael's life could have been saved had the ambulance got there
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Witham: Council caught in a rat trap
A family of rats are plaguing an office complex and have caused problems for pest controllers. The rats have taken up residence in Freebournes Court - near to the Witham area offices of Braintree Council. But the council's own environmental services department
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Soccer: Ipswich pair wait on Keegan's call
Kieron Dyer and Richard Wright are set to put their promotion disappointment behind them with an England call-up. The Ipswich duo could be included in Kevin Keegan's squad for the two Euro 2000 qualifying matches against Sweden and Bulgaria, which is
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Soccer: Colchester new boys set targets
Colchester United new boys Sagi Burton and Joe Keith are determined to make their new team a Division Two force to be reckoned with. Burton - a 21-year-old central defender from first division Crystal Palace - and Keith - a 20-year-old left-sided defender
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Southend: Man defies muggers
A man who refused to hand over cash to a knife-wielding thug was lucky he wasn't stabbed, police said today. The plucky 38-year-old refused to be intimidated by the two teenaged brutes when they pounced on him late at night. One of the attackers pulled
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Southend: Keep off the grass
A woman has appealed for kind hearted animal lovers to leave her pony alone after his life-saving muzzle was removed. Margaret Duff thinks someone felt sorry for her pony, Janus and removed the muzzle. But he suffers from a disease known as chronic laminitus
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Mid Essex: Leah's parents back drugs plans
Anti-drugs campaigners John and Jan Betts have welcomed the Government's latest proposals to cut re-offenders by half in ten years, providing they do not manipulate the statistics. The announcements followed the first annual report by Government-appointed
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Mid Essex: £100,000 bid to stem cat problem
Animal-lovers are hoping to stem the region's spiralling stray cat problem with a £100,000-plus extension to Wethersfield's RSPCA centre. They want to build a new cattery capable of holding more than 70 unwanted cats - three times more than they can cope
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Day in Parliament for Mersea pupils
Two pupils from Mersea Island School have been quizzing top politicians at a special sitting of the Children's Parliament at Westminster. Adam Leydon and Charlotte Powell, both 11, were among 60 schoolchildren from across Britain who got the chance to
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Braintree nursery has five pairs plus a set of triplets
Nursery school teachers face double trouble after a bizarre baby boom pushed the number of identical twins and triplets through the classroom roof. Now Christchurch Nursery in Braintree could lay claim to a record for the number of twins and triplets
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Ten pin bowling: Bowlers in the frame for gold cup
Bowled over - the European Gold Cup got underway for tenpin bowlers yesterday with a parade of nations. Southend's mayor Tony North helped get the championship underway when he joined World Tenpin Bowling Association president Ad Ophelders in to bowl
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Soccer: Colchester keeper turns down new deal
Carl Emberson has turned down a new deal to stay at Colchester United. And as a result Charlton Athletic keeper Andy Petterson could be on his way back to Layer Road. The door for Petterson's return was thrown wide open today when Wembley promotion play-off
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Angling: Pipps Hill provides the action
The improvements at Pipps Hill Carp Fishery continue to bring dividends to the big fish seeker. With much of the excess weed and rubbish now removed from the Cranes Farm Road water, both fish and angler are benefitting from the cleaner water. Youngster
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Cricket round-up: Bowlers suffer again
Bowlers again suffered on the superb Blunts Wall track - Aley hitting an unbeaten 132 for Westcliff, before Billericay recovered from a perilous position to almost push for victory. Westcliff opener Marsden (36) was particularly severe on anything bowled
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Cricket: Victory puts Colchester top
Colchester and East Essex maintained their 100 per cent record and excellent start to their Shepherd Neame Essex League campaign with a comfortable six-wicket win over Orsett. Having won the toss for the second week in succession, skipper Andrew Kennedy
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Southend: Double yellow lines plan blocked
A bid to stop motorists parking outside a busy parade of Southend shops has been delayed until a nearby scheme for traffic lights has been considered. Traders and residents were delighted with the deferral after they lobbied highways chiefs about the
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Southend Council wins Chelsea Flower Show award
Green-fingered experts at Southend Council have proved their horticultural skills by winning a bronze medal in the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show. It is the fifth prize the town has won in five years of entering the prestigious floral competition. Assistant
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Leigh: Crash chef was filmed by detective
A private eye was hired to shoot a secret video of top chef Keith Bundy, who is seeking more than £300,000 damages for injuries sustained in a horrific motorbike crash. The footage suggested Mr Bundy had made a good recovery following the accident, London's
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Canvey: Don't mess up our seafront
Don't be a droop - use a scoop! That was the message from environment-friendly children who are fed up with dog mess on Canvey seafront. The youngsters from Canvey County Junior School joined councillor Dennis Williams and parks warden Tony Doveaston
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Clacton: School merger gets parents' approval
A plan to join two primary schools has been welcomed by parents and staff. An Essex County Council review of education at Great Oakley and Ramsey primary schools, and Little Oakley Infants' School has come up with a proposal to amalgamate Little Oakley
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Southend: £3.2m boost for A&E unit
Hospital bosses at Southend are jubilant at getting the go-ahead for a much-needed £3.2 million expansion of the accident and emergency department. Work is due to start almost immediately on the first phase, which will increase the size of the observation
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Laindon: Left abandoned in cardboard box
These three fluffy bundles of fur are looking for new homes after being found abandoned on a Laindon street. The trio had been crammed inside a cardboard box with a fourth friend and left to die in Brendon. But a keen-eared passer by, who lives in the
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Great Wakering: PE teacher pulls down gym
A teacher took a JCB to his school's gym - to make way for a state-of-the-art replacement. Sports teacher Paul Hart started the demolition of the gym at Alleyn Court Prep School in Wakering Road, Great Wakering. A new £300,000 sports hall is being built
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Speedway: Colin is White hot for Arena
Maximum man Colin White led Arena Essex to a fine victory in a match against traditionally-tough rivals Reading that was littered with excitement and tinged with controversy. Hammers, who saw John Wainwright and Leigh Lanham fall in heat one, responded
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Billericay director banned from running company
A Billericay boss has been banned from running a company for seven years after his firm ran up debts of nearly half a million pounds. The High Court heard that Ronald Theobald and his partner Kathleen Egglestone were directors of MEH(1996) Ltd until it
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Running: Fisher is in charge
There was no water about but Tiptree Road Running Club's Alan Fisher (better known in running circles as the 'Flying Fish') stormed to success around the Halstead Road Runners' Marathon course at the weekend. In sometimes windy conditions and on a testing
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Basildon: Ambulance raid on 999 call
A paramedic yesterday hit out at thieves who raided an ambulance while staff were on an emergency call. They jumped into the back of the ambulance while paramedics were helping a woman with a broken leg. They stole paramedic Joanne Clark's coat, which
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Southend: Raw sewage floods brook
A massive testing operation is under way after 100,000 gallons of raw sewage seeped into Prittle Brook in Southend. Environment Agency experts are busying sampling the water in the brook, the River Roach and the estuary to see if any damage has been caused
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Wickford: Rotarians travelling in style
Four intrepid Wickford rotarians yesterday embarked on a voyage from Lands End to John O'Groats - in a bid to raise £20,000 for charity. The quartet are spending 10 days travelling the length of Great Britain in a 1915 model T Ford. Wickford Rotary Club
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Cricket round-up: Warner century all in vain
Phil Warner hit an unbeaten century for Colchester and East Essex at Castle Park but still ended up on the losing side. Bures replied to Colchester's 230-3 through Will Amos (82) and Richard Haines (65 not out) to win with three overs to spare, in Division
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Mid Essex: Bid for improved airport bus links
The chairman of Witham and Braintree Rail Users' Association is to meet with Eastern National in a bid to win improved bus links with Stansted Airport. David Bigg, chairman of the association, will outline plans for a "vastly improved" service when he
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Women's cricket: Brenda's England joy
Bowler Brenda Brown is set to make her England debut next month after being selected in the squad for the first time. Brenda, who plays for Colchester Ladies at their Eudo Road base, will play in a home nations tournament in Belfast next month. She said
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Cricket: Hockley humbled by Rayne
Rayne continued their fine start to the season with a convincing victory over Hockley on Saturday. Batting first, Hockley were starved of runs thanks to a tight spell of bowling from Jim Dodge (12-7-16-2). Moving the ball both ways he caused the batsman
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Cricket round-up: Stacey experiment pays off
Steve Stacey, normally a fast bowler, opened the Canvey innings as an experiment and top scored with a great unbeaten 47 from 42 balls. He got good backing from Dave Shroder, 27 not out in 20 balls, as the Islanders won by eight wickets with 25.5 overs
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Colchester: Bomb victim shuts himself away
Devastated Julian Dykes has cut himself off from the world after learning that his pregnant wife and best friend were killed in a nail bomb attack. The Soho bomb blast victim woke up from a three week coma at the weekend to be told that wife Andrea and
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A good and modest man.....
TOM KING meets kindly Peter Yeo - a man who doesn't sit but acts, and prefers not to talk about it Knowing Peter Yeo's reputation, I also had a pretty good inkling what his first words would be when confronted with somebody who wanted to write a story
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Southend: Vandal attack on museum
Museum assistants were today counting the cost of a vandalism spree which left one of Southend's oldest buildings with broken windows. Glass was smashed and bricks left strewn across the floor after the attack on 700-year-old Southchurch Hall, in Park
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Duck menace to Witham drivers
Stray ducks have put councillors in a flap by putting pedestrians' lives at stake on a busy Witham street. Bird lovers have become used to the sight of their feathered friends roaming close to the pond off Forest Road. But there are fears an accident
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Aikido club is a dream come true
Braintree-based martial arts club Braintree Aiki-Budo Kai has opened its permanent training hall (dojo) which is located at The Four Seasons, Lakes Road, Braintree. This is the culmination of two year's hard work by the instructors and students of the
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Southend: Death could not have been foreseen
The suffocation of a nine-year-old girl by her mother in a Southend guest house was a "tragedy that could not have been foreseen," an independent inquiry revealed yesterday. Mentally ill Anne Murrie suffocated her daughter Louise while the pair were staying
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Holland-on-Sea: Residents jubilant as crossing crisis ends
Residents in Holland-on-Sea are on the verge of winning their battle for a pedestrian crossing to be installed on a busy road in the village. People are concerned about the danger of getting across Frinton Road to get to the chemist and shops. They face
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Chelmsford: Blaze is second blow for Scouts
Dejected Venture Scouts in Chelmsford are cursing their luck after the hut they met in once a week was burned to the ground. The fire comes just a month after £750 worth of equipment was stolen by raiders at the Baddow Road site and the group are now
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Cricket: Seymour spins Seasiders to first Premier win
Multi-talented Adam Seymour left Bury St Edmunds in a right old spin as Clacton's cricketers clocked up their first win in the new East Anglian Premier League. And there was more success for skipper Paul Harris as he blasted second-placed Halstead to
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Cricket: Shelton smashes league record
Halstead batsman David Shelton sent the Jaygate Two Counties Championship statisticians scurrying for their record books as he blasted the highest individual score ever in a Division C encounter. Not content with scoring a double century - 201, including
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Soccer: Fulham rumours rubbished by Ipswich star
Matt Holland today denied he is about to move to Fulham for £2 million. The Division Two champions are reported to have made an offer for the outstanding Ipswich midfielder with manager Paul Bracewell hoping to tie the deal up within 48 hours, but Town
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Oil giant shells out for Billericay kids
The Grenfell Pre-School at Billericay has two new tricycles, thanks to a donation from petrol giant Shell. Joan Miles, who runs the nursery, will use the rest of the £350 donation to buy a new panel for the home corner, new tracks for the model railway
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Castle Point: Care home maybe blocked
Castle Point Council is looking at whether it could win an appeal if it refuses to grant planning consent for a controversial care home. Angry residents have protested that safety should be paramount when councillors consider plans for a 12-bedroom nursing
