Archive
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Wickford: Education chiefs quell new school fears
Fears about the standard of Wickford's new £1.4m primary school have been quelled by education bosses. Essex County Council said families on the Wick housing estate had every reason to look forward to Oakfield School opening in January 2000. Local councillors
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Little Clacton: Park objection gains support
A parish council has agreed to support its neighbours in objecting to a multi-million pound retail and country park - but only just. Little Clacton Parish Council wrote to Thorpe Parish Council asking for support in protesting against the Brook Park plan
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Heybridge: Hospice link will mean total caring
The extension at St Clare's Hospice has contributed to a new beginning for the organisation at Heybridge. The official opening of the extension linked in with the signing of a new agreement with Farleigh Hospice, Chelmsford, which means a complete palliative
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Chelmsford: Disabled people demand fairer treatment
Disabled protesters formed a human blockade around County Hall in Chelmsford. Some handcuffed themselves to railings, while others blocked doors and lifts in the building, causing staff and county councillors to find alternative ways of getting to their
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Basildon: Management plans to transform town
Local businesses and council workers are pushing ahead with plans to bring a new style of town centre management to Basildon. This is despite failing to appoint a manager for the scheme. At an upbeat first meeting in the Basildon Council offices organisers
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School sports: Sweyne in seven heaven
Sweyne Park, Rayleigh, reigned supreme in the Castle Point and Rochford Schools' year seven rounders tournament, staged at King John, Thundersley. They won from Benfleet's Appleton with Rochford school King Edmund third and FitzWimarc, Rayleigh, fourth
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Bowls: County fall to Prittlewell four
The Prittlewell quartet of Phil Bowyer, son Malcolm, Ken Adams and Brian Adderley gave home fans plenty to cheer about when play started in the fours competition at the Midland Bank-sponsored Southend Men's Open Bowls Tournament at Priory Park on Monday
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Basildon: Award for Bosom Friends
A group which tirelessly campaigned for a breast unit at Basildon Hospital has received a prestigious award. Bosom Friends was presented with a special certificate from the MPs' all party committee on breast cancer in recognition of its hard work. The
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School's out for summer!
There are two words that strike terror into the hearts of parents over the six-week summer holiday: "I'm bored." They usually occur five minutes after leaving the school gate for the last time in July, and are repeated at frequent intervals until September
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Southend airport's emergency landing drama
Southend Airport was put on full alert after a light aircraft threatened to make an emergency landing at Hadleigh Castle. The aircraft with two people inside suffered severe engine problems as it flew towards the airport and the pilot realised he may
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Colchester: Web whiz John to cash in
Former Colchester schoolboy John Pluthero is set to become Britain's answer to computer mogul Bill Gates. The former Colchester Royal Grammar School pupil will be an internet millionaire within months. Mr Pluthero is boss of Freeserve, the internet service
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Braintree: Shopping village training for jobless
Braintree jobseekers are to be given the skills they need to find work in the top designer stores planned for the new Freeport retail park. The retail park, which is planned to open in the autumn, is expected to offer around 350 full and part-time jobs
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Basildon: Total council home sell-off?
Basildon's 13,000 council houses could be sold off lock, stock and barrel. The council has estimated it needs to spend about £131 million over the next ten years to repair and improve its housing stock - but it only has about £3-4 million each year for
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Southend: 760 jobs in £35m business boom
A property company is poised to create up to 760 new jobs in Southend as part of a £35 million investment package, it hasbeen revealed. Billericay-based Lansbury Holdings is ploughing the cash into three exciting new projects in separate parts of the
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Soccer: Whyte signing right for Iron
Football League championship medal winner Chris Whyte will be one of a number of new faces when Braintree Town kick-off their new Ryman League season. Iron manager Richie Powling has also brought in former League goalkeeper Nicky Rust, plus strikers Ian
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Athletics: Tim has mixed fortunes
One young Braintree athlete experienced the highs and lows of sporting emotions at the English Schools' Championships at Bury St Edmunds on Friday and Saturday. In his heat of the Junior Boys 100m Tim Ashford, 14, of Helena Romanes School, Great Dunmow
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Golf: Open date for Jon
A member of The Essex Golf and Country Club has qualified for the British Open at Carnoustie. Jon Bevan hit two rounds of 68 at the Montrose course to qualify by the skin of his teeth for the prestigious event. His six-under par total saw him qualify
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Soccer: Ipswich land new keeper Salmon
Ipswich Town were due yesterday to complete the free transfer signing of Charlton keeper Mike Salmon. Blues boss George Burley moved for the experienced stopper - who is to sign a two-year contract - after Lee Bracey's departure to Hull earlier this month
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Soccer: Aspinall named as Colchester team captain
Warren Aspinall was officially installed as Colchester United's new team captain yesterday. And David Gregory is to be the U's new club captain. They replace former skipper Richard Wilkins who asked to go on the transfer list three weeks ago. Layer Road
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Colchester: Bus lanes: 500 caught
Nearly 500 drivers have have been stopped for flouting the new bus lanes in Colchester. A week-long police crackdown, which ended yesterday netted 473 motorists who had ignored the restrictions. And about 11 of these could face court proceedings though
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Southend: Art in the sand brings prosperity
Renowned sand sculptor Sudarsan Pattnaik brought a touch of Indian art to Southend thanks to bosses at Essex Radio. Mr Pattnaik, 23, from Puri, dazzled tourists when he carved an image of the goddess Durge in the sands of Three Shells Beach. The Southend
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Southend Pier cafe for sale
A restaurant cafe on Southend Pier has been put on the market for just under £100,000. Amos Estate Agents has described the business as an "ideal family venture". Up to 44 people can be seated in the cafe and there is also a detached takeaway up for sale
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New post office for Rayleigh
A three-year battle to improve post office facilities in Rayleigh town centre has been won, with the announcement a new counter service is to open in the High Street. Residents have called for better facilities in the town since the main post office closed
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Basildon: Tots make tracks for nursery
Basildon's newest nursery has been overwhelmed with demand since opening in a top sports centre. Gatehouse Nursery Services has beaten all expectations for its first few months - taking around £9,000 each month more than other branches of the nursery.
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Bowls: Seddon's pairs dream still alive
South Benfleet's John Seddon may have lost his bid to retain the fours at the Midland Bank Southend Men's Open Bowls Tournament, but his hopes of landing the pairs title were alive yesterday. He beat Thorpe Bay's R Pearson 32-7 in the pairs to compensate
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Soccer: Late reprieve for Tiptree Charity Cup
The Tiptree Charity Cup - one of the county's most prestigious junior football competitions - has survived a threat of extinction. Placed in jeopardy at the end of last season by a lack of support, the 66-year-old competition, which has ploughed thousands
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Colchester: Patient falls to death
A patient has fallen to his death from a first-floor balcony at Colchester General Hospital. The 72-year-old man from the Colchester area was pronounced dead at about 6am today after the incident outside Dedham ward. He had been admitted to the hospital
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Colchester: Firemen free trapped terrier
A tunnelling terrier called Arnie sparked a rescue operation when he was trapped for 24 hours under five feet of topsoil. Emergency services were called to free him after the hole he dug collapsed on top of him. Owner Lynne Pullen heard her two-year-old
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Will fraud allegation: Court told Annie had few friends
The woman whose £1.8 million will is the centre of an alleged fraud was a private person with few close friends, a court heard. Annie Kay, 83, was an accomplished pianist who had become stooped and lost most of her mobility as she became older, her friend
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Wickford: Airgun thugs killed my cat
A distraught woman is warning pet owners to watch out after her cat had to be put down following an air rifle attack. Jacqueline Coleman's cat Patch crawled home dragging his legs behind him after being struck by three pellets. She rushed him to the veterinary
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Tycoon Terry Holding:I'll donate land for Canvey burials
A tycoon has offered to buy a cemetery plot for Canvey and hand it over to residents for free, it has been revealed. Terry Holding, a salvage businessman who was defeated when he stood as a Conservative candidate in the recent local elections, has offered
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Braintree: Traders urged to attract shoppers
Town traders have been warned they must do more to prepare for the opening of a £30 million factory shopping development. Chairman of Braintree Chamber of Trade, Nick Forsyth, said businesses were not doing enough to draw visitors from the Chapel Hill
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Swimming: Blackwater gala went smoothly
The annual Blackwater SwimSchool Gala was held at the centre recently. The event was open to all those children on Blackwater's SwimSchool Scheme and anyone from five to 16 years old could enter. The whole event ran smoothly with over 50 races completed
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Soccer: Swifts start at home to Hitchin
With the Ryman League Premier Division fixtures for the forthcoming season having been announced, Heybridge Swifts have been handed some interesting opening fixtures. They start the season with a home match against newly promoted Hitchin Town on August
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Soccer: Home start for north Essex sides
The opening fixtures for the Ryman League have been announced and all north Essex sides have home games to kick-off their new season. On the opening day, August 14, premier division Heybridge Swifts entertain Hitchin before travelling to Enfield three
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Cricket: Sainsbury stars in Rayne win
Rankins...................................................204-9 Rayne .......................................................207-4 (Rayne won by six wickets) (T. Rippon League Division Four) Rayne extended their winning run to four games with Saturday's
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Cricket: Dons victorious over bogey side
CLACTON II.................210-5 MALDON II...................211-2 (Maldon won by eight wickets) On a sunny afternoon, Maldon registered a fine win over Clacton, who in past years have proved to be a bogey side for the Dons. With a flat dry pitch, to
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Thorpe: Police hunt sex pest
Police are hunting a man who indecently exposed himself to pupils near their school. The incident happened as two schoolgirls were walking along a road in Thorpe during their lunchbreak. The two girls aged under 14 from Tendring Technology College's lower
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Road safety week...and the Essex death toll rises
The death toll on Essex roads rose substantially - in national road safety week. Three people were killed on the county's roads during the seven-day campaign which ended on Sunday. And police hope the disturbing facts will jolt drivers into taking more
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Clacton: Couple lead children to safety from blaze
A social club owner and his wife were today praised after they got their family to safety as their home was ravaged by fire. Bob and Yvonne Holmes smelt smoke in their flat above Clacton Social Club, in Wellesley Road, Clacton. They made sure their daughter
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Basildon: 'Serb died in my arms'
A Basildon pupil turned soldier has told how he cradled a dying man horribly disfigured by an explosive in Kosovo. Trooper Rob Hayden wrote to his former teacher, Steve Nash, at Barstable School to relate his horrific experiences in the war zone. He told
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Canvey: BP told to probe smells
An oil refinery which may be responsible for a foul stench over Canvey has been ordered to investigate the possible cause. BP's oil refinery at Coryton has been served with an enforcement notice by the Environment Agency forcing staff to look into the
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Rowhedge: Smoking law 'will kill pubs'
Landlord John Smith has written to the Prime Minister to vent his anger at a proposed anti-smoking law which he claims could close his and other small pubs for good. Mr Smith has run Ye Olde Albion on Rowhedge quayside for 13 years but fears for his livelihood
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Are Braintree people the ugliest in England?
A new travel book is set to spark outrage for labelling townsfolk "the ugliest collection of people in the UK outside Wales." Freelance journalist Bill Murphy has launched a scathing attack on Braintree and its women in his debut novel due out at Christmas
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Southend: Sewage shock for diners
Overflowing sewers on Southend seafront are ruining business and are a disgrace to the town, traders claimed today. Caterers on Western Esplanade, near Pier Hill claim raw sewage has been leaking from a manhole cover at the bottom of the cliffs for the
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Clacton: Children play in field fires
Children have been running through fields of flaming grass and corn - after setting it alight themselves, according to police in Clacton. Clacton police today warned the youngsters to put a stop to their dangerous game before someone is seriously hurt
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Cricket: Umpire retired hurt at Harwich
An umpire suffered two suspected broken fingers as he officiated the Jaygate Homes Two Counties match between Harwich and Dovercourt and Eight Ash Green. George Flint tried to take evasive action when Harwich batsman Nick Cowley smashed Alistair Hammond's
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Yachting: Mersea sailors beat the rest
Sailors from West Mersea scooped the top three prizes at a unique 150-mile race from the River Thames to their home town. A fleet of 33 yachts started off in glorious sunshine from Tower Bridge in London at midday on Friday, then headed out to the North
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Road Running: Double debut
At the Insurance Athletic Association Pentathlon in the Mile End Stadium in London on Wednesday, Tiptree Road Runners' Chris Applegate made both his pentathlon and track debut. In the field events, Chris gave performances a 10 year old would probably
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Cricket: England call-up for young Essex duo
Colchester's Youth World Cup winners Ian Flanagan and Graham Napier have been included in England's Under-19 cricket squad to play Australia this summer. The Essex teenagers have been England regulars for a couple of years and were key members of the
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Athletics: Promotion beckons for Braintree
Saturday saw the Braintree Mens' Athletics team travel to Portsmouth for their fifth match of the season in division three of the Southern Mens' League. This was potentially the toughest fixture of the season against Ipswich (fourth in the table, just
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Soccer: Key men missing for Colchester friendly
Colchester United will be without three key players when they entertain East Anglian First Division neighbours Norwich City in a pre-season friendly at Layer Road tonight. Newly-installed team and club captains Warren Aspinall and David Gregory both suffered
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Frinton, Walton: Lifeboat appeal is on crest of a wave
A major fundraising scheme to restore Europe's oldest motorised lifeboat to sea-going condition is on the crest of a wave after receiving more than £10,000 in grants. Frinton and Walton Heritage Trust is aiming to put James Stevens No 14 back to its former
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Colchester: Union enlists help to save 400 jobs
A union is asking for support from Colchester dignitaries in a bid to safeguard one of the town's best known employers. MPs and councillors are to receive letters from representatives of the AEEU asking for their support for around 400 people employed
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Chelmsford: Kathryn is an African Queen Mother
A university graduate returned from Africa with more than souvenirs - she came back with a royal title. Kathryn Prosser, 25, of Maldon Road, Chelmsford, spent six months working in Ghana after flying out in January. But she did not realise how grateful
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Soccer: It's all change for the Dragons
A new era has dawned at Ryman League club Wivenhoe Town after the club's board was given a major overhaul. And the changes have convinced player-manager Julian Hazel to withdraw his transfer request. After more than 20 years as club chairman, Dave Whymark
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Cricket: Nasser's notebook
We certainly come to Southchurch Park in confident mood following our tremendous Championship success in Wales last weekend. I have to be honest and say that hosts Glamorgan were a bit below par, but it's my belief that our performance in the match generally
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Soccer: Key men missing for Colchester friendly
Colchester United will be without three key players when they entertain East Anglian First Division neighbours Norwich City in a pre-season friendly at Layer Road tonight. Newly-installed team and club captains Warren Aspinall and David Gregory both suffered
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Soccer: Waddy happy with U's start
Manager Mick Wadsworth declared himself "very happy" after watching his new-look Colchester United squad kick off their pre-season programme with a goalless draw at Canvey Island. "It was a game we should have won." he said. "But the lads moved the ball
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Cricket round-up: Rankins triumph
A strong all-round performance gave Rankins a 37-run home win over Oldchurch in T Rippon Mid-Essex League Divi-sion Four. Solid mid-order batting from Tony Woods (65), Gregg Dutton (49) and Stuart Hoyland (46) set Rankins on their way to 241-9 from 45
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Angling round-up: Morley the merrier after Doggetts blitz...
Richard Morley and friends Stephen Brownley and Collin Williams enjoyed an excellent float fishing trip on the south bank of Rochford's Doggetts fishery. Part of their catch consisted of nine bream for 38lb, seven tench totalling 28lb plus an unspecified
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Thundersley: Barn destroyed as straw blazes
Fire investigators were today trying to find out what caused 30 tonnes of hay to go up in smoke. A barn in Windermere Road, Thundersley, was completely destroyed by the blaze. Two engines were originally called to the barn yesterday afternoon but so many
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Southend Council trailing in millennium bug hunt
Southend Council is trailing behind a neighbouring authority when it comes to being computer ready for the year 2000. Work on Civic Centre computer systems needs to stay on track if it is to beat the millennium bug. The only south Essex council which
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Tim - man of a million mushrooms...
TOM KING meets Hockley mushroom farmer Tim Cripps, a fanatic for fungi Fascinating, little-known worlds really do exist, tucked away and hidden from ordinary modern life, yet in some cases, just a few feet away. Tim Cripps is there to prove the point.
