Archive
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Colchester; Second blow for festival
The threatened Colchester Rotary Music Festival suffered a second blow yesterday (Wednesday). The future of the festival was put in jeopardy when Colchester Rotary Club announced that after ten years of leading the festival it felt it was time to hand
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Soccer: Spurs provide first test for Ipswich
Tottenham Hotspur will provide Ipswich Town's first test in the FA Carling Premiership when the new season gets under way. Town will meet George Graham's side at White Hart Lane on August 19. George Burley's play-off winners then kick-off their Portman
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Cricket: Irani brings Essex back from the brink
Ronnie Irani was the star as Essex recovered from a disastrous start against Wales in Swansea to book a fourth round tie against Lancashire at Old Trafford. The all-rounder displayed his class with both bat and ball as the county, defending a disappointing
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Cricket round-up: T. Rippon Mid-Essex Cricket League
Little Waltham retained the league leadership following Saturday's two wicket win over visitors Springfield. The visitors were restricted to 166 for eight with Dave Curtis (55) and Darren Ely (30) leading the way with the bat, and Martin De'ath taking
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Colchester: Man told he acted 'like a Dobermann'
A man has been described as acting like a Dobermann Pinscher dog when he attacked another man and broke his hip. George Hughes ended up in hospital for 12 days after he was attacked outside the Playhouse pub in Colchester and a court heard how he will
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Cricket: Essex skipper defends Glamorgan decision
After the County Championship drawn match with Glamorgan, Essex captain, Ronnie Irani, explained his approach, saying: "It was a slow, flat, nothing pitch and I had to make sure that we didn't lose the game. ''At the time I declared, it ensured that there
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Westcliff, Thorpe Bay: Sea victim was partner in eatery
A swimmer who died in the sea off Thorpe Bay has been named as James O'Gorman, a partner in a Westcliff restaurant. Mr O'Gorman, 26, of Argyll Road, was pronounced dead at Southend Hospital after being pulled from the water by an air sea rescue helicopter
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Bocking: Susannah sails on saving village mill
A passion for windmills led to the restoration of Bocking's postmill when Susannah Burden was just seven. Twenty-one years later CLARE BERRETT met up with her. Many of us have hobbies, but not many of them have lasted 21 years and helped save one of Bocking's
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Canvey: Sister's op is a lifesaver
A mother said she was "overwhelmed" after her daughter underwent a gruelling transplant operation to save her brother's life. Iris Watts from Canvey said the amazing gesture left her reliving events of 28 years ago when her husband Peter had surgery for
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Witham: Lonely hearts club hit by own success
A lonely hearts club is struggling to survive - because Cupid's arrow has struck most of its members. Club Eclipse in Witham has seen more than 200 lonely hearts either get married, engaged or move in with their partner in the past four years. The love-struck
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Basildon: Winning the fight against auto crime
The fight against car thieves in the district is being won - with reported incidents of auto crime falling by a massive 14 per cent since a major partnership group started. Basildon District Council, Basildon Police, and the owners of car parks throughout
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Colchester: Connie's 10 week pension wait
A pensioner who set up Colchester's first charity shop is being forced to live on the breadline after her pension went unpaid for ten weeks. Connie Hazell, 80, of Rayner Road, Shrub End, claims her problems are set to worsen as she will not receive her
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Essex: Fall risk faced by the elderly
Shocking new figures revealing that hundreds of elderly Essex residents suffer serious injury on their stairs every year has prompted the Government to take action. Countywide, a total of 57 people died in stair-related accidents between 1996 and 1998
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Braintree: Closure of home for elderly begins
The closure of an old people's home in Braintree has begun. Under Essex County Council's plans to sell off or lease 13 of its old people's homes, Monken Hadley, in Broad Road, Bocking, failed to attract interest from the private sector. A bid by a Braintree
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Basildon: Softly, softly approach to stop puffing in malls
A Basildon shopping centre is taking the lead in customer care by banning smoking in its malls. Visitors to the Eastgate Shopping Centre will soon be encouraged not to light up as they shop. Bosses at the centre are now making the revolutionary change
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Castle Point: Survey to halt taxi licence war
A survey to stop the war over taxi licences in Castle Point could take place in September, it has emerged. Council members voted in favour of the independent survey after Ron Strong, a representative for the borough's Hackney carriage taxis, claimed it
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Braintree: No response to market appeal
Plans to set up a farmers' market in Braintree look to be faltering after an appeal for local farmers brought no response. An advertisement was published in the National Farmers' Union Regional Journal to try to gauge interest in a market after the idea
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Havering: Samaritans saved after fundraisers get £25,000
The future of Havering Samaritans is assured after it raised £25,000 in a year of furious fundraising. Now the charity, which provides confidential and emotional support in times of crisis, can look ahead once again after struggling to repay a loan to
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Soccer: City launch visa card
Chelmsford City have launched their own Visa card which will raise the club's profile nationwide and also raise cash for the running of the Dr Martens League's promotion campaign this coming season. Club chairman, Peter Stroud, this week unveiled the
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Soccer: Daggers duo come to Town
Billericay Town boss Gary Calder hopes to have found the perfect recipe for success in the Ryman League Premier Division - by signing two players from Dagenham and Redbridge, the club which won the championship last season. Ex-Daggers to join the New
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South Ockendon: Jail for bully who bit off boy's lip
A bully who bit off part of a 13-year-old boy's lip was today starting a three-year jail sentence. Jason Fitzgerald, 21, spat the severed lip back in the boy's face, Basildon Crown Court heard. Only skilful work by surgeons at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford
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Canvey: RSPCA badger deaths inquiry
An RSPCA inspector today said an inquiry into the deaths of around 20 badgers could be launched within days. Police and the animal welfare society were called in after a bulldozer ran over a badger sett on the former Occidental oil refinery land on Canvey
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Soccer: Main's mission to boost Blues funds
Southend United chairman John Main plans to meet every single Blues fan alive in a bid to ease the Third Division outfit's financial burden. The Seasiders are currently losing more than £100,000 per month, but Main hopes a new club initiative will boost
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Motocross: Nunn can catch him!
Race ace Carl Nunn scooped two wins and a second place at Halstead and District MCC's British Motocross Championship on a sweltering afternoon at Wakes Colne. In the first race Nunn - riding on a Yamaha - romped to victory on Sunday with six seconds to
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Soccer: It could have been Colchester!
Thank God it's over! England's footballers well and truly shot themselves in the foot again and finally put us out of our misery by making an early exit from Euro 2000. The thought of dear old St George embarrassing himself further by stumbling and spluttering
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Heybridge: Burst main flood havoc
A burst main in Heybridge flooded shops, caused part of a road to collapse, created havoc for drivers and left homes without water. Parts of Hall Road and The Street were submerged under more than a foot of water after the main burst shortly after 2pm
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South Essex: 18 child deaths - nurse quizzed
Police are investigating allegations made against a Southend nurse after the deaths of 18 children, it has been revealed today (Thursday). The 47-year-old Hadleigh woman was suspended by the former Southend Community Care Services NHS Trust nine months
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Cricket: From the pavilion...with Essex skipper Ronnie Irani
England's cricketers have been crushed by the West Indies in the first Test and I have to say it's a case of the same old story - we simply aren't good enough. True the West Indies were up for it, but I thought we could have competed far more strongly
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Harwich: MP's brother forms own political party
The brother of Harwich MP Ivan Henderson has formed his own political party - and plans to stand for election in the county council elections next year. Steven Henderson and his Harwich Community Representatives Group have paid out £150 to change the
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Brentwood: Chemical cocktail cost cafe £9,000
A cocktail served in a glass mistakenly frosted with a cleaning chemical cost Brentwood's Cafe Rouge£;9,000 last week. The Pelican Group Plc, which owns the restaurant in the High Street, pleaded guilty at Basildon Crown Court to offences under the Health
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Colchester: Royal London job loss rumour denied
Royal London chiefs have denied rumours that 300 more jobs are to be axed at the Colchester-based firm. Following an announcement that 300 jobs were to go from the firm's Middleborough HQ, it has been widely rumoured that 300 more posts would be cut.
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South Essex: Ford workers bid to save their jobs
Hundreds of Ford car workers were today (Thursday) protesting at their company's London headquarters over plans to cease vehicle production at Dagenham. Many of them will be bussed in from Basildon, Billericay, Wickford, Pitsea and Laindon. They will
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Colchester: Respect old people, junior doctors told
Junior doctors working at Colchester General Hospital have been reprimanded for disrespect shown to elderly patients. Old people have been branded "crumblies" and "gerries" by young doctors. But Essex Rivers Healthcare Trust's chief executive Mike Pollard
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Southend: Greenpeace protesters continue sit-in
Greenpeace protesters on board a lumber ship have said they are ready to continue their sit-in. The protesters, who jumped on board the MV Enif as it passed Southend pier, spent a second night of occupation on the ship which they claim is carrying an
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Weeley, Little Clacton: Scout hut trashed as vandals strike
Village youngsters are facing a bill of up to £5,000 for repairs to their scout hut after it was trashed. The Weeley and Little Clacton Scout Group's base has been broken into at least four times already this year. Hundreds of pounds of damage has been
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North Weald: Residents unite to stop youth nuisance
Worried residents in North Weald are banding together to prevent vandals and foul-mouthed youths congregating near their homes. And the householders are calling for a stronger police presence to stop what they say is drug dealing and abuse on common land
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Southend: Schools to benefit from merger plan
A move to merge two schools to make better use of resources has been backed by Southend Council's cabinet, it has emerged. Porters Grange Infant and Nursery is set to team up with the Porters Grange Junior School in Southchurch Avenue, Southend, following
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Romford: New row over hospital date
Harold patients will not be using the proposed new hospital at Romford until the autumn of 2005, Havering Hospitals NHS Trust has admitted. It insists it is on course to meet its target date for opening, but Brentwood and Ongar MP Eric Pickles said: "
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Essex: Fire HQ control 'will not be axed'
Fire chiefs said this week that a new national report on how the fire service is organised would not mean the closure of the Brentwood fire HQ control room. A new Home Office report recommends the merging of control rooms across the country, reducing
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South Essex: 18 child deaths - nurse quizzed
Police are investigating allegations made against a Southend nurse after the deaths of 18 children, it has been revealed today (Thursday). The 47-year-old Hadleigh woman was suspended by the former Southend Community Care Services NHS Trust nine months
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Cricket: Irani lashes out at critics
Essex cricket skipper Ronnie Irani has taken a massive swipe at those responsible for "ruthless and nasty" heckling of himself during last weekend's County Championship game with Glamorgan. Irani claims that the abuse he received from followers of the
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Maldon: Tough stance on ad boards
Estate agents who use their boards to sponsor other events could face prosecution if they do not get planning permission. Maldon District Council has taken the tough stance on what has been described as "a growing problem" in the district. Mike Cook,
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Essex: Mencap praise for county's companies
Companies across Essex have been praised by national charity Mencap for employing people with learning disabilities. This week is National Learning Disability Week and sees the launch of a new campaign by Mencap to end discrimination of learning disabled
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Southend: Parking fees to be slashed
Drivers are set to benefit from slashed parking charges across Southend after a pledge by the new Tory administration. On-street parking could be returned to 1999-2000 price levels, in a drive to boost town centre trade. Parking meter charges in the south
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Soccer: Storrie cuts his losses with Blues
Echosport's BERNIE FRIEND talks to Peter Storrie to reveal the reason's behind the imminent departure of Southend United's chief executive Southend United's departing chief executive Peter Storrie has explained why he has decided to turn his back on the
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Cricket: Board go close at Billericay
The Essex Cricket Board XI bowed out of the NatWest Trophy with their heads held high after making mighty Warwickshire fight every inch of the way at Billericay. They restricted the Midlanders to 214-8 from 50 overs in their third-round tie, and then
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Boxing: Roberts is on top of the world
Steve Roberts is the new WBF super middle-weight champion - but it took 12 gruelling rounds before the coveted belt could be placed around his waist at the Royal National Hotel, London last week. Roberts, a Romford boxer from Barry Hearn's Matchroom stable
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Golf round-up (South Essex): Dramatic play-off loss for Richard...
Richard Jeffs was beaten on the second hole of a sudden death play-off by Hainault Forest's Steven Middleton for the Essex Amateur Golf Championship. Thorpe Hall golfer Jeffs, who held a five-stroke advantage over the field after three of the four rounds
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Maldon: Group votes to welcome women
Women are to be allowed to join a Maldon charitable group for the first time in 25 years. The town's Lions Club has voted to actively allow females into the group and is set to launch a recruitment drive to attract women members. President Michael Ballard
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Great Wakering: Post office service vow
The Post Office has pledged ongoing commitment to services in Great Wakering, despite the resignation of a sub-postmistress. The Barling office at Little Wakering Road closed this week after the sub-postmistress resigned for personal reasons. A search
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Leigh: Hotel shock for nature island
A business partnership has launched an investigation to see if the south Essex economy can be boosted by a better use of Two Tree Island, off Leigh. However, the group of leading figures from the business community and council representatives rejected
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Maldon: Church finds message in a bottle
The burying of time capsules is not a new habit - as the minister of Maldon United Reformed Church has discovered. During refurbishment work on the back wall of the church on Market Hill, a corked and sealed bottle containing a parchment dated 1801 was
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Wickford: Chemist in raid misery
A fed-up pharmacist is considering turing his shop into a fortress after a spate of break-ins. Burglars have made life a misery for Ahmed El Dabbeh, who manages Medi-Pharm in London Road, Wickford. In the latest incident - the fifth in two years - a thief
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Canvey: Anger at plans for second McDonald's
A new McDonald's on Canvey will create mess, noise and disturbance, residents have claimed. Ten letters and a 49-signature petition were yesterday (Wednesday) sent to Castle Point Council, registering disgust at plans for a £1 million drive-thru restaurant
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South Essex: LTS reels as trains only last a month
New high-tech trains on the troubled Southend to Fenchurch Street line have been withdrawn from service four weeks after they were launched, it has emerged. The £300million fleet of air-conditioned trains was meant to signal a new beginning for LTS -
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Golf: Mitch pips Steve at Stock Brook Manor
Stock Brook Manor Gold Club's three time champion Steve Adkins, playing off a handicap of three, could only manage second place in the 2000 Club Championship when he was pipped at the post on Sunday, by four handicapper Mitch Brenner. The competition,
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Cricket round-up (South Essex): Farmer century leads to victory...
Fives and Heronians 3rd 172-6 dec Billericay 3rd 175-2 (Billericay won by eight wickets) An excellent team performance saw Billericay win this match comfortably at Blunts Wall Road. A fine unbroken partnership of 167 between Mike Etheridge and Steve Farmer
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Billericay: Nuisance crimes on the rise
Billericay has been hit by a marked jump in criminal damage and car crime, according to new figures. Police have seen reported incidents in some categories rise by more than a quarter in the last twelve months. Lake Meadows and Crown Road are highlighted
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Southend: Greenpeace in ship drama
Green activists who jumped on board a lumber ship off Southend Pier were yesterday (Wednesday) refusing to budge. Six Greenpeace protesters boarded the MV Enif and made their way up to walkways at the top of the mast - in protest at the timber trade which
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Clacton, Frinton: Trial of PC stopped
The trial of a policeman accused of stealing money from a fundraising event has been stopped. PC Pat Lane, 35, denied a theft charge when he appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court and the prosecution was coming to the end of its case when trial Judge Gareth
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Soccer: U's start at Swindon
Colchester United will kick-off their new Division Two season with an away day at Swindon Town. The U's and recently-relegated Robins are scheduled to meet at the County Ground on the opening day of the season, Saturday, August 12. Newly-promoted Rotherham
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Southend: Swine set for axe
Southend Council is set to pull the plug on £33 million plans to build the Swine rollercoaster at the end of the town's world-famous pier. Executive councillors have given businessman Tony Garner just six weeks to prove his financial muscle before the
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Rayleigh: Orchestral night with fireworks
This year's Concert in the Park organised by Rayleigh Mill Rotary Club and supported by Southend Council is ready to strike up on Sunday. The concert will feature a programme of popular classical favourites performed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert
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Billericay: Residents lose voice on forum
A row has broken out after the man representing a major Billericay residents group was thrown off the town's area committee. Trevor Stansfield, who is chairman of the thriving Billericay District Residents Association, says he has been left shocked by
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Southend: Mystery tenant lined up for Plaza extension
A mystery company was today (Thursday) waiting in the wings with ambitious plans to open a new base in a planned £1.5million extension at Victoria Plaza shopping centre in Southend. Final negotiations have yet to be settled between centre owners Bourne
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Laindon: Mum's anguish after hanging
A grief-stricken mother has told how her daughter begged to be sent to the prison where she died. Yvonne Hartnes said 20-year-old Cheryl, from Laindon, pleaded for treatment to psychiatric and drink-related problems at Holloway Prison in London. Last
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Essex Youth Games under starter's orders
Sporting youngsters across the county are training hard for the Essex Youth Games in Colchester on June 25. Trials have already taken place to find team members for each of the eight districts, which include one from Braintree and Uttlesford, and another
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Boxing: After serving time Jimmy boxes clever
Former professional boxer Jimmy Tibbs was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of attempted murder. Since his release he has become a Born Again Christian and a highly regarded trainer of young boxers. Reporter IVAN SAGE met up with Jimmy
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Soccer: Perry Street girls go for it
Perry Street girls' football club is going from strength to strength. The Billericay-based section are part of Perry Street youth football club and currently run two teams. But from September the club will be launching a new squad for girls who will be
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Athletics: Dominic closer to glory
Colchester Harriers' race walking champion Dominic King has moved another step closer to a World Junior Championship place. Dominic, 17, shaved 52 seconds off of his personal best in the third European Race Walking Championships in Eisenhuttenstadt, Germany
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Cricket: Hussain back for Essex
Nasser Hussain and Stuart Law were due to make a welcome return when Essex continued on the NatWest Trophy trail against Wales in Swansea. Hussain was back from England's disappointing defeat in the opening Test against the West Indies, while Law was
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Tennis round-up (South Essex): Hard triumph in Cup thriller...
Westcliff Hard won the Essex Senior Cup for the first time since 1992 in a thrilling final at Woodford Wells Tennis Club. The men's clash with Gidea Park ended at two matches apiece, but was settled in Westcliff's favour as they had one more set overall
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Karate: Chops at restaurant
On Saturday at Collier Row, City Limits restaurant the first Junior 3 on 3 karate tournament was held. This is a new concept in karate tournaments and although Senior events have been held by its organisers for several years, this was the first one for
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Pilgrims Hatch: Play area torched by thugs
The children's play area at Bishops Hall in Pilgrims Hatch went up in flames on Monday night in what is believed to be an arson attack. It is thought that £25,000 damage was caused to the play area at Doddinghurst Road, centring on the expensive children's
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Heybridge: Fatal crash driver may have had heart attack
A motorist who died in an accident in Heybridge is believed to have suffered a heart attack. Horrified onlookers saw a Rover car mount the kerb after it had been in collision with another car. Police, fire brigade, ambulance and air ambulance attended
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Colchester: Knife man forces driver out of car
A motorist was forced out of his car by a man wielding a knife in a Colchester pub car park. The 35-year-old driver had returned to his white K-reg Vauxhall Astra in the car park of the Marquis of Granby on North Hill at 11.45pm last night. A man approached
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Billericay: Queen honours volunteer Stan
Giving sound and sympathetic advice to thousands of people during 20 years of service to the Citizen's Advice Bureau has led to Billericay 75-year-old Stan Jarvis receiving the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. The retired docks manager has been
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Southend: Tip-off could lead to murder weapon
Detectives hunting the killer of an Albanian man who was stabbed in a Southend street were today (Thursday) close to recovering the murder weapon. Officers have been searching an undisclosed site after receiving a tip-off following an appeal for information
