Archive
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North Essex: fresh fruit for villagers if community orchard goes ahead
PEOPLE living in Ramsey and Parkeston could soon be able to pick their own fresh fruit straight from the tree, if council bosses agree to plans to build a community orchard. Councillors on Ramsey and Parkeston Parish Council have plans to plant a variety
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Essex: new 999 centre hits hitch due to IT snag
PLANS for an East of England fire control centre have been delayed. The new regional centre, which will deal with all 999 calls for Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Hertfordshire and Luton and Bedfordshire, will be based in Cambridge and will
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North Essex: new advanced driving system making buses safer
TWO bus drivers from Clacton have won prizes in a pioneering advanced driving initiative. Arthur Galea and Sarah Sayer were the winners of First buses’ Smith System challenge. The training technique, which focuses on space, visibility and time, has
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Halstead: slimmer raises £2,000 for disabled
A BUSINESSMAN who went public with his diet lost five stone and raised more than £2,000 for disabled children. Mike Harrington Spier, 62, let friends and family in on his weight-loss plans, fearing he might not go through with it. He started in January
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Essex: Songwriting pair want to team up with X Factor Alexandra
A PAIR of songwriters hope to team up with this year’s winner of The X Factor. Colin Bennett, of Colchester, and Colin Steele, of Little Clacton, believe their power ballad What Would You Do Tonite will be a hit for Alexandra Burke, who won
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Harwich: an entire bike wheel could fit into this pothole
ANGRY residents say they are fed up with the lack of action by council bosses in repairing a road they have described as “highly dangerous”. People living near to Clarke’s Road, Dovercourt, say some of the potholes are so bad that an entire bike wheel
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Clacton: swimmers dreaming of a warmish Christmas Day
IT’S going to be a wet and cold start to Christmas Day for a hardy bunch of people who dive into the North Sea to support Clacton’s traditional swim. More than 100 swimmers and paddlers are expected to make the seasonal dash down the beach on Christmas
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North Essex: feathers fly over club's pigeon invasion
A PIGEON infestation has got the owners of a club in a flap. The flying pests have taken up residence at the Tavern in Holland-on-Sea. Their droppings are making a mess of the walls and alleyway at the Frinton Road venue. To make matters worse, club
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North Essex: mum and daughter ask: 'do you have the XYZ factor?'
A FUNDRAISING mother and daughter have teamed up to organise a talent show in aid of three good causes. Lesley and Sophie Hyatt, of Harwich Road, Beaumont, want performers of any age to take part in the XYZ Factor. The duo are raising money for Macmillan
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North Essex: obituary: Herbert was our man in Moscow
A MAN who was at school in Clacton and went on to shape East-West relations during the Cold War has died. Herbert Keeble was born in Chingford and moved to Clacton with his family as a child. He attended Clacton County High School in Walton
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Hornchurch are next up for the U's
Colchester United have been drawn at home to AFC Hornchurch in the Essex Senior Cup quarter-finals. The U's have already seen off Aveley and Romford in this season's competition. FC Clacton have been drawn at home to Concord Rangers. The ties are due
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Harwich: warning after cash machine is skimmed
POLICE have issued an appeal for witnesses after a card fraud machine was found in a cashpoint. The card-skimming machine was discovered in the cash machine at the Co-op, in Fronks Road, Dovercourt. It included a device inside the machine which copied
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Colchester: BNP says it will continue to grow in town
A POLITICAL party’s bosses have pledged to “continue to grow” in Colchester, despite plans to bar them from the town. The British National Party responded to pledges by Colchester’s political parties to keep them from canvassing in the area, which was
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Halim produces a real drubbing
They breed them tough in the former Soviet Union, but not quite tough enough in the case of Lithuainian boxer Yuri Mingevski, who suffered a one-sided drubbing at the hands of Halstead Boxing Club’s Ayhan Halim in an International contest staged at the
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Clacton: man in court after calling store worker a Nazi
A MAN ended up in court after calling a shopworker a Nazi, and then branding a sun-tanned police officer an “Arab”. Police were called to Clacton’s Aldi supermarket after reports that a member of staff had been racially abused. Terence Harris, 57, was
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Colchester: all aboard the SOS bus for safer streets
COUNCILLORS and dignitaries from across Essex converged on Colchester to celebrate the official launch of the town’s SOS and Community Bus. Although the vehicle has been running in the town centre on Saturday nights for about six weeks, it
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Clacton: dance school youngsters take to West End stage
CLACTON’S little stars of tomorrow stepped out on to the big stage at the weekend. Sixty youngsters from the Bebop Stage Performers were in the spotlight at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London, on Sunday. It was the school’s 12th appearance in the West End
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Colchester: Peonie, 9, wins flatscreen TV in fire service colouring contest
ONE lucky Colchester schoolgirl was stunned to be presented with a flatscreen television. Every year, Colchester fire station runs a fire safety initiative sponsored by the Gazette and Hughes Television and Audio, with all primary schools in the borough
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North Essex: MP Carswell accused of hypocrisy over fuel VAT pledge
FORMER Clacton MP Ivan Henderson has hit out at current MP Douglas Carswell for “hypocritical” comments he made about heating payments to pensioners. Ivan Henderson, Labour’s parliamentary spokesman for Clacton, said he was angry with Mr Carswell
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Clacton: police search for owners of haul of items
A HAUL of items have been recovered by police in Clacton. Almost £3,000 worth of goods were recovered, including car stereos, a grinder and a laptop computer, all of which were believed to have been taken from cars in the Valley Road area of Clacton.
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Colchester: Oldies dine in style at U's stadium
IT WAS fun and entertainment for a group of pensioners as they were served lunch at Colchester’s new community stadium. About 170 people went to the Weston Homes Community Stadium for their Christmas dinner. After the meal, musical entertainment – including
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Deaths mean a sad time for families. Make sure your wishes are known to ease the pain
HE had lived a good long life, but the man was deteriorating rapidly in hospital, with his loved ones around him. It was now up to Jo Redfarn to ask the family the difficult question – had they thought about organ donation? He was a pensioner, but his
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North Essex: Hunt for driver after metal ramps on road cause blow-outs
DRIVERS were left shocked after two metal ramps fell from a vehicle on the A120 near Harwich, causing tyres to blow on several vehicles. Police said it was fortunate the incident was not more serious and are keen to trace the driver of the vehicle
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Clacton: pals wear West Ham shirts in final tribute to Bob, 45
TRIBUTES have been paid to a popular Clacton man who has died, aged 45. More than 300 people turned out for the funeral of Bob Taylor, who died on December 2 after a short battle with cancer. Mr Taylor, of Boxted Avenue, Clacton, had spent all his life
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Essex: Ipswich Town players bring cheer to Colchester children's ward
SANTA Claus does not normally dress in blue, but some of his helpers obviously do. Ipswich Town footballers Kevin Lisbie, Moritz Volz, Ben Thatcher and Owen Garvan, along with coach Steve Foley, were on hand to spread some seasonal cheer at Colchester
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Essex: youngsters urged to text in info on teens with knives
A campaign has been launched asking Essex youngsters to text police if they know someone who carries a knife. Essex Police are supporting the Crimestoppers’ Know Someone With a Knife text campaign. A new text number has been set up by Crimestoppers,
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Colchester: Army cooks Christmas dinner for primary school
IT was a regimented Christmas dinner for one school as the Army arrived to cook for it. The 161 children at St Michael’s School in Camulodunum Way, Colchester, tucked into turkey, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, and finished off their meal
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Essex: if you like to listen to books, these e-audiobooks are now available
PEOPLE who prefer to hear their books rather than read them can get a new service from their library. Essex County Council’s library service is making audiobooks available through its website. For the past four years e-books – which
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Manningtree: drink-driver, 20, will be spending Christmas in jail
A BANNED motorist who crashed his brother’s car into a house while over the drink-drive limit will spend Christmas in jail. Jamie Underwood, 20, fled after taking a bend too quickly and driving a BMW into the wall of a home in Manningtree High Street
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Colchester: council 'cash on delivery' idea is rejected
A OFFER by a councillor to take a pay cut if he fails to deliver has been rejected by his colleagues. Colchester Council business supremo Paul Smith volunteered to be the “guinea pig” for a scheme which would have seen £1,200 a year docked from his special
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Halstead: youngsters get to meet Santa at library
’TWAS the week before Christmas, and a rather important man was seen in the library. Preschool children were given a special treat when Father Christmas stopped at Halstead library to read stories and sing carols before his busy week begins. He visits
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Essex: new round of talks start on county waste plan
A CONTROVERSIAL planning application is having a second round of consultation starting today. The Landowner Gent Fairhead and Co has applied for permission to develop an integrated waste management facility at Rivenhall Airfield. James Abbott, Braintree
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Frinton: woman accused of killing partner is hurt in prison
A WOMAN accused of killing her partner at a Frinton flat has been injured in a prison accident. Anne Starmore had been due to be sentenced for the manslaughter of Michael Bernhardt at Chelmsford Crown Court, after she admitted the charge at an earlier
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Essex: students are left waiting for further education cash
STRUGGLING students say they still have not been paid hundreds of pounds intended to help them stay in education. Many teenagers studying at Colchester Institute have yet to get any of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) they are entitled to, even
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Colchester: police condemn firebug after blaze at school gates
AN investigation is under way after an arsonist started a fire beside the gates of a Colchester school. Staff at St John’s Green Primary School found that someone had started a fire at the rear of the school. Paint on the metal gates was burned off
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Seasiders through to quarter-finals
FC Clacton are through to the quarter-finals of the Essex Senior Cup. The Seasiders made it to the last eight after beating neighbours Wivenhoe Town 4-0 at the Rush Green Bowl. The Clacton goals came from Tommy Noble, Paul Hillier, Dan Smith and Mark
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TV celebrity makes Para Jason's birthday a special one
I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here contestant Nicola Mclean popped into Colchester to launch a new range of Ultimo underwear at the town’s Debenhams store - where soldiers from the town’s garrison had the tough assignment of helping her out. The
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John lives his Australian dream
It's every cricketers’ dream to represent England in Australia. Now Clacton stalwart John Stuck can claim to have done just that, after producing a star performance for their over-60s side during a tour Down Under. He played in two warm-up games, plus
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Dicks lends his support to the Dragons
Former West Ham, Liverpool and England full-back Julian Dicks will be showing his support for Wivenhoe Town at their Ridgeons League premier division game against Needham Market this weekend. Dicks will be jetting into Broad Lane from Spain, where he
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Harts find a way back
Harts came back from a goal down at half-time to record a 3-1 success against Flag in the Clacton Sunday League premier division. They went a goal down after 20 minutes when a deflected clearance fell at the feet of a Flag striker who promptly netted
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Willetts’ brace helps Real progress
Real BTS made progress in the Essex Sunday Premier Cup with a 2-0 victory against Old Town Athletic thanks to a brace of goals from Willetts. Prettygate went to AFC Pegasus Reserves in the Essex Junior Trophy but went down 2-1 as strikes by Clark and
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Ravensdale left as sole representatives
Just one Colchester and East Essex League side remains in the Essex Junior Trophy after Real Ravensdale knocked out fellow seasiders Clacton United Reserves. Real won 6-1 to claim their place in the area semi-final, with a brace by Richie Beet and ones
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Top dogs Bergholt are being pursued
West Bergholt grabbed the top spot in the Kent Blaxill Essex and Suffolk Border League premier division with a 4-0 win over Coggeshall Town, but they are being closely pursued by University of Essex. The University side had a 5-1 win over
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Colchester: MPs take schools row to the Commons
TWO MPs have brought the controversial shake-up of Colchester’s schools to the attention of a Government minister. Liberal Democrat Bob Russell and Conservative Bernard Jenkin are both anxious to see a decision on the reorganisation proposed
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North Essex: boy, 12, attacked in 'unprovoked' assault
A 12-YEAR-OLD boy was attacked in an “unprovoked” assault. The youngster was left “very shaken” after the assault, at the junction of Pathfields Road and Douglas Road, Clacton. A spokesman for Clacton police said the boy was approached by two other
