Archive
-
Date
Alex juggles with aspects of success
AT 25 years old, Alexander Ward has achieved what those twice his age could only dream of. Not only has the former Colchester schoolboy been running the web design business he started at the tender age of 17, he is also a crime fighter in his spare time
-
Date
Historic pub told to pay worker for ‘unfair sacking’
A LANDLORD is fighting the threat of bankruptcy after he was ordered to pay compensation to the girlfriend of a former manager who stole £22,000 from his pub. Brendan Doyle and Nina Wright were pub managers at the Hole in the Wall, in Balkerne Hill,
-
Date
Neighbours call police to body on balcony
POLICE were forced to use ladders to reach a balcony where neighbours spotted a body. A resident in Claremont Heights, Colchester, dialled 999 after they saw Stuart Stocking on the balcony of his flat. Two ambulance crews attended the scene
-
Date
Shock floor posters warn students of binge boozing
THIS is the startling sight confronting students who pop to the loo during freshers’ week at Essex University. Bar bosses have installed life-like vinyl posters on the floor which appear to show sozzled scholars who have collapsed in the toilet cubicles
-
Date
Crooks stole £300 I raised for Help for Heroes charity
THIEVES who stole cash raised for Help for Heroes have been branded very low. Jon Williams collected £300 in sponsorship for playing in an Army versus Navy rugby match in aid of the military charity on Saturday But while the Mersea Island Rugby Club
-
Date
Four teenagers arrested over a playground fight at Harwich School
POLICE were called to a playground fight involving four girls. Three police cars arrived at the Harwich School after they were called by a parent of one of the youngsters involved. Four teenagers were arrested, and one was allegedly
-
Date
Ploughing skills are put to the test
FARMERS tested their skills at an annual ploughing match. Competitors from the Greenstead Green and District Agricultural Club, which covers the Halstead area, held their own competitions before the winners joined their counterparts from
-
Date
Parking charge hikes spark criticism in Braintree
A BUSINESS leader fears a rise in parking charges will damage trade. Braintree Council is looking to raise the charges from April 1, 2010, for its 15 car parks. The charges have not been increased since 2006 and councillors have four
-
Date
Did you ask Ed to save schools?
The letter from Labour councillor Tim Young (Gazette, October 5) was lengthy but somewhat short on substance. That said, I hope some good will have come from the “informal” meetings which he and colleagues had with the Secretary of State for
-
Date
Jude was right: town is dangerous at night
The judge is right to say Colchester town centre is getting to be a “no-go zone” (Gazette, October 2). I went to pick my daughter up at 1am the other weekend, as she was at a birthday bash and would never drink and drive. On my way to pick her
-
Date
We should train our own nurses
Your story “80 vacancies filled from abroad” (Gazette, September 25) referring to the 80 nurses being recruited from the Philippines for Colchester General Hospital is an indictment of the massive failure of our national educational system.
-
Date
Don't shrug yor shoulders
I despair when I read further what utter chaos the closure of the Alderman Blaxill and Thomas Lord Audley schools will have on Colchester. Through the Gazette, I have passionately expressed my views on these ridiculous closures. These views
-
Date
Parents dropped kids off at illegal rave
PARENTS have been criticised by police for dropping their children off at an illegal rave – which was only prevented at the last minute. The rave, in a field off Sextons Lane, in Great Braxted, was stopped at about 7.20pm on Friday, after about 60 young
-
Date
Homes hit by power cut
A POWER company has apologised following a power cut to almost 400 homes in Tendring. EDF Energy said power was interrupted to 398 homes in Frinton, Great Holland and Little Clacton, at 4.28am this morning. Spokesman Tracey Sparling said the cut was
-
Date
Boothroyd impresses U's chairman
Colchester United chairman Robbie Cowling is “hugely impressed” by the start made by Aidy Boothroyd. Boothroyd has been in charge of the U’s for little more than a month. But he has already led them on a six-match unbeaten run and guided them to fourth
-
Date
The Human Shrub - gardening's answer to Banksy?
THE Human Shrub has been labelled the “Banksy of the gardening world” ahead of an appearance at the Conservative Party Conference. The green-fingered entity will join a gorilla, local councillors and shadow cabinet members to highlight the
-
Date
72-year-old’s sea rescue prompts safety warning
WINDSURFERS have been warned to take care after an elderly man had to be rescued from the River Blackwater. The 72-year-old was reported missing by staff at the Marconi Sailing Club, Stansgate, at 10.20am on Saturday after he had not been seen
-
Date
Stop check by officers put off my customers
A YOUNG businessman said police spot checks could have cost him customers. Andrew Stevens, 24, of Knox Road, Clacton, said he was made to look like a dodgy dealer after he was quizzed in public while delivering leaflets. Mr Stevens was
-
Date
Ron and Betty are a diamond couple
DASHING Ron stole Betty's heart six decades ago, now the happy couple have celebrated a new milestone together. Ron, 82, and Betty Wilks, 81, tied the knot in 1949 at St Michael’s Church, Braintree, after meeting in their late teens. Mrs Wilks, who
-
Date
Celebrating 60 years together
ANNE and Derrick Bolt marked their diamond wedding anniversary with a party for 90 family and friends at Colchester’s Ramada Hotel. The pair of Sweet Briar Road, Stanway, met at a Colchester nightclub in 1947 after Mr Bolt had returned from serving with
-
Date
Bra chain challenge gives chemotheraphy unit a lift
A CHAIN of bras measuring more than three miles was strung across Great Bentley Green in the name of charity. The sponsored bra challenge was staged by Clacton Lions in aid of the chemotherapy unit at Essex County Hospital, Colchester, to improve the
-
Date
Diamond day for nursery
A GARDEN centre celebrated its 60th anniversary with a fun day for gardeners. Visitors to Olivers Nurseries in Maldon Road, Witham, enjoyed a barbecue, bar, children’s competitions, a bouncy castle, and displays of tractors, old photographs
-
Date
Cyclists raise £7,000
A TEAM of cyclists have raised more than £7,000 for Action Medical Research. Pippa Munro, her husband Simon and their friends Dave Totham and Marise Franklin have just completed their final cycling event of the year in aid of the charity. The team
