COLCHESTER'S town crier visited the University of Essex in celebration of Essex Day. 

Town crier Robert Needham visited the Colchester campus to mark the celebrations by crying out several messages during the Thursday market. 

He included the Sixty Story series, which celebrates the university’s 60th anniversary and information about a career fair for students. 

Mr Needham said: “I just love being a town crier. It’s fantastic, not only because it enables me to work locally, but my town crier activities have taken me around the world.” 

Town criers, also known as bellmen, are officers of a royal court or a public authority who make public pronouncements. 

Many local councils in England and Wales reinstated town criers from the mid-1990s onwards for ceremonial purposes. 

European, Canadian, American and Australian championships are held along a World championship to keep the tradition alive, with crying competitions and the award of “Best Dressed Crier”. 

Essex Day celebrates the county’s patron Saint Cedd and his values of learning and ambition, which have defined Essex in the past, present and future. 

It is also a chance to acknowledge what makes Essex great, including its rich heritage and the many monasteries and churches that were founded by Cedd. 

“Essex Day is very important to me because I was born here in Essed. I was actually born in Wivenhoe, in the very location where the university now stands, so it’s great for me to celebrate the fact that I’m an Essex boy,” Mr Needham said.