ANGRY staff and teenagers gathered at a council meeting to witness a youth service and at least 160 jobs being scrapped.

The cabinet for Essex County Council agreed at County Hall on Tuesday, December 7, to axe Connexions and its 12 centres around the county.

The move was met with derision by the staff, from centres including those in Clacton, Colchester, Braintree and Chelmsford, and the opposition leader who described the move as "misguided, short sighted and damaging".

Connexions co-ordinates youth services and support specifically for 13 to 19-year-olds but the loss of £7 million from the Government's area based grant led cabinet member for education Stephen Castle to recommend the service be abolished.

See the Gazette on Wednesday, December 8, for the full story.