IN TODAY'S GAZETTE: A DENTAL worker faces jail after trying to blackmail Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.

Martin Peckham, 41, of Silverthorne Close, Colchester, demanded £200,000 from the motor racing supremo claiming his daughter Tamara was going to be kidnapped.

* Colchester's population has grown by more than ten per cent over the past decade. Figures from last year's census show there were 173,100 people living in the town.

* A plan has been unveiled for Essex's first solar farm. The £20 million project, if approved, would see 60,000 solar panels on land off the A12 at Kelvedon.

* A father helped deliver his baby daughter at home in Mistley after his partner went into labour.

Louise Rowe, 22, had been sent home from Colchester General Hospital because she was not ready to give birth. But baby Macie came along quickly and was born with help from dad Kaya who took instructions from the emergency services.

FOR MORE ON THESE AND OTHER GREAT STORIES, SEE TODAY'S GAZETTE. THERE IS ALWAYS MORE IN THE PAPER THAN THERE IS ONLINE.