ESSEX has a "compelling case" to declare independence, it has been claimed. County council leader Lord Hanningfield said residents would be better off breaking from Westminster. He said they pay an average £1,000 more in tax than they get back in public
A 60-YEAR-OLD man was left with serious leg injuries after he was struck by a car while trying to cross over the busy A127 dual carriageway with his dog. The man ended up lying on the central reservation in agony after he was hit by a blue Ford Mondeo
BASILDON & Pitsea have taken over the leadership of the Southend Indoor Cricket League's Premier Division following their seven-run win over Southend Trinity. Batting first, the new towners made 96-5 with Luke Daw top-scoring on 26. S Hunt took 2-18
A DOG which helped save lives after the 7/7 terrorist atrocities in London has been awarded for bravery. Cocker spaniel Jake and his partner PC Bob Crawford, 48, from Billericay, were the first members of the emergency services allowed on a bus in Tavstock
THE family of a cancer victim have raised money to buy vital hospital equipment in her memory. Donna Pickering, from Rayleigh, lost her battle with lung and liver cancer in February, 2007, aged 43. Husband Mark and dad Colin Regan, set up the Donna
RESIDENTS and allotment holders are celebrating after Southend Council dropped plans for a controversial waste transfer station. The council gained planning permission in 2006 for the site, despite opposition from hundreds of people living near the allotment
LEARNER drivers and instructors have criticised a proposal to close Southend's driving test centre and relocate it to Basildon. The Driving Standards Agency has confirmed it wants to shut the centre, in Prittlewell Chase, but says it will complete a
POLICE are cracking down on troublemakers in Canvey's Avenues area, arresting ten nuisance youths in the past fortnight. The arrests have come as officers try to tackle unruly and criminal behaviour by increasing the number of patrols. Police have been
COUNCIL chiefs just "ticked boxes" when they voted to evict hundreds of Irish travellers from illegally-built homes, the High Court was told. The Equality and Human Rights Commission claimed Basildon Council had a "Pontius Pilate approach" to its illegal
HEARTFELT messages have poured in for three young wo-men who were killed in two separate crashes on the A13. Louise Cooper, 23, of Celedon Close, Chafford Hundred, had got out of her car after a minor shunt when she was hit by a lorry, between Stanford-le-Hope
WEST Ham's chances of securing European football have been boosted by the news that England currently top the UEFA Fair Play rankings. Should England finish the season in first place, the Premier League will be awarded an extra spot in next year's UEFA
FIREFIGHTERS and councillors have condemned louts who started fires in two parks. Hadleigh firefighters had to deal with blazing play equipment in Richmond Park, Benfleet. They were then called to a fire at a playground in Bonchurch Park, Leigh,
A GARAGE is back up and running - just hours after its MoT centre and office were gutted by fire. The blaze ripped through Christchurch Service Station, in Christchurch Road, Southend, prompting fears it might ignite nearby propane cylinders. The ground
TWO pilots battled their way through blizzards to fly a small aircraft from Florida to Southend airport. One was local man Tony Gunn. The other Peter Kohl, son of the former German chancellor Helmut Kohl. The two men were cooped up together for a long
THE Mosquito, the high-pitched sound device used to discourage troublemakers from clustering in targeted spots, has proved to be worth its tiny weight in gold. Without confrontation or detention or other heavy-handed methods, it has quietly removed
A REPTILE rescue centre is facing a battle over a shed which is in the wrong place... by just 1ft (30cm). The specially-designed garden shed houses up to 50 reptiles - and allowed rescue centre Di Butcher to reclaim her home from the sick or unwanted
A YOUNG man admitted delivering the blow that left a reveller unconscious and needing emergency surgery - but insisted he was protecting a friend. Billy Sinclair, 20, said when he left Katz, a lapdancing club in Times Square, Basildon, in the early hours
GREENSWARD College became national champions for a second consecutive year at the English Schools Basketball Association division one under-15 competition in Nottingham. Having won the under-14 title in 2007, Hockley's Greensward went into the competition
CANVEY Amateur Boxing Club chiefs were pleased as punch following the success of their latest dinner show. The event at Heybridge Swifts FC's Scraley Road ground featured a mixture of Eastern Counties Golden Gloves finals, junior and senior bouts. And
SOUTHEND darts professional Steve Maish (pictured below) suffered more frustration at the PDC Blue Square UK Open South-West Regional Final in Taunton. The 44-year-old who is nicknamed Mr Magic hit five 180 maximums, but it was still not enough to secure
NORTHLANDS Park regular Tom Butler has again been making his mark at the venue landing a brace of carp weighing in at 17lb 15oz and 20lb 8oz. Both of Butler's fish came from the road bank of the road lake where he lost a relatively small mirror carp
A MAMMOTH refurbishment of a community centre is under way. More than 30 volunteers, aged seven to 70, pitched in to help at Northlands Park Community centre, North- lands Park, Felmores, while local businesses rallied round to offer tools, parts and
FORMER Southend United striker Freddy Eastwood has admitted for the first time he may have to quit Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer. The 24-year-old, who left the Shrimpers to join the Champion-ship club for £1.5million last summer, has endured
FORMER Southend United striker Drewe Broughton is hoping to link up with his former Shrimpers team-mate Freddy Eastwood in the Wales national team. The 29-year old MK Dons targetman, who scored eight goals in 56 games for Blues between June 2003 and
CAMPAIGNERS are stepping up their efforts to stop green belt development in Corringham. Anne Sandu, 51, of Lampits Lane, is part of the Save Corringham Green Belt Group, which has put together a 1,500 name petition. More than 40 people attended a joint
ROCHFORD Hundred have moved upto fourth in London Three North East following a fine 17-5 at Ipswich on Saturday. Hundred bounced back well from crashing out of the EDF Energy Senior Vase at Dover last weekend and ran out worthy winners against their
SOUTHEND United manager Steve Tilson was left reflecting on what could have been following his side's 2-1 defeat at lowly Millwall last night. The Shrimpers opened the scoring through Nicky Bailey. But they could not build on the early effort and eventually
BOBBY Zamora continued his comeback from a long-term knee injury by hitting a hat-trick as West Ham Reserves overcame their Birmingham City counterparts at Upton Park last night. The striker, sidelined since August, scored twice in five second half minutes
A POPULAR Billericay doctor has been nominated for a Health Hero award. Dr Usman Buhari, from the Billericay Health Centre, has had everyone - from his receptionist to the patients - singing his praises. And although he says he's just "a normal man doing
LEIGH Town Council will shell out more than £2,000 to spruce up the town with new bollards and trees. Ten trees will be planted in the streets between Hadleigh Road and Tattersall Gardens, and new bollards will be installed and old ones repainted. More
FIVE weeks after a fire destroyed a 37-year-old electrical goods supply business, it is back up and running and fully stocked. Jegs Electrical warehouse burnt to the ground on December 22, destroying £3million of stock. Now the firm is in temporary
LIB Dem councillors are demanding more public toilets in Southend, saying the current shortage will stop some tourists returning to the town. Lib Dem leader Graham Longley called for action after a new report to Southend Council revealed ten public toilets
A SCHOOLBOY caused £77,000 damage when he set fire to three new houses, a court heard. The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is alleged to have started the blaze at the homes being built by Denne Construction, in The Slades, Vange.
TWO vehicles have been involved in a crash on the A13. The accident happened on the Southend-bound carriageway, at about 7.50am, near the junction of the M25, in Thurrock. A Fiat car and a tipper truck are believed to have collided. Police have set
A HOSPICE that is desperate for funding has received a helping hand from a freemasons' lodge. Fair Havens hospice, which is based in Westcliff and helps terminally-ill adults from across south Essex, needs to raise £250,000 by the end of next month to
Essex Police horses are back on the county's streets after an eight-year absence. There are eight horses in total, looked after by nine dedicated officers. Two of them patrolled Southend seafront to mark the animals' return to duty. Thunder, was ridden
ESSEX County Council has announced a £1.5million bid to save some of the country's threatened post offices by offering a subsidy to keep them open. The council has confirmed it is talking to the Post Office about the possibility of saving some of the
What absolute nonsense from Bob Chapman (Feb 05) where he asserts that for a brief interlude in history, the world went to war against fascism. Neither Hitler nor Hirohito were fascists. W H Diment Church Road Laindon
I hear Basildon County Council may put council tax up. I wish the council would give us what we want, not what it thinks we want. There should be no trips abroad using our money for any councillors. Mr JF Maguire Great Knightleys Basildon
At last Basildon Council is investigating the benefit cheats and it's about time, but what is amazing is the puny penalties handed out to the culprits when found guilty. Why are they not made to pay back the money they have stolen from us? One case in
Following the recent letters regarding parking in Southend, I would like to praise two traffic wardens I came across in Alexandra Street, Southend, a few weeks ago. I have a blue badge and had recently fallen foul of a warden in Leigh when I had parked
The latest ban on dogs from the beaches on Canvey during the summer months will not stop the minority of people who do not clear up after their dogs and who allow them to run out of control. The banning of dogs will just affect the majority of responsible
Every time you open the paper, you read about the bad things young people do. People are reluctant to say nice things about them. Why is this? They can't all be bad? Is it just because there are not enough things out there for young people to do to keep
TWO community cops have completed a course focused on community spirit involving 13-year-olds from Woodlands, Barstable and James Hornsby schools. Kat Paternoster, based at Laindon, and Chris Higginson, based at Billericay, and the youngsters were put
THREE teenagers admitted a string of charges in connection with the kidnap, false imprisonment and attack of two men. Femi Ajayi, 18, pleaded guilty to three counts of kidnap, two counts of false imprisonment and assault when he appeared at Basildon
ALLOTMENTS are in demand across Basildon. More than 100 people are now on an ever-growing council waiting list. Tony Hedley, councillor with responsibility for open spaces, revealed that the authority is in the early stages of exploring the possibility
CASUAL fishermen throwing in their lines off Southend Pier found they had some unusual competition - from seals. A cheeky mother and pup were spotted on Sunday by anglers who gathered to fish from the pierhead, and found they were getting beaten to some
COASTGUARD staff are being balloted for strike action in a pay dispute. Employees at Thames Coastguard's control room in Walton on the Naze, which covers Southend and Canvey, are among union members who might take part in the first industrial action
A LABOUR MP has pressed the Home Secretary to act over the number of police officers leaving Essex to join the Met. Angela Smith, joined a number of MPs representing police forces surrounding the Metropolitan Police area, to campaign against the transfer
CHARLIE and Lola fans flocked to Hockley Library for a fun packed morning and story telling. The popular characters are from a series of children's picture books by Lauren Child and have been turned into a cartoon for TV. Twenty youngsters joined in
A BUSINESSMAN and councillors have criticised calls to ban a device which emits a high pitched sound to clear youths from trouble hotspots. Mike Ayre, of Advanced Integrated Security, in Westcliff, spoke out after England's Children's Commissioner claimed
THE £5million revamp of two clubs in Bas Vegas will create one of the biggest super-clubs in the country. The ambitious project at Festival Leisure Park, which will see the former Bonds club reborn as New York New York, and Lava Ignite rebranded as Liquid
SEEVIC College students have proved they are all heart - byraising more than £3,000 for charity. The students raised the money with several events in aid of four charities, including the British Heart Foundation's annual Valentine's Appeal. The college's
POLICE are stepping up patrols in the King George playing fields on Canvey after a spate of complaints about antisocial behaviour. People living in Poplar Road, Blackthorne Road and Willalla House have complained about vandalism, underage drinking, late
TEENAGERS who turned their lives around have been rewarded for their endeavours at a Prince's Trust ceremony. Pupils at Chase High School were presented with bronze and silver awards for their hard work on the Prince's Trust xl scheme. Emma Prince,
PROPOSALS for an airport in the Thames Estuary have been widely dismissed by community leaders - with one MP calling them "monstrous". Tory London mayoral candidate Boris Johnson revived the debate about an estuary airport as part of his election campaign
STRUGGLING Millwall grabbed their first home league victory of the year to put a dent into Southend United play-off aspirations at the New Den tonight. Steve Tilson's side raced into an early lead with Nicky Bailey brilliantly bagging his ninth goal
STARTLING figures have revealed the number of homes repossessed last year soared by 21 per cent to an eight-year high. A total of 27,100 homes were taken back by lenders in 2007 after their owners failed to keep up with mortgage repayments - more than
A ROW has broken out between Tories and Liberal Democrats in a marginal Southend ward over a possible traveller site. The issue arose after the East of England Regional Assembly said Southend should make room for 15 traveller pitches as part of the number
