Archive

Date

Social club for the disabled must shut

A CHARITY has been forced to axe a popular social club for young disabled adults due to a huge drop in donations. Over the past 12 months the Hamelin Trust in Billericay, has been hit by a dramatic 50 per cent drop in cash coming in.

Date

Woman thanks medics for saving her life

A WOMAN close to having her life-support machine switched off has recovered to thank doctors who saved her. Catherine Allburt, 41, collapsed without warning at work in May this year after suffering a massive aneurysm. Her heart stopped twice and the

Date

Crash victim named as motorcylist from Pitsea

A motorcyclist who died following a collision with a car has been named. Karen Stone, 44, from Pitsea, suffered fatal injuries when her Suzuki motorcycle was involved in a crash with a Renault Clio on the A14 at Coddenham in Suffolk. A 19

Date

Burglars break into Great Wakering home

BURGLARS broke into a house to steal a handbag and purse. They first tried to jemmy open a set of souble glazed French doors at the house in High Street, Great Wakering. They then managed to get in through a small UPVC window and steal

Date

King: Concord are all fired up for ‘last realistic’ chance of success this term

STEVE King says Concord Rangers are determined to make the most of their last realistic chance of silverware this season as they head into a last 16 showing with Conference South heavyweights Chelmsford tonight. The centre back, who scored a hat-trick

Date

Man threatened in Southend street

TWO thugs threatened to break a man's legs in a Southend street. The 32-year-old victim was in St Augustine’s Avenue, when they approached him. It happened at 1pm on Sunday, November 20,leaving the victim distressed. The first

Date

Great Wakering Rovers 2, Chatham Town 3

MANAGERLESS Great Wakering staged a gutsy second-half comeback but it was not enough to prevent them slipping to another defeat. Rovers’ caretaker boss Danny Heath recalled some of those players who had fallen out of favour during Danny Greaves’ short

Date

Hampton & Richmond 4, Canvey Island 2

CANVEY threatened a dramatic late comeback but still went out of this year’s competition. The Gulls went 3-0 down but got it back to 3-2 before Dave Tarpey completed hit hat-trick at the death to book the hosts’ place in the next round. The Gulls were

Date

Maidenhead United 1, Billericay 0

BILLERICAY were knocked out of this year’s Trophy after going down to a first-half strike at Maidenhead. The hosts took a 24th-minute lead courtesy of a fine individual effort from Reece Tison-Lascaris, and they never surrendered that advantage at York

Date

Burglars strike in Southend and Leigh

BURGLARS have been forcing their way into homes where people have not properly locked their doors. They have been targeting Southend homes with UPVC doors which people are not locking properly with a key. This was how they got into a house in Picasso

Date

Southend miss out on signing Benson

SOUTHEND United failed in a deadline day swoop for Charlton Athletic striker Paul Benson. Blues were keen to strengthen their forward line by bringing in the 32-year-old who grew up supporting the club. But the Echo understands Swindon

Date

Chris Phillips: My views on the Blues

HAVING been undone by one of their former strikers at the weekend, attention will now switch towards the capabilities of Southend United’s current crop of forwards. Blues were unable to bolster their attacking options before the window closed for loan

Date

Harris: I'm gutted

SOUTHEND United striker Neil Harris was left massively disappointed despite scoring in his side’s 1-1 draw with Bristol Rovers at Roots Hall on Saturday. Harris put Blues ahead midway through the second half with his fifth goal of the season. But he

Date

Updated: Fire opposite the Kursaal

FIREFIGHTERS tackled a blaze in a derelict building opposite the Kursaal in Southend. Three fire crew were called to the incident just before 2pm this afternoon. Police closed Southchurch Avenue whilst the fire was put out, but it reopened

Date

Boss's delight as new £50m Southend Tesco is approved

A SHOPPING centre boss has spoken of his delight after £50million plans for a huge new Tesco in Southend were finally approved by councillors. Bill Harkness, managing director of Delamere Estates, which owns the Victoria, has been a vocal supporter

Date

Billericay shop owner targeted by tricksters

A SHOP owner who fell prey to two tricksters is warning other businesses to be on their guard. Jon Li, who owns Billericay Computers, in Crown Yard, on the town’s High Street, was working in his shop when the two con artists came in. One of the men

Date

100 young trees to replace felled oaks in Laindon

ONE hundred new trees are being planted in place of several large oaks chopped down to make way for allotments. Basildon Council caused outrage when it felled between the oak trees in Victoria Park, Laindon, in January, to make way for 40 allotments.

Date

Basildon Hospital boss: We'll fight back after turbulent times

ONE of the top bosses at Basildon Hospital has admitted the trust has been through “turbulent” times. Sir Peter Dixon, chairman of Basildon and Orsett Hospital’s NHS Trust, made the admission while stressing changes were on the way to improve healthcare

Date

Updated: Missing man found

FEARS are growing for the welfare of a missing man. A MAN who went missing from Basildon hospital has been found safe and well. Bradley Lloyd, 20, went missing from Basildon Hospital in the early hours of Sunday. He was found

Date

Council surrenders to a greater power

Strange isn’t it? Southend Council allows Tesco to put up yet another of its shops right in the heart of town, yet on numerous occasions it has persistently disallowed a planning application by my lovely Leigh dentist. He wants to demolish an old bungalow

Date

Be wary of speedwatch

I read with dismay that Leigh is to have a community speedwatch scheme. My sister received a warning letter regarding her speeding in Norfolk. She hadn’t been in Norfolk for years and produced a letter from her employer confirming she was working in

Date

Town will be ruined

Reading about the redevelopment of Pitsea, I’m not surprised they want to knock down Pitsea pool and ruin probably the best market for miles. One councillor said Pitsea’s pool is underused. Well, so is Basildon golf course, so why not build a supermarket

Date

Best place for allotments?

I read it is possible Basildon Council may put allotments where the illegal site was at Dale Farm. What an excellent idea. Now they are all flooding back they will have somewhere to stay, and free food! Will it cost a huge amount of money and heartache

Date

Cheers! I’ve been condemned to yet more sleepless nights

I recently went to a planning hearing for yet another drinking establishment in Billericay High Street. Despite 177 objections, the application was approved. This planning meeting was the usual nominal nod to the democratic process, but the outcome was

Date

How many fields on list?

Eversley playing fields is yet another children’s playing field that is on the growing list of recreation areas which could be sold off for development by Basildon Council. Yet again this is another field in the southern wards of the borough. Councillor

Date

Is it now OK to swear in court?

One of our judges has proclaimed that it is OK for anyone to use the F-word, as it is just a normal word acceptable for everyday use and it is no longer an offence to swear at policemen carrying out their duties. This must mean that it is OK to use this

Date

Licence laws must change

Who can help but be moved by the stories of those distraught families who have lost loved ones as a result of accidents involving people who should not be on the road (Nov 21)? The law has to change. The medical profession has to be allowed to notify

Date

Slip on your stilettos ladies and join the midnight charity walk

WOMEN across the borough will be donning their slippers and stilettos for a midnight walk in aid of St Luke’s Hospice. The walk, which will take place inside Lakeside Shopping Centre, has been running for three years and has so far helped raise

Date

Never on a Sunday? But building work continued

NOISY building work on a new housing estate has been carried out on Sundays – to the frustration of neighbours. Work on 144 new homes, on the former Gloucester Park swimming pool site, off Broadmayne, Basildon, and surrounding land, is only supposed

Date

Bid to overturn ban on groups planting trees

A BAN on neighbourhood groups planting trees could be overturned. Five neighbourhood groups in Castle Point were told not to spend their £2,000 annual budgets, which are provided by the local authority, on new trees because of ongoing maintenance costs

Date

In your Echo this week: Win Cliffs Pavilion panto tickets

WANT to see Shane Richie in the big Cliffs Pavilion panto, Aladdin? Buy your Echo all this week for your chance to win family tickets for the panto, the biggest and best in the region. The classic pantomime will have a shorter run

Date

Firefighters called to early hours house fire

FIREFIGHTERS were called to a house fire in Hockley. The fire started in the early hours of this morning in the lounge at the home in Church Road. Crews arrived just before 1am and spent about half an hour tackling the small blaze.

Date

Win big with your Echo...

Date

Harrold pleased to continue scoring run against Blues

MATT Harrold spent two years struggling to score at Roots Hall – but now he cannot stop doing it. Harrold netted just once at Blues' home ground in 25 league outings during his time at the club. But, since his departure, he has scored