A HAUL of crack cocaine was seized in two simultaneous police raids. Officers stormed a house in Boscombe Road, Southend, at about 6pm today and found two small rocks of the drug. A man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of possession of a Class A
TRAIN services to Southend Victoria have been disrupted after a man was hit by a train in Romford. National Express East Anglia services operating from the station were delayed by up to one hour in some directions after the incident happened during
TWO BOGUS police officers attacked an elderly couple in their own home. The crooks knocked on the door of a bungalow in Lilac Avenue, Canvey, just after 8pm on Friday, September 2. They told the occupants, a couple in their eighties, that
HAYLEY McLean will round off the track season of her life this weekend when she competes for England at the Commonwealth Youth Games. The 16-year-old, from Stanford-le-Hope, has already made the final of the 400m hurdles at the World Youth Championships
A VIOLENT robber who repeatedly terrorised and tortured his victim has been jailed for a minimum of five years. During the final attack John Marchant, 42, forced his way into Alan Thorpe’s home, tied up his wrists and ankles using shoelaces, stuffed
A SCHOOLGIRL who suffers from severe epilepsy can now ride to school after her classmates rallied round to buy her a specially-adapted trike. Georgia Kent-Smith, ten, a pupil at Pitsea Junior School, suffers between five and 15 epileptic fits a day.
SOUTHEND businesses could soon be charged thousands of pounds extra in tax to improve the town centre. Council chiefs are keen to increase business rates to pay for a business improvement district, in the High Street, seafront and surrounding
HUNDREDS of people are expected to take part in a march this weekend to protest against the Dale Farm eviction, despite travellers’ eleventh-hour offer to move. As many as 700 people – including travellers, their supporters and human rights groups –
Police are looking for a man who failed to pay his taxi fare in Southend. The offence happened during the lunchtime of Tuesday, August 9 when Mark Cane used a local taxi firm to travel between three addresses, one of which included his home
I have generally been supportive of Southend Council and the things it has achieved. But what mystifies me is the successive councils who have little respect for the historic buildings in the town. I cannot believe councillor Nigel Holdcroft
No one objects to travellers actually travelling. It’s when they stop that problems start. The Dale Farm travellers seem to be saying they want to settle down, so why not in southern Ireland, where they’ve travelled from? Tricking your new hosts
AN entrepreneur will spend £1.5million converting an empty pub into a plush restaurant and horse riding centre. Millionaire David Bishop, 60, bought the Wheatsheaf pub, in Main Road, Rettendon, for £400,000 and has spent £100,000 on refurbishments
Southend Council wants to hear from residents of areas to be zoned for selective licensing in Milton and Kursaal wards by the cutoff date of September 23. Many owner-occupiers, landlords and tenants are unaware of how they will be affected.
When I grew up in Laindon during the Forties and Fifties, the war memorial stood proudly at the front of the British Legion hall in the High Street. The two appeared inseparable, until the brutalisation of Laindon by Basildon Development Corporation
What a contrast there has been between the long term vision of the builders of Basildon New Town and the short termism of the council which now purports to run the place. Where the town’s planners were so conscious of open space and the creation
It has become clear the enforcement of parking fines by Southend Council is mean-spirited and over the top. At 7.30pm on Saturday, I drove to Nando’s in London Road. There is virtually no customer parking, apart from loading only spots. I went
I agree with Clive Lucas’s letter (September 7) regarding the so-called survey on parking in the Kursaal ward. Having spoken with Southend Council, I have found out not only are residents likely to pay £15 a year for a parking permit for their
I have come to the conclusion conservation does not even exist here in Southend. Why is the new architecture so appalling in Southend, and why is our architectural heritage and local history being so neglected? Southend Council leader Nigel
I agree with Vanessa Redgrave when she described the travellers as warm and gentle people. The United Nations and the Government should intervene and suspend the Dale Farm evictions. This is ethnic cleansing via the back door in the minds of
We live 35 miles from one of the greatest cities in the world. We live on the estuary of one of the world’s greatest rivers. We have award-winning parks and gardens, which regularly win at Chelsea. We have pumped thousands of pounds into City
Too busy to attend a woman being threatened by a man with a Samurai sword (Echo, August 22). Too busy to issue a description of a gunman involved in a violent armed robbery (Echo, August 19). Too busy to attend when a bank was recently found
SOUTHEND could struggle to support three casinos, it has been claimed. Jimmy Howard, general manager at Maxims and Mint casino, in Western Esplanade, believes the arrival of a new gambling centre at the Palace Hotel might be a step too far for the town
A HAIR salon which was destroyed when a speeding car ploughed into it has reopened just two weeks later – in a cafe. Helen Brookes and Angela Window, who run Hairline, in Kiln Road, Thundersley, feared they would lose clients after their salon
ALAN McCormack faces his former Southend United side with Swindon Town tomorrow insisting he now holds no hard feelings towards Blues. The Irish midfielder made a controversial departure from Roots Hall in July 2010 after choosing to cancel
SOUTHEND United’s centre-back pairing Chris Barker and Mark Phillips will be wanting to avoid any close shaves at Swindon Town tomorrow. And that is something the defensive duo will have to get used to during the remainder of September. Phillips and
A FRAUDSTER admitted claiming benefits while having over £100,000 in savings stashed away. Sonja Davies, 45, was claiming both council tax and incapacity benefit from Basildon Council. But Davies, of Brackendale Avenue, Pitsea, failed
COUNCIL chiefs are ignoring the illegal expansion of other traveller sites in the district, as the focus remains on Dale Farm, residents claim. Two traveller sites in Pitsea and Wickford have been steadily increasing in size, according to residents
Name: Jean-Paul Kalala Age: 29 DOB: 28/9/82 Birthplace: Nice, France Position: Central midfield Squad number: 19 Nickname: JP Career highlight: Scoring the goal for Grimsby Town which meant we beat Tottenham Hotspur
A WOMAN has died following a collision between a car and a fire engine responding to an emergency call. The fire engine was travelling to rescue a child from another crash when it collided with the car in Broadmayne, Basildon, at 9am.
SOUTHEND’S talented teenage fly-half Jack Jones will be bidding to get his side back on track when they host Shelford tomorrow. The Seasiders were comprehensively seen off 55-28 at Shelford last weekend. And summer signing Jones is now
WESTCLIFF face a second successive home game tomorrow when they host Gravesend. The National Three South London and South East newcomers kicked off their campaign with a 46-15 defeat to Staines last weekend. And their director of rugby Bob Smith is
ROCHFORD Hundred travel to Braintree in London One North tomorrow knowing that they have a hard task ahead them. Both teams lost their opening matches of the season but Hundred are expecting a difficult afternoon as they are without a number of first
MUCH more exclusive material on the travellers at Dale Farm and find out about plans for the Grand Hotel in Leigh proposed by The Only Way in Essex star Michael Norcross. REMEMBER YOUR PAPER IS IN THE SHOPS EARLY THERE
I’M looking forward to heading back to Swindon Town tomorrow because I really enjoyed my time in charge there. We managed to win promotion out of League Two and it was a successful period so I would like to think I’d get a good reception from their
A PROMISING young man who couldn’t find a job turned to dealing heroin and crack cocaine, a court heard. Zacharia Huseen, 21, was caught selling the Class A drugs to an undercover cop in Basildon. Lesli Sternberg, prosecuting, said Huseen, a former
EIGHT schools in Castle Point have become academies. This means the schools will be able to make their own decisions about pay and conditions for staff, the school curriculum and can change the length of terms or school days. Jotmans Hall Primary
Average speed cameras will be installed on Southend seafront after the controversial proposals were approved by councillors tonight. Members of Southend Council's traffic and parking working party spent nearly an hour debating whether to enforce
