Archive

  • Basildon band is on the up and up

    TWO years ago Reece Baker and his pal Stuart Mount picked up guitars and decided they were going to learn how to play. Fast forward to 2011 and they’re heading up Basildon band Raquels – and going from strength to strength. They may

  • Southend legend Terry is still rocking at 68

    FOR his first live performance he sang into a microphone stuck out of a pub toilet window – as he was too young to get in. But it gave Terry Fane, now 68, a taste for the game, and after a career that’s seen him play almost every venue in Southend,

  • Ruby night out at Maharaja

    T’S certainly a colourful place at the Maharaja. Over-the-top crystal clad lighting, a chequered red and green dance floor, plenty of mirrors all add to that slightly tacky, but comforting Indian restaurant feel. It’s quite a size too. It seats 200

  • Dancing fever is hotting up town

    From foxtrot to tango, and everything in between, dance madness has hit the UK. With the popularity of shows like Strictly Come Dancing – won this year by Westcliff’s Kara Tointon – dancing has never been so popular. And Southend is no exception,

  • Go back to the Forties with Glenn Miller

    SNOW delayed their planned Christmas show in December, but the Glenn Miller Orchestra have rescheduled with a new show, Hits From the Blitz. Led by bandleader Ray McVay, the world famous orchestra will bring the sounds of the Forties to the Cliffs Pavilion

  • Hunt for man who disappeared at Lakeside stepped up

    POLICE searching for a missing man will board the bus he took to Lakeside Shopping Centre for new clues. Michael Forrest, 63, from Chelmsford, who has Alzheimer’s disease, disappeared on Tuesday December 7 last year. CCTV footage shows

  • Pair give support to troubled teenagers

    BEING a teenager can be testing at the best of times, but imagine feeling like you are wrestling with your doubts, fears and problems alone and unsuccessfully, with no one to talk to. But youngsters needn’t feel alone any more, thanks to a £40 an hour

  • Updated: Two women hurt after being hit by car

    TWO women received minor injures after being struck by a car in Westcliff. The incident happened in Westcliff Avenue shortly after 4.30pm today. Police and ambulance attended the scene, which was at the junction of Westcliff Avenue, Milton Road,

  • Sainsbury’s is keen to open new store in Leigh

    SAINSBURY’S is poised to open a store within a new development in Leigh. Developers want to build a shop and doctors’ surgery, topped with nine two-bed flats, on the site of the former Westleigh Motors car dealership, at the junction of Flemming

  • Road blocked after car crash

    A ROAD had to be closed off after a car accident in Basildon which left a man with spinal injuries. The incident on the Luncies Road junction of Timberlog Lane happened today at 2.15pm when a green Ford Fiesta and a red Skoda Octavia collided

  • Victory over the Kiwis is a must if England are to rule world

    LOUISA Brownfield admits England can forget all about World Netball Championship glory unless they claim the scalp of Commonwealth champions New Zealand in this month’s three-game series. Thundersley-based Brownfield and her England team-mates re-confirmed

  • Traders: Town needs 200 extra car parking spaces

    A LEADING trader has said hundreds more parking spaces are needed in Billericay to stop the town’s businesses being killed off. Trevor Draper, chairman of the Billericay Chamber of Commerce and a high street business owner, said up to 200 extra spaces

  • Robbers follow man from cash-point

    KNIFE-WIELDING robbers may have watched a man use a cashpoint before they struck. The two men followed their victim along Bradbourne Road, Grays, before threatening him with the blade. They grabbed £300 cash from the 32-year-old man before running

  • College principals urge a rethink on allowance cut

    COLLEGE principals have united to voice their worries about the scrapping of Government grants paid to teenagers to encourage them stay in education. The Government is ending the educational maintenance allowance this summer, leaving thousands

  • Detectives hunt town centre sex attacker

    A CLUBBER was sexually assaulted as she returned home from a night out. The woman, aged in her 20s, was attacked as she left Churchill's bar in Tylers Avenue, Southend. The attack happened in the early hours of Sunday morning. Anyone with information

  • Good Samaritan attacked in Billericay

    A GOOD samaritan was punched after he tried to stop a sickening attack. He had seen a group of five men kicking a 21-year-old man who was lying helpless on the floor. They had knocked him down by punching him in the face outside the One Stop Shop in

  • Why extend Crossrail to Southend?

    Does Southend councillor John Lamb really want to spend at least 75 minutes and stop at every station to Liverpool Street? At present it takes less than 55 from Southend Victoria on a non-stop train from Shenfield to Stratford on services throughout

  • Bring back the WRVS tea lady

    Sitting with a friend at the fracture clinic at Southend Hospital, I innocently offered to fetch a cup of tea and a snack. The nearby WRVS canteen had been closed, so I set off along the longest corridor in Southend. Fortunately, not being the

  • It seems only the sheep vote

    Having been to my first development control committee meeting in Southend recently, I was appalled at the amateur way councillors performed. I’ve heard of party politics, but on every subject they just followed like sheep, unless they had a

  • Perhaps we should kip down in a supermarket

    Anna Waite has a point, it must be a nightmare when so many of us look to her for a solution to the housing crisis. For years, councils have been selling off their more challenging duties like housing and responsibility for provision of services

  • Horse riders need crossing

    I have been horse riding in this area for over 30 years frequently crossing the A127 at Leigh. However, this has become increasingly dangerous due to the volume of traffic. A pegasus crossing would allow us riders to cross in safety and enjoy

  • Spend village cash on paths

    Unlike Kevin Blake (Dec 30), I haven’t done a survey on the people who want, or don’t want, the Sports Village in Basildon. For the few number of people he speaks of, there are many more who would have liked to have seen that amount of money

  • Row over money set aside for Ghyllgrove

    A ROW has broken out over delays in releasing £80,000 set aside for community projects in the Ghyllgrove area of Basildon. Labour councillors Pat and Phil Rackley say nothing has happened since they asked residents how they wanted the money spent seven

  • Machete attack man jailed

    A MAN who attacked bouncers with a machete after being thrown out of a club has been jailed for 10 years. Ronnie Olliffe, 31 of Highlands Boulevard, Leigh carried out the attack at The Sun Rooms in Market Place, Southend in March 2010. One of the bouncers

  • Woman charged over alleged street robberies

    A WOMAN has been charge in connection with the alleged robberies of women in Southend. Nikki Crocker, 23 of Twyford Avenue, Great Wakering was charged with robbery, attempted robbery and three counts of common assault. She appeared at Southend Magistrates

  • Ex-offenders are making our lives a misery

    FED-UP neighbours have told of an upsurge in yobbish behaviour since former offenders were housed near their homes. The ex-criminals are living at newly-built flats in North Road, Westcliff, but residents said they were never warned they were coming.

  • Frank’s haul too much for rivals

    AFTER the frozen lakes stopped sport over recent weeks, matches resumed at Gloucester Park this week. In a field with a very good turnout, Frank Vickers came first with a total weight of 55lb 4oz. In second place was Steve Lloyd with 17lb 13oz, and

  • How caravan park owner Jack came to my rescue

    A WOMAN has praised the owners of a caravan park for helping her recover from pneumonia. Christine Wyvell, 66, lives in Thorney Bay Park, Canvey, which is owned by Jack King, 86, and his family. She originally lived in a caravan with single glazing

  • Police on emergency calls centralised in Rayleigh

    POLICE officers who respond to 999 calls will no longer be based at Canvey and Rochford police stations as they have all moved to Rayleigh. The Essex force claims the move will give residents a better and more efficient service. However,

  • Things looking up in Duane's world

    SOUTHEND United’s towering teenage striker Duane Ofori-Acheampong will be looking to continue his fine scoring sequence when Blues host Coventry City in the third round of the FA Youth Cup tonight. The 18-year-old, who stands at 6ft 4ins tall, has scored

  • Bus firm goes bust owing £500,000

    A COACH company has gone out of business, leaving behind unpaid debts of more than £500,000. Liquidators have been called in to deal with the affairs of Hardy Miles Coaches and its associate company, Hardy Miles Travel, based in Aviation Way, Eastwood

  • Seevic opens second campus in Basildon

    A COLLEGE is opening up a second campus in Basildon to cater for 500 students. Seevic College, which opened a £2.2million teaching base at the Icon, by Basildon rail station, in September 2008, is to open another site at Church Walk House, just off

  • Future of arms-housing management companies in doubt

    MAJOR changes could soon be introduced into the way councils look after their housing stock. Councils set up arms length management companies because changes under the Labour Government meant councils could no longer apply for money to do up their properties

  • Bungalow couple win dormer window fight

    A MAN has won the right to keep dormer windows he build into his bungalow after winning a bitter battle with Southend Council and neighbours. John Dalton, 62, was originally turned down by councillors when he applied to build dormer windows, in the front

  • Campaigners lose fight over homes on playing fields

    CAMPAIGNERS battling to save playing fields from housing development lost their fight, after council chiefs voted plans through. Basildon Council’s development control and traffic management committee voted controversial plans for 73 houses