Archive

  • Antony’s visit to site of his family tragedy

    A MAN paid a fact-finding visit to Shoebury Garrison after discovering his great grandfather died there in a freak accident. Antony Gould was researching his family history when he discovered his great grandfather, Col WA Fox Strangways, was commandant

  • Rayleigh sporting club still hopes to stay put

    MEMBERS of a sports and social club are hoping Countryside’s proposed new homes won't scupper their club’s hopes of an extended lease on the site where it is based. Rayleigh Town Sports and Social Club has been in talks with the council about extending

  • "Has anybody seen the gullies being cleared?"

    ANGRY residents and councillors called into question work being carried out to stop further flooding. Since the floods in July, Essex County Council says it has cleared 4,000 gullies in Castle Point and cleaned all the drains. It usually cleans

  • Street dancers are the world champions – five times over

    TALENTED youngsters are celebrating after have returning from a street dance competition as world champions. The 16 Benfleet and Canvey dancers from Mala Academy of Dance won five top awards at the United Dance Organisation world championships

  • Burglars stole £5,000 during burglary in Basildon

    BURGLARS stole £4,000 of jewellery and £1,000 cash from a house during a burglary in Basildon. Police are appealing for witnesses after thieves broke in to the house in Kirby Road by forcing the patio doors at the back of the house. They stole

  • Burglars cause £1,000 damage in raid

    BURGLARS caused £1,000 of damage during a burglary in Billericay. Thieves targeted the house in Outwood Common Road, Billericay, sometime between 12.35pm and 4.30pm on Monday, August 25. They got into the property by smashing through the French

  • My hell after baby born at 24 weeks

    A MOTHER has described ten weeks of hell as her first child struggled to survive after being born just 24 weeks into the 40-week pregnancy. Hayley Pleasant knew she was at risk of giving birth prematurely, due to low levels of collagen in her body

  • 500 homes for West of Rayleigh

    A MAJOR new housing estate with 500 homes and its own primary school, nursery, shops and clinic could be built just outside Rayleigh. C o u n t r y s i d e Properties has put in an outline planning application to develop on green belt land north

  • Blood testing to stay local

    A PARTNERSHIP between Southend and Basildon Hospitals to deliver pathology services in south Essex has been given the go ahead. The hospitals confirmed earlier this year that they were teaming up with private laboratory Integrated Pathology Partnerships

  • We want your stories for Non League Day!

    IN a week’s time we will all be gearing up for Non League Day – an annual event that has become an institution in the world of non-league football. And the Echo wants to hear from you – the fans who make non-league what it is – about what makes

  • Essex Senior League clubs turn attention to FA Cup

    FA CUP: Bowers & Pitsea are back in cup action after securing an impressive win against Basildon United earlier in the week. Rob Small’s side ran out 3-0 winners against Colin Cook’s men in the Essex Senior Cup thanks to strikes from Julian

  • Woman found guilty of benefit fraud

    A BENEFIT cheat has escaped a jail term after failing to declare she was living with her partner. Claire Sewell, 38, of Clifford Close, Laindon, swindled £11,275 in housing benefit and council tax benefit between June 2011 and September 2013.

  • Fire service helps woman during 90-minute wait for ambulance

    AN INJURED woman was helped by the fire service after an ambulance took an hour and a half to arrive. Southend firefighters gave the 88-year-old woman oxygen and stayed with her after she tripped on a paving slab outside BHS in High Street, Southend

  • Sit in a wheelchair for 12 hours for £40

    A MAN wants to raise money for charity by pushingawheelchair along the seafront for 12 hours - but he needs a passenger. Dave Kates, 59, of Hill Road, Benfleet, will push his late motherメs wheelchair from Chalkwell Avenue, Westcliff, to Shoebury

  • Victim conned into letting would-be burglars into his home

    TWO men tricked their way into a man's home and raided his bedroom. The pair said they were investigating a leak from a flat above, in Mynchens, Basildon, and entered the 58-year-old's flat. The first man took the victim into the kitchen to

  • Devastated mum's life "turned upside down"

    A DEVASTATED single mum has had her life turned upside down when her little girl was diagnosed with cancer on her second birthday. Hayley Blackwell, 25, is staying at Great Ormond Street Hospital, in London, after doctors discovered daughter Eva

  • Thieves smash taxi while stealing car

    A TAXI driver has been unable to work after his cab and his wife’s car were damaged in a botched theft. Joseph Magri, 50, was woken in the early hours by the sound of his wife’s car being reversed into his taxi. Yobs got in by smashing the

  • Man lands in Southend Airport with drugs from Amsterdam

    A MAN who smuggled three grams of cannabis into the UK through Southend Airport has been spared jail. Nicky Campbell, 29, from London, was found with the class B drug at Southend Airport, after flying in from Amsterdam on an EasyJet flight.

  • Pals’ brawl ended with man bottled

    A MAN who was bottled at a family birthday party had to pay his attacker £80 compensation. Antony Rollinson, 49, suffered cuts to his head after he started a fight with pal Bradley Gipson, at the Bar Plazma, in Wickford High Street. Both men

  • Brave Kerry is walking again after losing leg in horror crash

    A WOMAN who lost her leg in a horrific motorbike crash has taken her first steps on a prosthetic leg just twomonths after the accident. Kerry Waters, 29, of Alexander Road, Ashingdon, lost part of her right leg in the crash, in Brays Lane, Canewdon

  • Arrests after 100mph chase on A127

    BURGLARS reached speeds of 100mph during a late-night police chase on the A127. Officers mounted the high-speed pursuit after thieves stole a Fiat 500 and a BMW from the driveway of a home in Wickford. The drivers, who had turned off the lights