PUPILS will experience dining in a fine new canteen after a school revealed £1million plans. The Appleton School, in Croft Road, Benfleet , managed to secure money from the Government to build a new, glass-fronted canteen. The old cafeteria
A MAN was jailed for four months after being caught behind the wheel while under a driving ban. John Sheridan, 28, from Orchard Close on the Smithy Fen traveller site in Cottenham, near Cambridge, was also driving with no insurance. Sheridan
Canvey seems set to undergo its biggest housebuilding programme since the Sixties after more homes were earmarked for approval. The island is now ripe for development after plans to build 99 homes on a small trading estate off Point Road were earmarked
A POSTMAN suffered horrific bites to his hands after being attacked by a dog originally bred to hunt lions. Les Darke, from Shoebury , spent five days in hospital undergoing two operations after the attack by a Rhodesian ridgeback in Great Wakering
SHOPPERS and traders are being offered a glimmer of hope as Southend town centre starts to pull itself from the depths of recession. Last year it was a picture of gloom with empty shops scarring the High Street and surrounding roads as traders
I THINK it’s a little bit harsh for the American team to say they will be targeting Rory McIlroy in the Ryder Cup. Rory’s obviously in the form of his life and is the best player in the world, so I think they are trying to heap the pressure onto
THE boys will make the journey to Plymouth Argyle in good spirits this weekend but it’s a long old journey and a difficult place to play. They’re another strong side and came back from 2-0 down to win at Morecambe last weekend so they will be in
ECO-FRIENDLY residents helped Castle Point Council make nearly £50,000 last year with their recycling efforts. Keen residents managed to recycle 49 per cent of the borough’s household waste last year, up from 39.4 per cent in 2010. The food
A WOMAN was grabbed and pinned against a wall by a hooded thug during a frightening attack. The 34-year-old woman from Basildon had been walking through Sunnedon in Basildon - near to the vet surgery - when the attack happened. She was grabbed
A CELEBRATED Basildon dance troupe claim they’ve been snubbed by the council. Members of Kayzar Dance Studios, based in Market Pavement, had hoped to perform at Basildon Council’s Celebration of Youth awards at the Towngate Theatre on November
A FORMER soldier has won his battle to change his council tax band and is set to receive a rebate of more than £2,000. Despite previously being told the banding was correct and nothing could be done, Bob Solway, 60, of Walthams, on Pitsea ’s Chalvedon
ALL-ROUNDER Joe Robbins has left Hadleigh & Thundersley Cricket Club after nine successful years with the club. The 20-year-old, who opened the batting and often the bowling for the Shepherd Neame Division One club last season, said it was
SOUTHEND United’s selection of shot-stoppers are in safe hands, with the youngest goalkeeping coach in the Football League, Terry Mason. The 33-year-old has stepped up from working with the club’s centre of excellence to train Blues’ first team
A BUSINESS raided by environmental health has put a tongue-in-cheek message to customers outside. Leigh fisherman Richard Eves, who runs Leigh Fishermans Co-operative, was caught with 400 untreated oysters in a fridge at his shop in Bell Wharf
CRIME fell dramatically during the Olympics, according to new figures. Crime in Castle Point fell 16 per cent last month, just as the games took over the borough, which hosted the mountain bike competition at Hadleigh Country Park. The figures
A WAVE of job losses look set to hit Ford’s Dunton plant as the motor giant makes efficiency savings. Up to 275 jobs are set to go at Dunton and Ford’s other south Essex site at Warley, near Brentwood. The job losses announced yesterday, which
A SUPERMARKET worker who stole more than £2,000 from her employer has appeared in court. Angela Clarkson, 56, scanned barcodes and made false refunds at Asda in Rayleigh , then used the gift cards herself. Bosses realised something was wrong
SAM Bayda has swapped south-east Essex for Spain to enhance his blossoming tennis career. The 16-year-old former Deanes School pupil has began a two-year, full-time training programme at the Soto Tennis Academy in southern Spain. And he has
MOTORISTS are being warned to be on their guard against rogue clamping firms trying to make a quick buck before new legislation comes into force next week. Fears have been raised that firms which clamp vehicles before charging hundreds of pounds
DANIEL Brooks will be hoping for a bit more luck this weekend as he bids to land the big purse which could seal his place on next season’s European Tour. The 25-year-old from Basildon is an agonising 76 euros outside the top 20 ranking spot he
SOUTHEND United’s Freddy Eastwood wants to fire himself up to fifth in the club’s all-time list of goalscorers before the end of the season. Eastwood, who bagged a late winner against Exeter City last weekend, is currently just eight goals away
SQUATTERS have been forced out of two flats as police make the most of new legislation. They swooped on the addresses in Fairfax Drive, Westcliff, and Sutton Road, Southend, after teenagers forced vulnerable residents out of the properties and&
A troubled 13-year-old girl, who was missing since last week, has been found. Chloe Jones had not been seen since leaving her home in Ilfracombe Road, Southend at 8.30am on Friday. The teenager has run away before but has never been gone for
A PAEDOPHILE who sexually assaulted two young boys has been caught again after he was spotted taking pictures of children at a karate club open day. Timothy Edmeades, 37, mingled with the likes of Basildon mayor Mo Larkin and MP Stephen Metcalfe
FIREFIGHTERS were called to Calvinia Close, in Noak Bridge, just after 9am this morning where the bottom floor of the two-storey detached house was heavily smoked logged. Officers from Basildon fire station wore breathing apparatus
A FAMILY have been left temporarily homeless after their home was gutted by fire in the early hours of this morning, Thursday. Firefighters from Canvey and Rayleigh Weir were called to Mayland Avenue at 3.30am where the flames already raging
THIS man is suspected of stealing money from a woman at a cashpoint. Police have released CCTV following a theft from the Lloyds Bank in London Road, near the Palace Theatre, shortly after 6pm on Monday, September 10. The crook reached
A TEENAGER faces challenges with the day-to-day things other young people find easy. Charlotte Aspland, 15, has Stargardt’s disease, an inherited eye condition which destroys the central vision of the eyes at an early age. Texting friends,
A MAN has spoken of his terror as armed burglars attacked him with a baseball bat. The 27-year-old was left with a wound which needed four stitches when he was hit across the head during the raid on his home, in York Road, Southend. The man
FIRE crews from Canvey were called to tackle a blaze at a bungalow. The fire broke out at the home in Mayland Avenue, Canvey at around 3.30am today. When firefighters arrive the home was ablaze and heavily smoke logged. Crews wearing breathing
IT towers over tree-tops and rises above the roofs of nearby houses, but this isn’t a new block of flats – it’s a 30ft-high sports cage. The hammer-throwing, shotput and discus facility has been put on the edge of playing fields at the new £28million
X FACTOR hopeful Rylan Clark hit back on Twitter after critics blasted his singing ability. The 23-year-old laun-ched into a foul-mouthed four-letter tirade on the social network site after fans of singers who failed to make the grade claimed Rylan
