CONOR Clifford came off the bench to fire Southend United to a 1-0 win in a fiery encounter at Cheltenham Town tonight. The midfielder was surprisingly selected among the substitutes after making an impressive start to the season. But, following
SMOKE had to be extracted from a house by firefighters after catching fire. Two engines with nine firefighters from Southend were called to a house fire on Kenilworth Gardens, Westcliff, at 6.34pm. When they arrived, they found the fire had
A MAIN road was closed in both directions following a crash between two vehicles. The incident took place on London Road in Leigh at the junction with Salisbury Road, causing both lanes of the A13 to be shut. The incident was cleared by about
CANVEY Island drew 1-1 with Leatherhead in a match fraught with contentious refereeing decisions. Two men were sent off for the Gulls, with both of them questionable, but they held ontop a point having taken the lead through John Sands. Canvey
ESSEX crushed Leicestershire by an innings and 79 runs inside two days in the County Championship Division Two clash at Grace Road today. The stunning win was the fifth in the last six games for Essex and provided a massive boost to their promotion
SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown has made one enforced change to his starting line-up for tonight’s clash at Cheltenham Town, with Shaq Coulthirst coming in for Barry Corr. Corr misses out with a neck injury and has been replaced in attack by
A WORRIED dog owner is trying to raise thousands of pounds to save a three-month-old puppy with a dangerous heart condition. Zoe Beech, 39, has vowed to do her utmost to help her French bulldog, Albert – even if it puts her thousands of pounds
A DATE has been set for a byelection to replace a Canvey councillor removed for not going to meetings. Voters in Canvey East will go to the polls on October 30 to elect a replacement for Gail Barton, who was sacked in June for failing to showup
TWO cars were torched in Basildon in a spate of early morning vandalism. A stolen car was driven around Gloucester Park, smashing down goalposts on the football pitch, before thieves set it alight in an apparent attempt to cover their tracks.
VOLUNTEERS will sleep rough to get a taste of life on the streets and raise cash to help end homelessness in Southend. Southend-based homelessness charity Harp is holding a 12-hour sponsored sleep-out at Southend High School for Boys to help achieve
POLICE are hunting a man suspected of stealing £18 of chicken from a supermarket. Officers have released a CCTV image of the man, believed to have taken the poultry from Sainsburys Local in Southchurch. It is alleged he went into the store in Southchurch
A SOLDIER from Canvey went above and beyond the call of duty to make Prince Harry’s Invictus Games a success. Corporal Craig Gordon, of 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment, worked behind the scenes at the London games for servicemen and women
GARY Deegan has urged Southend United not to waste their win against Portsmouth when they head to Cheltenham Town tonight. The tough tackling midfielder helped the Shrimpers end a five match winless streak when they beat the Hampshire side 2-0
BLUES’ young striker Jason Williams will not be heading out on loan. The forward attracted interest from Ryman Premier League side Bury Town who he watched, along with manager Phil Brown, lose to Romford in the FA Cup at Thurrock’s Ship Lane ground
A CYCLIST who was thrown from his bike in a road rage incident says drivers are becoming more hostile towards those on two wheels. The Rochford man, aged 50, who has cycled to and from work in Southend for 20 years, claims drivers are becoming
JUBILANT council bosses are celebrating a remarkable turnaround after Southend achieved record results in school tests for 11-year-olds this year. The figures mean Southend is now in the top tier of councils for Key Stage 2 results, jumping from
A MAN attempted to rape a woman in an alleyway. The woman, who is in her 30s, was grabbed from behind by a man in dark clothing who then pushed her to the floor behind Webster Road, in Stanford-le-Hope. He grabbed at her clothing, tearing it
SOUTHEND United centre-back Cian Bolger will miss tonight’s clash at Cheltenham Town with a thigh injury. The Irishman has not featured for the Shrimpers since being sent off at Plymouth Argyle at the end of August. But manager Phil Brown is
SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown feels his side will travel to Cheltenham Town with renewed confidence and belief tonight. Blues got their season back on track with a hard fought 2-0 win against Portsmouth at Roots Hall on Saturday. And Brown
A FORMER five-bedroom home has become a UK centre for a devout group of Buddhists from Sri Lanka... despite not yet having planning permission. Monks from the Mahamevnawa International Meditation Centre, developed in the grounds of the house in
A WOMAN has been charged with wounding a man outside a pub. Maria Downes, 36, a cleaner from Central Avenue in Southend, has been charged with assaulting a 51-year-old man outside the Guildford pub in Sutton Road, Southend, leaving him with serious facial
AN X Factor starlet wowed the crowds in a secret performance on home ground. Lauren Platt, 16, was enjoying a night out at the Rare Cow restaurant, in Billiercay, when she decided to get up on stage and serenade her fellow customers. Lauren
TRAFFIC is delayed on the A127 after a lorry broke down. The lorry is blocking one lane of the London-bound carriageway between Progress Road and the Rayleigh Weir Interchange.
A PREMATURE baby died two weeks after being discharged from Southend Hospital, an inquest heard. Marshall Norrington, aged three months, from Station Road, Benfleet, was born early at 31 weeks and was cared for in the hospital for ten weeks, Chelmsford
YOU’VE probably seen him on TV, as this rapper-turned-comedian-turned- actor seems to be popping up all over the show. Now he is coming to the Palace Theatre, Westcliff, as part of his UK autumn tour. Doc Brown will raise plenty of laughs with
Billericay Town and Canvey Island are looking to return to winning ways after breezing through in the FA Cup three days ago. Craig Edwards’ men visit Bury Town, having lost their first league match in six games last time out. But Town, who
JAMIE Butler says he cannot wait to make an impression on England C after being called-up – although he didn’t find out he had been selected until a mate text him! The Concord Rangers stopper will now attend a two-day training camp at the England
A SCRIPTWRITER who sparked outrage by calling a Basildon-based sitcom Scumbags is planning more episodes. Chris Windle, who courted controversy when the 26-minute pilot was unveiled on Youtube, is back for round two and has launched a fundraising
A TORY MP has come under fire after for claiming £11,348 of taxpayers’ money, mostly on London hotels – despite having two homes in the capital. In the latest round of MPs expenses for 2013/14, Rochford and Southend East MP James Duddridge claimed
THOUSANDS of pounds in grants have been handed out to projects across Basildon. Basildon Council has given out £13,726 as part of the £1million community investment fund. Presidents Community Hall Association has received £8,666 for its project
TWO people will stand trial accused of running a cannabis farm which sparked a dramatic police chase through Southend that ended with a police car crashing into a lamp post. Adam Dye, 30, of Ferndown Close, Southend, appeared at Southend Magistrates
A SCHOOL has thanked the Echo and the community for rallying around to save it from closure. A year ago, the future of the Deanes School, in Daws Heath Road, Thundersley, was in doubt, as Essex County Council threatened to shut it down because
DOZENS of firefighters fought a blaze in Basildon for hours last night. Crews rushed to Goodview Road at 9.20pm after reports an outbuilding and a caravan were on fire. They were completely alight and the fire was near gas cylinders. The
FLIGHTS at Southend Airport are delayed this morning. Fog has delayed flights to and from the airport by up to two and a half hours. An easyJet flight to Palma Mallorca, due to leave at 7am is not expected to set off until 9.30am. Flights to Amsterdam
THE Salvation Army might sell green belt land in Leigh to campaigners who want to protect it from development. The church will consider selling seven acres of meadowland between Leigh and Hadleigh Castle to the Save Our Greenbelt group, which successfully
AN exact replica of an 18th century Russian tall ship was moored at the end of Southend Pier this weekend for visitors to explore. The 112ft-long frigate Shtandart held an open ship event for people to see what life at sea was like, 300 years ago
THE FAMILY of an epileptic woman who died after being given an overdose of a sedative at Southend Hospital say they have closure at last after a coroner overturned the cause of her death. Nicola Ames, 35, died after being given too much of sedative
ACANVEY nursing home must act to improve the way it is run, health inspectors say. The Care Quality Commission inspected Moorings Nursing Home, in Thorney Bay Road, Canvey, during the summer and found it was failing in several respects. Inspectors
