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Man repaints road markings and Essex County Council orders him to remove them

A FRUSTRATED resident who repainted a white line to stop motorists blocking his driveway has been told to clean it up – or else.

John Howard took matters into his own hands after Essex County Council refused to repaint the line outside his home, which stops motorists obstructing his and neighbours' driveways.

A single solid white line was painted on the road more than ten years ago after residents complained they were being blocked in by customers visiting car showrooms in Ipswich Road, Colchester.

When it faded, Mr Howard called the council to ask them to repaint it, but was… Continue reading

Don, 90, reverses Merc through garage wall into back garden

A GREAT-grandad reversed into his garage - and straight through its far wall into his back garden.

Donald Lambdin, 90, accidentally hit the accelerator pedal as he carefully backed his Mercedes C280 into the garage.

He gripped the steering wheel "for dear life" as the car hurtled between the side walls before crashing through masonry and plunging 6ft into the sunken garden.

The shaken ex teacher was trapped in the wrecked car - said to be a "total write-off".

Firemen called to his house in Plymouth, Devon, had to cut its roof off to free him.

Donald, who lives… Continue reading

Drivers’ £4.87m to park in Southend

motorists are paying £4.87million a year to park in Southend, the Echo can reveal.

Figures, released under Freedom of Information laws, show charges for on-street spaces and council-owned car parks raked in more than £41million over the past decade.

The stats put the council way ahead of its counterparts in south Essex, with BasildonCouncil taking just over £1million and Castle Point Council only taking £723,300 in 2009/10.

In contrast, finance chiefs in Southend received £4.87million over the same period, an annual windfall which has risen every year since 2001.

Iain Daggerson, 43, commutes from his home in Eastwood Road, Rayleigh,… Continue reading

Rehab gym opens at Southend Hospital to help amputees

A VETERAN fundraiser was joined by a survivor of the 7/7 terrorist attacks at the opening of a new rehabilitation suite in Southend Hospitalfor patients who have lost limbs.

Joyce Long, 81, from Thundersley, who helped raise £4,000 towards the equipment costs, officially launched the gym which is intended to help amputees regain movement.

Disabled rights champion Dan Biddle, 31, who lost both his legs in the 2005 Edgware Road Tube bombing, is the hospital's disability adviser and was also present.

He spent a year in hospital recovering from horrific injuries, during which time he suffered several cardiac arrests, underwent… Continue reading

£100,000 Grand Designs Barge washes up on Southend beach

It was supposed to be their dream home, but three years after Chris Miller and his wife called in a TV show to rejuvenate their houseboat it has been found apparently washed up on a beach.

The unfinished 100-foot long boat, known as The Medway Eco-barge, had been moored in the Thames estuary off Southend since it featured in a Grand Designs' programme in March 2007.

It is thought that the boat broke free from its mooring overnight.

Steve Morgan, 29, from the nearby Barge Cafe, said: 'I got here at about half seven this morning and to be honest… Continue reading

Gardening theft

The mailbox at Gardeners’ World magazine is brimming with letters and emails from gardeners who have been victims of theft. From these letters alone, it would seem that thefts from gardens and allotments are becoming more widespread, while gratuitous vandalism on allotments remains horribly common. Thefts range from handfuls of fresh fruit and veg to expensive garden tools, while whole sheds are reported to have been torn down and burned for ‘fun’. As gardens and allotments are quieter now than they are than in summer, they may be more at risk of falling prey to opportunistic thieves and vandals.

My… Continue reading

Secret wartime hideout could be listed landmark

SOUTHEND Council is set to take action to preserve a piece of military history which is still so good at its job many don’t even realise it’s there.

Tucked behind the curved brick wall, which once formed part of the entrance to the gasworks in Eastern Esplanade, lurks what is almost certainly a former Home Guard observation post.

During the Second World War, this shelter would have stood by the edge of the gas works jetty, which back then spanned the road.

The history of the guard post is now only hinted at by the presence of three bricks of… Continue reading

Southend Airport link road plans progress

PLANS to build a new link road near Southend Airport have taken a step forward.

Southend councillors have backed plans to give up five hectares of St Laurence Park to make way for the road, between Eastwoodbury Lane and Nestuda Way.

The council's Tory leader Nigel Holdcroft said the road will be built regardless of whether the airport runway extension, currently the subject of a judicial review, goes ahead or not.

Special meetings were held last night of the council's economic and environmental scrutiny committee and then full council.

Southend Airport will pay £2 million for the building of the road.

Nineteen objections have… Continue reading