Three arrested following Essex high street assault

Detectives investigating an assault in Grays High Street have arrested three men.Police were called to the High Street, near the Paddy Power bookmakers, just before midnight on Wednesday, December 23 following reports that a man had been assaulted and was laying on the pavement. The man, who is in his 40s, was taken to Queens Hospital in London where he remains.Officers arrested two local men, aged 27 and 28, on December 24. They have been bailed to February 5 pending further enquiries. The...

Top films of 2015 in Essex

If you're a cinema-goer and live in Essex or just love film, what would be on your top 20 movie list for 2015? Our film buffs here have put together their list of the top movie releases for this year. Here are the top 20 films of 2015. Some are big budget blockbusters, some are critically-acclaimed, some are Oscar-nominated and some are dark horses who may have slipped under the radar – but all are fantastic films to keep you entertained. Reviews have been provided by Neil White,...

Pictures: Essex schools' Nativity pictures gallery two

Gallery created by TomBage

Popular Essex Winter Wonderland forced into liquidation due to...

A Winter Wonderland set for 70,000 visitors has been forced into liquidation after high temperatures melted the ice rink.The Colchester-based Christmas event has closed its doors following an unseasonably climate and strong winds this month. The ice rink has been deemed a danger to the public and has also become financially impossible to continue running the attraction. A statement from the company on www.colchestericerink.co.uk read: "Following the unseasonably high temperatures and strong...

PICTURES: Dark Side Comics at the Odeon Chelmsford

Gallery created by Chris_Rushton

What's the last train and bus home in Essex for Christmas and New...

Be it Christmas or New Year, most of us will be using public transport to get around. From the latest you can leave it from that final Christmas drink in the pub on Christmas Eve to the time you can stay out partying until on New Year's Eve into the early hours, we've got all the transport times across Essex for you here. Abellio Greater AngliaService levels and last trains home from Liverpool StreetDecember 23: Normal serviceDecember 24: Billericay - 2135Braintree – 2048Chelmsford...

Essex Fire called to tackle early morning barn blaze in...

Firefighters tackled an early morning fire which engulfed a barn to the rear of the White Horse pub.A crew from Burnham, one from Tillingham and another from South Woodham Ferrers arrived at North Street just after 5.30am this morning (December 11).On arrival the incident commander reported that the barn - which measured five metres by five metres - was completely alight.Using two hose reel jets and two main jets, crews had extinguished the blaze by 7am, with firefighters remaining at the scene...

PICTURES: City of Chelmsford, Sky's the Limit

Gallery created by Chris_Rushton

The best places to buy your Christmas tree in Essex

Gallery created by libbymcbride1

PICTURES: Farleigh Hospice Light up a life service in Braintree

Gallery created by Chris_Rushton

Essex customers save £1m in energy auction

MORE THAN 300,000 people have saved a combined £1 million after joining an Essex County Council-supported collective energy scheme, with one man shaving £1,000 off his fuel bill.Now in its third year, the Essex Energy Switch launched Monday and is part of a scheme that sees people sign up to bulk-buy electricity to secure lower rates from energy companies.The average person saves £263 per year, but 77-year-old Robert Manning, from Chelmsford, saved nearly four times that...

UK launches first Syria air strikes

RAF Tornado jets based in Cyprus carry out their first air strikes against so-called Islamic State in Syria, the MoD confirms, hours after MPs voted in favour by 397 to 223.

Adele tickets: Personal data 'breached'

Fans buying tickets for Adele's tour tell the BBC they have been shown the address and credit card details of customers other than themselves.

How to pick the perfect Christmas tree

There's an ongoing debate at the Chronicle about when to dust off the Christmas decorations and pick out a tree. Some of us have the lights twinkling from today (December 1, others wait until a week before to give their home a Christmas spruce-up.But there's one thing we all agree on: it's damned hard work finding the perfect tree.From firs that seemed green until the needles suddenly dropped off to pungent-smelling pines that made their way straight to the top, we've all got tree horror...