Eighteen-year-old man arrested after car collides with cyclist Anthony Canty, who died in hospital four days later
A lottery winner has died after a suspected hit-and-run in Essex, police said.
Officers were called to the collision between a cyclist and a black Ford Ka in Tiptree at 6.30am on 21 May. The cyclist, a man in his 30s, was taken to hospital where he died four days later, Essex police said.
Continue reading...Emma Barnett killed her one-year-old after a court ruling he be taken away from her
A mother who poisoned her one-year-old son with a lethal cocktail of prescription medications added to milk in a baby bottle has been jailed for life for his murder.
Emma Barnett, 36, killed her son Oakley before he could be taken into care after a family court hearing ordered that he be removed from her.
Continue reading...Stuart Prior quits as scrutiny grows of new councillors accused of racist, antisemitic or anti-Muslim remarks
A Reform UK councillor has resigned days after being elected, after he allegedly celebrated on social media the rape of a Sikh woman in the Midlands, declared white people the “master race” and called Muslim people “rats”.
Stuart Prior was elected as a councillor for Essex county council last Thursday, winning 2,404 votes, the highest total of any candidate in the ward.
Continue reading...Party has success in Labour and Tory heartland areas but one pollster says results suggest Reform may have peaked
Nigel Farage hailed sweeping election wins for Reform UK as a “historic shift in British politics” on a day when the populist party made gains at the expense of Labour and the Conservatives.
Reform made advances in heartland areas of both parties, clocking up substantial early results in the English local elections by taking control of Essex county council, Havering – its first London local authority – and Sunderland city council.
Continue reading...Police arrest man, 37, on suspicion of being in charge of dog dangerously out of control and causing injury resulting in death
A 19-year-old woman who died after a dog attack in Essex has been named by police as Jamie-Lea Biscoe.
Police said the victim was found with serious injuries by emergency services after they were called to a property in Long Hide, in the village of Leaden Roding, at 10.45pm on Friday. Biscoe was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 37-year-old man from Dunmow, who was arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury resulting in death, has been bailed until July while inquiries continue, Essex police said on Sunday.
The canine, which was a family pet and believed to be a lurcher cross, was seized and tests are under way to formally establish the dog’s breed, the force added.
Assistant chief constable Stuart Hooper said: “Our thoughts remain with all those who knew and loved Jamie-Lea. Her young life has been so tragically cut short.
“Our detectives are continuing to work around the clock to establish exactly what happened and specialist officers are continuing to support Jamie-Lea’s family.
“This is unimaginable for her loved ones and friends and, as such, I would ask people to respect their grief and privacy at this extremely difficult time.
“Our officers remain at the scene and anyone with concerns or information can speak with them there or contact us in the usual way.”
A post-mortem examination is due to take place on Sunday, police said.
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation has been asked to contact Essex police through their website or anonymously through independent charity Crimestoppers.
On Thursday, a three-month-old baby died in a suspected dog attack at a property in Redcar, North Yorkshire.
The baby girl is believed to have died as a result of a dog bite in the Dormanstown area and a woman, aged 31, was treated in hospital for an injury to her arm from a bite, police said.
Armed officers destroyed one dog that had gone on to the street and a second recovered by police has since been destroyed.
A man, aged 45, was arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death and was released on conditional bail.
Move comes after Gordon Brown’s claim that files show sex offender used airport in Essex to ‘fly in girls’
Police are assessing information about private flights to and from Stansted airport following the publication of files relating to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
It comes after former prime minister Gordon Brown claimed the documents showed in “graphic detail” how Epstein was able to use the Essex-based hub to “fly in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia”.
Continue reading...Sprinklers could save 500-year-old tree that had branches cut off without authorisation in April, says expert
The restaurant chain Toby Carvery is being urged to pay for life support for an ancient oak tree that its owner had chainsawed last spring to widespread public dismay.
Experts say the trunk of the 500-year-old tree, on the edge of a Toby Carvery car park in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, has shown signs of regrowth, despite its branches being sawn off by the restaurant’s contractors in April.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Excavation, overseen by the US Department of Defense, will feature in More 4’s Hidden Wonders TV series
On 26 January 1944, a 23-year-old US pilot was flying a mighty P-47 Thunderbolt on a wartime training exercise when it crashed in Essex.
Locals witnessed the horror of 2nd Lt Lester Lowry’s aircraft diving to the ground and bursting into flames. Lowry was not seen to bail out and he has remained missing in action (MIA) for more than 80 years. Ironically, his plane was named “Lucky Boy”.
Continue reading...Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, whose case triggered summer protests in Essex, detained again and faces deportation
A former asylum seeker and convicted sex offender who was released from prison in error is back in custody and faces deportation.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, an Ethiopian national, was jailed for 12 months in September for sexually assaulting a woman and a 14-year-old girl and was made the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order.
Continue reading...Former asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu has been missing since being released from prison in error
Police searching in London for a former asylum seeker and convicted sex offender who was released from prison in error have urged him to hand himself in.
The Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was jailed for 12 months in September for sexually assaulting a woman and a 14-year-old girl and made the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order.
Continue reading...Labour and Lib Dems say Reform leader has questions to answer on who paid for £885,000 property owned by his partner
Labour and the Liberal Democrats have called for Nigel Farage to clarify whether he saved tax on a house in his constituency, after a BBC investigation questioned whether his partner did, as Farage has said, buy the home with her own money.
The Guardian first reported in May that the house in Clacton, which Farage initially said he had bought himself, is in fact wholly owned by Laure Ferrari, his long-term partner.
Continue reading...Ruling has bought government time to plan closures but Farage and Tories have more fuel for their grievances
Protesters were already gathering outside the Bell hotel by Friday evening with union flags and St George’s flags waving. This court ruling was never going to end as a quiet legal moment.
For the Home Office, the court of appeal’s decision was a practical win. If the ruling had gone the other way, the government would have been forced to rehouse 138 asylum seekers in a matter of days, opening the floodgates to similar legal challenges from other councils. Since there is scant alternative accommodation available, this ruling buys the government time.
Continue reading...Judges say decision to allow injunction was ‘seriously flawed’ and contained several ‘errors in principle’
More than 130 people seeking asylum will be allowed to remain in the Bell hotel in Epping after the court of appeal overturned a high court ban on housing them there, leaving police braced for further angry protests.
While the decision was a technical victory for the Home Office, as other local councils could have brought legal challenges against the use of hotels, it has already been seized on by Labour’s political opponents.
Continue reading...Shadow minister posts picture of himself at protest outside Essex hotel that has become anti-immigration flashpoint
Robert Jenrick has been severely criticised by Labour after the shadow justice secretary was pictured at an anti-asylum rally in Essex attended by a veteran far-right activist.
Jenrick posted photos on X showing himself visiting the protest outside the Bell hotel in Epping, where police have been attacked and police vehicles vandalised by groups of men taking part in the demonstration. The MP met protesters including a woman with a T-shirt bearing the message: “Send them home.”
Continue reading...Home Office to move 445 more people to MDP Wethersfield site, scene of previous anti-migrant protests
The Home Office is increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at a controversial military base by more than 50%.
There are about 800 asylum seekers housed at the remote former RAF base MDP Wethersfield in Essex and the Home Office is moving in 445 more.
Continue reading...Emergency services at the scene after Beechcraft B200 aircraft involved in collision at about 4pm on Sunday
A small passenger plane has crashed after taking off in Essex.
The Beechcraft B200 aircraft crashed at about 4pm on Sunday, soon after taking off from Southend airport, and was seen in flames with dark smoke billowing from it, according to photos circulating on social media.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer says Britons have moved on but many in Thurrock think they were lied to in debate about leaving EU
When Keir Starmer was asked last week whether he thought Britons had finally moved on from the issue of Brexit, his answer was a definitive yes.
It’s not difficult to see why the prime minister would hope to settle the question, before a week in which he hopes to reset the UK’s relationship with the EU, clearing a way for easier access to a marketplace that could help increase the economic growth he badly needs.
Continue reading...Adrian and Joanne Fenton hit with penalty after calling police when they found a boy hiding inside bike-rack cover
A couple who were fined £1,500 after reporting a boy who had stowed away on the back of their motorhome for their journey from France to Essex have had the penalty cancelled.
Adrian and Joanne Fenton from Heybridge were fined by the Home Office for “failing to check that no clandestine entrant was concealed” when they returned to their home across the Channel.
Continue reading...Misconduct hearing found Tyler Coppin had breached standards of professional behaviour over offence
An Essex police officer has been sacked after admitting “tragedy chanting” at Liverpool fans during a Premier League match last year.
Essex police instigated misconduct proceedings against Sgt Tyler Coppin after he pleaded guilty to the public order offence during the Liverpool game against Chelsea at Anfield last October.
Continue reading...Essex police said a boy and a girl died at the scene and the car involved failed to stop
Two people have been arrested after two children died in a car collision in Essex, police have said.
Officers were called to Walthams Place in Basildon at about 6.25pm on Saturday to reports of a crash and a car failing to stop.
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