How 'cherished' are they? Well...
Mrs Cowdrey said: “This is a real area of concern for our residents. Both sites are public spaces which should be used for public benefit. The local residents association believe they should be put back to public use. Particularly the old Hinguar school playing field which has been locked for many years and we have been trying to get more information about the covenant placed on this land.”
Hmmm.
Khurram Raif, mitigating for Osanzoy, said: “Mr Ozansoy has already spent 340 days in custody.
“He has used his time well in prison, working in the recycling unit for five months and he has taken maths and English courses whilst testing negative for drugs.”You'd hope so, wouldn't you, since he's not had the opportunity to buy or steal any..?
Natalie Bird, mitigating for Manueno, said: “Mr Manueno had built up a cannabis debt at college and was told to hold drugs and a phone by others higher in the chain.“Mr Manueno is also relied upon to care for his four youngers (sic) siblings and his family has struggled financially during his time in custody.”
Maybe relying on a failed cannabis grow thief for support isn't such a good financial long term plan, then?
Jon Fuller, a member of South East Essex Friends of the Earth, said the group “vigorously supports” clean air schemes across town and city centres. The zones are areas where a fee is charged for driving the most polluting vehicles.
Mr Fuller said a congestion charge style scheme would help tackle climate change and air pollution.
*sighs* Really? Well, no. As he himself admits!
“Our preference is for a ULEZ in town and city centres in south Essex because we don’t want to divert traffic from arterial roads, such as the A13 and A127, to minor roads.
“If a congestion charge was implemented, it won’t make a difference because people will move to less major roads to avoid the cost.”
Make up your mind, man!
“However, becoming a ULEZ will encourage people to get rid of their old cars, such as diesel motors, for a more environmentally-friendly model.
“In turn, this will help improve the air quality in south Essex.”
I know something else that would do that. Can you guess what it is?
...that the Tories would win the (uncontested) election following the terrorist murder of Sir David Amess.
But I was wrong:
Thousands of voters in the uncontested Southend West by-election spoilt their ballot papers with messages directed at the government, according to local BBC reports.
A bit of hyperbole here - the actual total was 1084.
But even so, given the turnout was the third lowest since 1945, that tells us something...
The Royal Navy is set to dismantle the masts from a sunken World War II wreck carrying 1,400 tons of unstable explosives, which sank off the coast of Kent in 1944.
The SS Richard Montgomery was a US Liberty Ship, which ran aground in August 1944, and despite frantic attempts to remove its deadly cargo, its hull cracked and sank off Medway in Kent.
It is now feared that an explosion could cause a 15ft high tsunami tidal wave and cause 'mass damage and loss of life', according to a new report by the Ministry of Defence.
Oo-er! I bet the TV rights are already being brokered...
A team of bomb disposal experts trained in specialist underwater demolitions will remove the ship's masts during a two-month operation, according to the The Daily Telegraph.
Or a two minute operation, if they get it wrong!
A Southend councillor says a so-called "incel" movement is a threat to women - following urgent warnings from a former chief prosecutor.
Kursaal ward councillor Matt Dent has agreed with warnings by Nazir Afzal that men in the so-called movement needed to be identified.
Well, I suppose it's one way to attract the attention of the local rag...
Mr Afzal, former chief crown prosecutor for the North West told BBC Breakfast on Saturday there were 10,000 people with incel views like Davison in the country.
How does he know? Has there been a survey of views? Is he just pulling 'stats' out of his backside?
He said: “How many of them, a small minority, are a threat?”
I'm guessing an even tinier minority!
“We have to recognise that we have a responsibility to identify them and share that information.”
'We' don't have to do any such thing, actually. Especially when it seems that identifying problematic views isn't exactly your forte...
Mr Afzal added: “We have now seen posts on various social media sites which paint a picture of somebody that has a very low opinion or had a very low opinion of women, who seemed to have a belief he was entitled to do whatever he wanted to, a real expectation that women were some kind of lesser being.
“That kind of extreme misogyny of the type we have seen here and in terms of the incel community is a threat to all women and, ultimately, to all our communities.”
Were you not paying attention at mosque, Nazir? Or when you were prosecuting all those grooming cases?
Reilly had given evidence in court hearings when on trial for attempted murder in Southend, trying to claim she did not try to kill the man.
She went along with this, despite the CCTV clearly showing her arriving and throwing petrol over the victim in Southchurch Avenue.
/facepalm
Her brilliant plan? Feign blindness!
Reilly told the court that she could not see the monitor showing the footage in the court room, and that she couldn’t see the judge acting out what it showed.
Judge Samantha Leigh said the performance was “worthy of an Oscar, but it was dishonest”.
She said: “She was the worst witness I have ever seen.
“She said she couldn’t see the screen.
“I gave her a demonstration, she said she couldn’t see that.”
Blimey, when you can't even convince Leigh...!
Judge Leigh added: "In my view I have seen no remorse from either of you at all. He was a friend, and he was repaid by being set alight."
The duo were jailed for 24 years each. Reilly showed no emotion, while Archer bowed his head as he was taken down.
Perhaps she was just feigning deafness as well?
Oliver Cox has admitted being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs in Southend.
The 21-year-old was arrested and charged following police raids across the town on June 10 last year.
The raids were part of Essex Police’s crackdown on County Lines drug dealing in Southend and London. Cox admitted being involved in drug dealing from April to June that year.
Bang to rights, for once!
Mitigating, Anthony Abell, said: “21 is very young.
“He has a very good chance to turn it around.
“He is a Christian, and he’s been studying that religion in prison.
“There is some good there in that way.”
Ha! Good luck with that old chestn...
Judge Samantha Cohen...
Oh.
...said: “You will be aware that Class A drugs are sold by organised criminal gangs and they bring with them violence and misery.
“They damage people’s lives.
“Another way the gangs work is by pressuring and coercing young people to become involved in their business and that’s what happened to you.
“You yourself were a victim of an organised crime gang who coerced you and pressured you to becoming involved in the drugs supply enterprise.”
/facepalm
Judge Cohen said: “You are a young man, 20 at the time and you had your 21st birthday in prison.
“Mitigation says you are a bright young man and have lost your way, and you have capacity to find it again, and a guaranteed apprenticeship.
“It’s been organised by your older brother, who is putting his neck on the line for you.
“The pre-sentenced (sic) report says you got involved in debt in the gang and you had to pay it off.
“What you should have done is speak to people, speak to the authorities and go to your parents, who plainly support and love you.”
Cox, of Clifton Avenue, Benfleet, received two years in prison suspended for two years and a two month curfew from 8pm to 5am.
*sighs*
Mitigating, Christopher Holt, told the court Foster was lonely and a troubled teenager.
He said: “He’s a very troubled young man who committed a very serious matter which leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.”
I bet the other cons, should they get their hands on him, will show him what a 'bad taste in the mouth' really means...
Sentencing Foster, Elizabeth Hunter, chairman of the magistrates’ bench said: “This is a very nasty offence deliberately causing suffering to this cat.
“We’ve heard the distress caused to this family.
“Clearly you have a lot of problems.
“I sentence you to 12 weeks in prison, you will be banned from keeping animals.”
He must pay £228 in costs and compensation.
It's nowhere near long enough. We all know he won't serve the full sentence. But I hope it feels like it.
A Leigh mum has praised her son after he lodged a petition with Southend Council to build a skatepark.
Joshua Lewsey, who turned 13 on Wednesday, is seeking for a skatepark to be built in Oakwood Park.
Is there a plan to cover Southend entirely in skate parks then?
The nearest skatepark to Joshua’s Leigh home is an hour’s walk away.
So..? Doesn't skating require good physical condition? The walk will do him good!
With other teenagers spending the coronavirus pandemic constantly staring at screens while home-schooling and playing video games, Joshua’s mum, Lauren Chalk, is proud of the youngster for looking to benefit the community in these tough times.
*baffled face*
The brother and sister of murdered Lee Chapman have shared how his death “is harder to cope with every day”. Craig Holmes and Abigale Chapman welcomed the life sentence of Tyrel Thompson who stabbed their brother to death in Southend.
And the motive..?
“He had the biggest heart anyone could have ever asked for.”
Yes, yes, I'm sure, but why was he stabbed to death?
“He took the wrong turn over the past few years, but he never deserved for it to end like this.”
Ah! A clue, perchance?
In her sentencing remarks today, Judge Samantha Leigh told the court Thompson was the second in command of a County Lines drug line called "Max" and would be responsible for keeping drug runners in check.
Mr Chapman had been working for the drugs line as a runner before his death.
/facepalm
Southend's homeless charity is spearheading a new campaign pressing for an end to people sleeping rough on the streets.
It can only be...yes, you guessed it!
Harp has launched It’s Time, an initiative aimed at halting the number of people living on Southend’s streets.
How?
Jackie Bliss, Harp’s chief executive, is eager to win Government backing for the charity’s efforts.
The charity is inviting people in the constituencies of Southend West and Rochford and Southend East to sign a letter to Sir David Amess and James Duddridge, asking the MPs to use their influence at national level to make a real, lasting impact on homelessness.
OK, how, exactly? There's nothing in here to say just exactly what 'the government' is supposed to do...
She added: “A return to pre-Covid levels of homelessness is unthinkable.”
Well, you surely don't expect them to be housed in hotels at taxpayer expense forever. Do you?
Seafront traders have lambasted Southend Council after being handed fines for parking outside their business, while facing lockdown hardship.
Business owners on Southend seafront say Southend Council should be supporting firms in the coronavirus outbreak rather then (sic) penalising them./facepalm
Paul Thompson, 46, owner of Pebbles One in Marine Parade, was fined last Sunday. He said: “The car parks and loading bays are shut so the only place to park was right outside the door, which if common sense was used shouldn’t be an issue right now.
“The parking warden came and told me I couldn’t park there and I was going to be fined.
“I called the council’s director of public places and he agreed it should be cancelled.
“It has been stopped but it’s just ridiculous.”Well, yes! So what has the council got to say?
A council spokesman said: “To discourage visitors our parking enforcement officers are supporting police and community safety colleagues to enforce restrictions.
“We have been clear this process is not to penalise traders in these difficult times.”It appears you're employing people who have no common sense.
Council staff are being spat at, racially abused and attacked while delivering essential services amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said.
A Southend community support officer, who was enforcing the government’s social distancing guidelines, is said to be the latest victim in a series of incidents after a cyclist rode into him, breaking the officer’s leg on Thursday.Maybe they'll actually do something about cyclists now.
The increase of abuse comes as some councils across the UK have scaled back on certain services – including reducing bin collections, and shutting recycling centres.And then the council moans that fly tipping is increasing...
Alexander Aldridge has been given a fine after admitting common assault of an emergency worker and having four bags of cannabis.
The 22-year-old appeared at Southend Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday to admit both charges.Hmmm....
The incident took place on Sutton Road in Southend on February 22 at the scene of a crash.
Aldridge, of Cheltenham Road, Southend, had approached the officers at the scene asking where his girlfriend was, as it was her vehicle involved in the crash.
He became aggressive when the officers couldn’t help him, shouting at them, and eventually pushing one of them.Ah, the 'thought processes' of the underclass at work...
The officer told him not to do it again, but he did, resulting in the officer pushing him to the floor.Pity he didn't do a bit more for dentistry in Southend this time...
As he was taken into custody, Aldridge produced four bags of cannabis which was then confiscated by the officers.Times it doesn't pay to get into an unnecessary ruck with cops? When you're holding drugs.
Speaking at court, Aldridge told the magistrates’ bench: “I acted irrationally and I shouldn’t have done it.
“I turned up to the vehicle and the airbags were out and it was all smashed up.
“The vehicle belonged to my partner and I was just panicking.”So it made perfect sense to assault cops at the scene, rather than phone your partner. If you're a habitual cannabis smoker, that is...
Aldridge added that to this day he does not know if his partner at the time had been involved in the crash.*boggle*
Environmental campaign group Extinction Rebellion staged a protest over plans to build 172 homes in an area thought to be at risk of flooding.What are the developers thinking...?!?
The homes, planned for Gunners Park, Shoebury, would be below the current high tide mark.
Plans for the homes were previously approved, but stalled because of fears over flooding.
The Environment Agency would only allow the homes to go ahead if work planned on nearby seawalls offered a one in 200-year flooding event protection but those now in the pipeline will offer less than half that.Then how did it get through planning?
Southend Council’s deputy leader, Ron Woodley, wants the current road layout, which cost £7million, to be scrapped after ten years.
Residents have long complained about the confusing road layout. Campaigners have also criticised the shared space area near the station.
This is where pedestrians can walk, cars can be driven and bikes can be ridden with no noticeable difference between where roads end and pavements begin.Yes, you guessed it, it's this again.
Residents have joined calls by Mrs Allen-King for a roundabout to be brought back.
Posting on the Echo Facebook page, Karen Butler said: “Put it back how it was.
“It was another waste of council money.”
Marie Edmonds posted: “Good, it’s a death trap.
“Put the roundabout back.”Ah, well, it's only taxpayer money. And not even entirely residents of Southend, at that!
The scheme was funded by a £25million government grant which also financed the Cuckoo Corner and City Beach improvements.Plenty more where that came from, eh?
The jury found Ian Slater and Alex Stephens guilty of murder, while King and Pearson were found guilty of manslaughter.
Speaking after the verdict, Courtney's grandfather, VC Brown, said: "Courtney was a cheeky, but loveable person. He was a son, a brother, a nephew, an uncle, a cousin and a friend to many."Yes, it pays to be friendly when you're a drug dealer...
"He was full of gifts and talents, but all that was taken away when he was murdered on Thursday 21 February, 2019, the week after his 36th birthday."If he really had been 'full of gifts and talent', he wouldn't have been a persistent offender, living in what amounted to a squat...
"Yet again we have another grieving family standing here because a loved one has been murdered as a result of knife crime.
"When will people realise you are more likely to use a weapon if you are carrying one."When will people realise if you deal drugs, you're more likely to wind up dead?
"...Courtney was murdered - never to get married, never to have children, and never to fulfil his dreams."His dreams of what, exactly?
"Now we are asking the Government to find answers. Don't be the #TooLateGovernment where you only turn up after the event. Help the police to police. How can law and order be expected, if we do not have the personnel on the streets."How can law and order be expected when families turn a blind eye to the breaking of that law by their family members?
"In the event of a fire, an alarm sounds, in the event of a flood, we get a warning. However, with this knife crime epidemic, we have grieving mothers, fathers and families sounding the alarm - we are saying ‘enough is enough’, something has to be done.
"So we would like to take this opportunity to appeal to the government to help find the solution to this problem, so that no other family needs to go through this heart-breaking process."The government has found the solution; it locks up drug dealers. What happens to them after that is in their own hands.
Police attended Tintern Avenue in Westcliff at 4.25am yesterday and discovered a man with stab wounds to his body.
Despite the efforts of paramedics, the man sadly died of his injuries at the scene.
Following further investigations, police believe that the suspects involved attacked the man during a targeted drugs related burglary.Lovely!
“We are making enquiries to identify the victim, his family and the people responsible."They don't know yet who the victim is...?
