UTTLESFORD Council has failed to answer our questions over why it apparently had no contingency plan in place despite knowing in advance that travellers may start developing an unauthorised caravan site at Willows Green, Felsted, Essex, over the last bank holiday. Our fair and founded questions were put to the local authority more than two weeks ago, but it has yet to respond. Due to the silence, we will now be asking for the same information using the Freedom of Information

A lorry driver has been jailed for smuggling more than £7m worth of cocaine hidden on a vehicle carrying a consignment of Kim Kardashian’s Skims underwear and clothing. Polish national Jakub Jan Konkel, 40, (above) was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court today (Monday 18 May) to 13 years and six months in prison, following a National Crime Agency investigation. On 5 September last year Konkel was stopped by Border Force officers at the Port of Harwich in Essex as he arrived o

A MAN was arrested after allegedly failing to stop at the scene of an accident on a stolen moped. Police were called to reports of a collision involving a car and a moped in Rochford Avenue, Waltham Abbey., Essex, at around 8.55am on 6 May 2026. It was reported the moped failed to stop at the scene. Officers attended and one person was arrested on suspicion of failing to stop at the scene of a collision and theft of a motor vehicle. He was arrested after a National Air Polive

UTTLESFORD Council has secured an interim High Court injunction against further development at the Willows Green unlawful traveller site. Notices about the injunction were placed on gates and fancing at the site late yesterday (May 7 2026). It has been served on one of the landowner, Irish traveller, Anthony Mongan and persons unknown. Anyone who breaches the injunction could face prison for contempt of court. Don't hold your breath.... Uttlesford Council had earlier said in

RESIDENTS of a parish which hosts an historic school attended by Oliver Cromwell's sons will be on red alert over the bank holiday weekend amid fears a nearby agricultural field could be targeted for the construction of the country's latest unauthorised traveller site. Felsted is best known for the stunning private school of the same name founded in 1564 by Richard Rich, the first Baron Rich, who served as Lord Chancellor of England during the reign of King Edward VI from 154

ARMED police swamped the Promenade in Maldon after the annual Mud Race after reports someone was "carrying a boxed BB gun." Several armed police officers were seen searching the area from about 3:45pm on Sunday, April 26 2026, while a force helicopter also flew overhead. Essex Police has now confirmed it was a false alarm. A spokesman said: "It was busy and lots of stalls down there were selling toy guns etc, so it was a false alarm effectively. "We responded as a precaution

FIREFIGHTERS attend to an incident involving a vehicle on the M11. Three fire engines were seen on the hard shoulder of the southbound carriageway of the busy motorway north of Harlow in Essex at about 4:40pm today April 22 2026). Firefighters were seen attending to a black car with its bonnet up. An Essex Fire Service spokesperson said: "We were called to a vehicle fire on the M11 junctions 8 to 7 today 3.41pm. "Crews from Harlow, Epping and Newport attended. A car’s engine

THIS was the scene today after two homes were badly damaged by fire in Bocking, Braintree, on Thursday, April 2 2026. Firefighters had been working to surround the fire affecting two semi-detached houses in Aetheric Road after it took hold from 1:42pm. Crews had the fire under control by 3:45pm and were using an Aerial Ladder Platform to cool hotspots in the roof. Two people were left in the care of the Ambulance Service. Station Manager Steve Byrne said yesterday afternoon

A FORMER double glazing salesman who is serving a 12-year prison term for committing one of the country's biggest ever frauds which netted more than £336 million has been ordered to pay just over £283,000 in criminal proceeds. David Ames, 74, was jailed in October 2022 following a three-month trial at Southwark Crown Court in connection with the failed investment Harlequin Property which saw several thousand mainly British investors lose pensions and life savings in a Caribbe

ENVIRONMENT Agency (EA) chiefs have praised themselves for shutting a huge suspected illegal waste site a year after first becoming aware of it - which allowed it to mushroom into one of the biggest in the country. An EA spokesman said: "In yet more forceful action, concrete blocks now guard the entrance to a field in the quintessentially English village of Stapleford Tawney, in unassuming stockbroker belt Essex. "A court agreed the Essex land could be closed off, preventing