THE new year started in the best possible fashion for happy couple Ryan and Elysia Harvey.

I wish to say how impressed my wife and I were when we attended the Fryatt Memorial Hospital, Dovercourt.

A POPULAR village pub which was forced to close down as a result of the financial pressures of the coronavirus pandemic has been taken on by a new landlord.

STORM Christoph is set to batter Essex in the next 24 hours and bring heavy rainfall across the county.

A FORMER policeman has questioned why care home residents like his elderly and vulnerable mother-in-law are still waiting to be vaccinated.

A CONCERNED carer has called on health bosses to vaccinate elderly people in their own homes to prevent them from having to queue outside in the freezing cold.

THESE are challenging times for local businesses.

MINDLESS vandals have defaced the memorial of a teenage boy who tragically took his own life.

A YOUNG boy who has spent ten months living in a tent to raise money for charity has been given a sleeping bag which belonged to a paratrooper who died in Afghanistan.

PLANS to turn a former police station building blighted by anti-social behaviour into four homes have been revealed.

A MAN has appeared in court charged with causing death by careless driving after a car ploughed through a pub’s outdoor smoking area killing a popular and talented musician.

ZOOKEEPERS have taken on the mammoth annual task adding up all of Colchester Zoo's mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and insects.

Adam Butt has been charged with the murder of a woman in her 20s in Laing Road, Greenstead, on Sunday.

A FURTHER six Covid-related deaths have been recorded at the trust which runs Colchester Hospital.

Britain has recorded a record 1,610 coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, the highest total since the pandemic began.

POLICE are urging residents to remain vigilant over winter after three deer were shot dead by poachers.

THE parts of Colchester worst affected by coronavirus have been revealed as the borough's infection rate continues to fall.

A new branch of German Doner Kebab looks set to open in Colchester High Street.

A GREAT-GRANDFATHER and viral TikTok sensation is hoping a viral video inspires more people to go and get the Covid vaccine.

Investigation works for the creation of Colchester's new 'rapid transit system' have started, with constructions set to begin in 2021.

The Gazette asked readers whether they would like to see Morrisons open a store in Colchester in a poll on our website.

A KEEN photographer has described the “unnerving” moment a cliff started to crumble just metres away from where he and his partner were walking their dogs.

ONE of the UK’s oldest residents has died of coronavirus.

Colchester Foodbank is moving to a new distribution centre in Stanway which is five times the size of its current premises.

A MAN from Essex has been arrested in connection with a fatal three car crash.

A HOSPITAL trust administered more vaccines than ever before at the weekend.

Footage of platforms packed with commuters piling onto the London Underground have again emerged, raising questions about the safety of key workers.

A BANK is set to close one of its Colchester branches, claiming Covid has accelerated the shift towards online banking.

COUNCILS are set to get extra powers to slap drivers with £70 fines for minor driving offences after a shake up of the rules.

A woman has been issued a £200 fine for refusing to self isolate after testing positive for Covid.

A WOMAN in her 90s has been rushed to hospital after crash which has left her with life-threatening injuries. 

GAZETTE readers are being asked to jump in a puddle and help raise £1m for Cancer Research UK.

ONE in eight people in England were estimated to have already had Covid-19 by December, new figures show.

Drivers in Essex could be invalidating their insurance if they are on the roads when Storm Christoph hits later this week.

INTREPID Joan Mitchell turned super sleuth to settle a long-standing family mystery - and prove her sister got married half a century ago.

A GROUP of very lucky neighbours are now celebrating after winning money in a prize draw all thanks to where they live.

Heavy rain is expected to see flooding to homes and businesses - weather experts are warning.

Tendring has been recently listed as being in the top ten highest Covid outbreaks in the country.

LUCKY neighbours are celebrating after winning £1,000 each...all thanks to their postcode.

A DISGRACED bar worker who stole hundreds of pounds from a veterans’ club has “let himself and everyone down”, a disappointed charity chairwoman has said.

Sir Philip Green’s retail empire, which employs around 13,000 people and 444 UK stores, collapsed into administration at the start of December.

BT said it had offered discounted landline and broadband packages for elderly customers and that it "strongly disagreed" with the action being taken.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock is leading today's Downing Street press conference after the Government said vaccines will be offered to millions of over 70s and the clinically vulnerable from this week.

Tributes have been paid to an Essex Police officer who has died after a battle with Covid-19.

A COMMUNITY has been left reeling after police launched a murder investigation one month after a fatal stabbing left a young man dead.

A CELEBRITY magician from Colchester has been honoured by the Magic Circle.

A SUSPECT is being quizzed by detectives after police launched a murder probe following the death of a young woman.

The newly named Storm Christoph is set to bring high winds and heavy rain to the UK.

STAFF from more than 100 organisations in north Essex are being administered coronavirus vaccinations.

Mars Petcare UK is recalling some of its dry foods due to concerns over how much vitamin D they contain.