A POUNDSTRETCHER store is opening in Colchester this weekend.

The founder of Only Cowards Carry and mum of Jay Whitson has been rocked after her nephew Luke Bellfield died after being stabbed.

A CANDID campaigner who “felt shame and anger” after being told he was unable to produce sperm wants to help shatter the taboo around male infertility.

We will be bringing you the latest updates throughout the day as Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivers the next budget.

A BARBER and mental health campaigner is returning to where it all began as he is set to ply his trade in his home town.

Police are searching for three distraction burglars who are all believed to have links to Essex.

Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s spring Budget, including what could be announced.

I WROTE a tongue-in-cheek letter a year ago about how the green fanatics would still be worried about fantasy nonsense, like climate change, even with the situation of a real serious problem existing.

PRIMARY school teachers are preparing for all of their pupils to return to the classroom on Monday.

THE Met Office has issued a weather warning for fog across all parts of Essex this morning.

AN exciting new roller coaster will be operating on Clacton Pier by early summer, it has been confirmed.

Italian greyhound Louie went missing in Friday Woods, Colchester, on Friday and his owners are desperate to find him.

Colchester Council has unveiled plans to transformed Vineyard Street and Britannia car parks as new 'liveable neighbourhoods'.

A WOMAN who was raped has been praised for bravely coming forward as her attacker was jailed 15 years.

A SHOCKING swastika has been left scrawled on a wall in a Southend park.

BBC’s TV licence fee could be scrapped in the UK when everyone has access to faster broadband connectivity.

Angry residents have objected to the plans to open a fifth McDonald's restaurant in Colchester, at the Turner Rise Retail Park.

TEACHERS are putting arrangements in place for pupils to take part in asymptomatic coronavirus tests as part of the latest Government guidance.

Employees will continue to receive 80% of their salary for hours not worked until the scheme ends.

Major supermarket chain Aldi is searching for the best uncovered craft distillery in the country.

Bannatyne has revealed how its gyms and pools, including at Kingsford Park in Colchester, will operate once they reopen after lockdown.

Colchester Council is set to explore building new homes on both the Vineyard Street and Britannia car parks in the town centre.

A GROUP of youngsters who are walking 70 miles to help a terminally-ill six-year-old girl are proof that not all superheroes wear capes.

TESTING every student for Covid-19 prior to their return to school is a big logistical challenge, a headteacher has said.

A DRUG dealer who raped a woman at knifepoint and left her thinking she would be killed has been jailed for at least 15 years.

Travelodge wants to built 14 new hotels in Essex before the end of 2025 - this is where abouts.

THE HUNT for the person who tested positive for the Brazil variant of coronavirus has been narrowed to the South East.

CLACTON'S 'dead' town centre has no decent shops left and is not worth visiting, according to some worried Gazette readers.

FIREFIGHTERS from across north Essex were called to a third-floor flat fire in student accommodation.

THE public rental of eco-friendly electric scooters - which offer “huge potential” in the fight against climate change – is now being trialled in a seaside town.

Government data shows the number of Covid cases in each part of Colchester - with two areas having seen more than 20 cases in a week.

COLD weather is set to return to the UK after a brief spell of spring sunshine.

A Colchester couple, both in their 60s, have been arrested after guns and ammunition was found during a search of a property in Broom Way.

Scientists said there can be a “danger” for pedestrians when a “puffing, panting” jogger runs past them.

Essex Police are appealing for witnesses after a crash at the Colne Bank Roundabout in Colchester on Saturday.

OLLY Murs has issued a statement on behalf of Coggeshall Town Football Club after first team manager was taken to hospital.

A SEASIDE town’s famous beach huts will tonight star in an episode of a BBC television show presented by a famous comedian.

A FEMINIST group says it can breathe a sigh of relief now Colchester's only strip club has gone into liquidation.

YOUNGSTERS who ripped down a fence to play basketball despite a ban due to Covid have been told to think about the wider consequences of their actions.

GAZETTE reader Grace Darke lives in Colchester, near Abbey Field. The 36-year-old is married and a stay-at-home parent with two young children.

North Primary School headteacher Alan Garnett looks back on a busy week and discusses preparations for children returning to school in his weekly Gazette diary.

TODAY’S Nostalgia spread is topical, given the welcome news that outdoor sport can resume this month.

COLCHESTER Zoo is calling on the public to choose some otterly adorable names for its otter pups.

THE closure of a popular town centre clothes shop has been described as a "sinister" move by an online retailer.

RESIDENTS of a village where a couple lost their home in a fire have pulled together to raise more than £4,000 to support them.

Reality TV star James Argent says he has booked “life-changing” surgery which he hopes will help him lose weight after he reached 27 stone during lockdown.

HEALTH bosses have welcomed a drop in Covid-19 patients being admitted to hospital in north Essex.

TUI’s cancellations will apply to any departures from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Channel 4 says it will not work with Ant Middleton again following discussions with the SAS: Who Dares Wins star over his “personal conduct”.

YOUNG farmers are preparing for the return of an annual muck run around Colchester.