Beware icy roads - police warn

9.39am - 12th February 2012

POLICE are warning motorists that the weather conditions are making driving hazardous this morning (Sunday). 
A police spokesman said the force was experiencing a high number of road crashes across the county with freezing rain and snow in some areas making roads very icy.
An Essex Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said crews had been called to a number of collisions due to the weather conditions on the roads.

Council thanked for snow clearance efforts

2.32pm - 10th February 2012

STAFF at Epping Forest District Council have been thanked by St Clare Hospice after answering a plea for help. 
Hospice chief executive Tanya Curry contacted the office of council chairman Ken Angold-Stephens - who has chosen the hospice as one of his charity's for his year in office - this morning to ask whether the council could help clear the hospice's car park of snow and ice. 
A fresh fall of snow last night which fell onto an already frozen surface made the car park even more slippery - and too much for the hospice's own workforce to clear. Within a couple of hours of Tanya's call, the team of council staff had swung into action - and given well-earned cups of tea for their efforts. 
Tanya said: "We are so grateful for the assistance given by the council to clear the car park which has enabled our patients, visitors and staff to gain safe access to the building. 
"Giving them cups of tea was the least we could do to thank them for their prompt response to our plea for help." 

The district council staff who answered the hospice's plea for help click here 

Rotarians receive special awards

2.11pm - 10th February 2012

TWO members of the Rotary Club of Harlow have received Paul Harris Fellowship Awards.
The awards were presented to Rotarians Alan Bell and Vasant Gajjar by club president Jeff Pritchett at an evening social event attended by club members and their guests. 
Mr Bell, a retired Harlow businessman, has been a member of Rotary since 1990 while Mr Gajjar, an architect - also in Harlow - has been a member since 1977. 
Both are past presidents of the club. Paul Harris Fellowships may be awarded by Rotary clubs to Rotarians and other members of the community who have given exceptional service. 
The honour is named after the founder of the Rotary Movement. 

Harlow Rotarians Alan Bell (left) and Vasant Gajjar with their Paul Harris Fellowship awards click here

Help shape future health services

11.39am - 10th February 2012

THE group which from next year will be running NHS services across west Essex is seeking volunteers to join its Residents' Panel. 
The GP-led West Essex Clinical Commissioning Group will take over the role of NHS North Essex in April 2013 and wants to involve local people in shaping future health services. 
Group chairman Dr Rob Gerlis said; "We are seeking volunteers of all ages and backgrounds with an interest in the NHS - people who want to do something meaningful to improve health services and make change happen. 
"As a member of our Residents' Panel people will have opportunities to get involved at different levels according to what suits them and the time they have available. 
"They might simply want to be sent information with the option to make comments on health service decisions in their early proposal stages, they may wish to take part in workshop sessions to help redesign local health services or they may decide to become a local agent to communicate health information and gather feedback from local communities. The choice is theirs." 
For more information, ring 01245 459395, email public.involvement@nhs.net or visit www.westessexpct.nhs.uk/ourfuture/gettinginvolved.php

Winning hospice lottery numbers

11.37am - 10th February 2012

THE winner of this week's £1,000 jackpot in the St Clare Hospice lottery lives in Epping. The winning number is 894219. 
The lucky £100 prize goes to a ticket holder in Harlow. The winning number is 101186.
For information about how to join the lottery, visit www.stclarehospice.org.uk or ring 01279 773730 (Monday-Friday 9.30am-1.30pm)

Man attacked with hammer

7.49pm - 9th February 2012

A MAN was hit with a hammer during an attempted robbery in Harlow.
The victim was walking towards his car in Milwards at 10.15pm on Wednesday, February 1, after visiting a friend when he heard a boy shout 'give me your money'. 
As he turned he was pushed to the ground and hit on his legs with a hammer. 
The victim managed to return to his friend's house. 
He suffered bruising to his legs. 
The two suspects are described as white boys, aged in their mid to late teens, about 5ft 6ins tall, skinny and wearing black and grey tracksuits. 
Anyone with any information should ring PC Jody Greenfield at Harlow Police Station on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Labour hopeful praises play efforts

3.35pm - 8th February 2012

LABOUR parliamentary candidate Suzy Stride was among the audience at Moot Hall, The Stow, watching the Moot House Players perform the play Glass Ceiling, which focused on last August's riots. 
Suzy said: "I had a brilliant night. Taking its lead from those riots it was an inspiring evening with incredibly gifted young people from Harlow - an intelligent, witty, entertaining and challenging play." 
Suzy, who has worked with young people in some of the toughest areas of east London, added: "We all know that Harlow has young people with incredible gifts and potential, they just need a stage to show it on." 
Suzy said she found it particularly interesting how the actors and playwrights - Dan Powell, Nathan Ryan, Ben Hawkins and Tyrone Samuels - gave their portrayal of politicians. 
Suzy added: "We all know politics is only one way to bring change and on Saturday night we saw the power of theatre to communicate a powerful message about how politicians are perceived by young people today. 
"It reminded us of the need to continue listening and working to earn people's trust. It's a message I'm paying attention to and will do everything I can to ensure young people have a voice not just through the arts but also by engaging in the political process."

Appeal follow attempted robbery

4.15pm - 7th February 2012

POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a woman was targeted by a would-be robber in Harlow. 
The incident happened between 9.40pm and 10pm on Tuesday, January 24, as the woman was walking along the footpath from Hookfield towards Partridge Road.
As she neared the children's play area she was grabbed from behind by the suspect who demanded her mobile phone. 
When the woman said she did not have one, the suspect let go and ran off across the field towards Barn Mead. 
The suspect was a white man, aged in his late 30s, about 6ft tall and of stocky build. He was wearing a black hooded top, black jogging bottoms, black trainers and a black scarf covering his face. 
Anyone with any information should ring PC Garry Bray at Harlow Police Station on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Home Secretary praises police

7.45pm - 6th February 2012

HOME Secretary Theresa May has praised the work of Essex Police after Harlow MP Robert Halfon highlighted the fall in crime in Harlow. 
Only last week Mr Halfon revealed figures which show how much crime has fallen in Harlow in the last year with 18 fewer incidents of violence against the person, 63 fewer incidents of criminal damage (including arson), 87 fewer dwelling burglaries and 26 fewer incidents of harassment and anti-social behaviour. 
Commenting on the recent figures, Mr Halfon - who has regular meetings with Essex Chief Constable Jim Barker-McCardle and the Home Secretary - asked: "Does this not show that community lead policing, with limited resources, does make a difference." 
Mr Halfon asked the Home Secretary to pay tribute to Essex Police. 
Mrs May said: "I am indeed happy to join my Hon. Friend in paying a tribute to Essex Police and the work that they have been doing in his constituency and others, which are covered by Essex Police. 
"And I think we do indeed see the value of community lead policing and that is why Chief Constables up and down the country are making every effort to ensure they get police officers out of back office posts, and actually out into the front line which is where people want to see them." 
Mr Halfon has said the latest crime figures are "good news" and a "real credit" to Harlow's hardworking police officers, Special Constabulary, and police community support officers. 
He has also praised the volunteers from the local church community who provide the the Street Pastor project in Harlow describing them as "Harlow's heroes". 
Mr Halfon said Essex Police had taken on 55 new community officers this year (bringing the total up from 472 to 527).

Fire leaves family of six homeless

6.04pm - 6th February 2012

A FAMILY of six have been unable to return to their Roydon home following a fire. 
The blaze broke out at the property in Old House Lane at 11.50pm last night (Sunday).
A fire service spokesman said the fire started in the extension of the house and spread into the roof void. 
Three fire crews, from Harlow and Epping, took two hours to deal with the incident. 
A man who suffered the effects of smoke inhalation was left in the care of the ambulance service.

Man charged with attempted murder

10.21am - 5th February 2012

A 28-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with attempted murder by detectives in connection with an assault on a 64-year-old man from Sheering. 
The victim was found with serious injuries on a playing field in Harlow. 
The man was found with serious facial injuries and fractures to his arms and hands on January 30. 
He continues to recover in hospital. 
Bradley Burnip, a 28-year-old unemployed man, of Mead Lane, Hertford, was arrested on February 2 and has now been charged with attempted murder. 
He will remain in police custody prior to his appearance at Harlow Magistrates Court tomorrow (Monday).

Man arrested over assault

4.21pm - 3rd February 2012

A 28-YEAR-OLD man from Hertford has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a Sheering man was found in a Harlow playing field with serious injuries.
The arrested man is currently in police custody. 
Police are still looking for the victim's vehicle, a maroon Ford Escort, registration number M953 OAN, and would like to hear from anyone who may have seen the victim - who is described as white, with short dark greying hair, wearing a black jacket, pink shirt, a grey woollen jumper and blue jeans - between 7pm and 9pm on Monday, January 30. 
Anyone with any information should ring the Harlow Serious Crime team on 101.

Winning hospice lottery numbers

4.21pm - 3rd February 2012

THE winner of this week's £1,000 jackpot prize in the St Clare Hospice lottery lives in Epping. The winning number is 808218. 
The £100 prize goes to ticket number 212005. The winner lives in Harlow.
For information about how to join the lottery, visit www.stclarehospice.org.uk or ring 01279 773730 (Monday-Friday 9.30am-1.30pm).

Hospice lottery winner urges others to join

7.42pm - 2nd February 2012

A SUPPORTER of the St Clare Hospice lottery, who has won the £1,000 jackpot twice in ten months, is urging people to support the charity by taking part in the weekly draws. 
Kaye Fryer, who has made a donation to the hospice to help support its valuable work following her latest success, said: "Two of my closest friends have needed the support of the hospice when their fathers fell ill. 
"What the hospice offers is just invaluable to so many people at such a difficult time in their lives, the support is so precious and positive. 
"My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, fortunately she made a full recovery, but not everybody is that lucky." 
Kaye added: "Taking part in the hospice lottery is so easy. I have three chances and pay £13.02 a month by standing order. Each chance works out at £4.34 for a month's lottery play. 
"It is a great way to support the charity and you stand a chance of winning something yourself!" 
Kaye, a mother-of-three who lives in Harlow, added: "The work they do is incredible." 
Kaye signed up for the lottery when she was approached by a doorstep canvasser from St Clare. 
Kathy Fuller, the hospice's lottery officer, said: "All our canvassers carry photo ID and their names are listed with Essex Police. 
"We are really pleased to say that The St Clare Hospice Lottery now has 6,000 players taking part in the draw each Friday." 
She added: "We still need more players and we encourage members to pay by standing order as this the most cost effective way to play our lottery. 
"It was not so long ago that our numbers had really dropped and we are so grateful to all our members both old and new. 
"Of course not everyone can pay by standing order and some people pay by cheque or credit card. We also have some very dedicated lottery collectors who are call on existing members each month." 
Kathy added: "One of best parts of working in the lottery department is that on a Friday either myself or another member of the team has the fantastic opportunity to phone the £1,000 winner. It is such a privilege to be able to do this and a lovely end to our week. 
"I actually made the phone call to Kaye and it was just a great to hear her reaction! You never know if you are member the next call I make could be to you!" 
For information about how to join the lottery visit www.stclarehospice.org.uk or ring the lottery team a ring on 01279 773730. 
Each week there is a £1,000 jackpot, a £100 second prize and 40 runners-up prizes of £10. 
Lottery participants, who must be aged over 16, are allocated a unique number which they have for as long as they play. 
Winners are selected in a computerised random draw every Friday. 
Prize cheques are sent out automatically so there is no need for winners to claim their prize. 
The winning numbers are featured on Everything Epping Forest and Everything Harlow.

Kaye Fryer celebrates her St Clare Hospice lottery win with daughter Shannon click here

Assault victim suffers broken hands

3.43pm - 2nd February 2012

A MAN has suffered head injuries and broken hands after being attacked in Harlow.
Police say the 64-year-old man - who was last seen in Sheering - was found on a playing field between Mallows Green and Maples, Harlow, at about 9pm on Monday (January 30). 
He sustained fractures to his jaw, cheekbones and eye sockets and also has injuries to his arms and broken hands. 
Detective Inspector Martin Read said: "This is a particularly nasty attack on an elderly man who was left out in an open field at night. 
"In this cold weather it was very fortunate that he was found when he was." 
The man was last seen at about 7pm in Sheering. 
He is described as white, with short dark greying hair and was wearing a black jacket, pink shirt, a grey woollen jumper and blue jeans. 
Anyone who may have seen a man answering this description between 7pm and 9pm on Monday or may have any information about how he got to the area of Mallows Green or have witnessed him being assaulted should contact the Harlow Serious Crime team on 101. 
Police are also looking for the victim's car, a maroon Escort, index number M953 OAN.

Irene proves she is a Master

3.14pm - 2nd February 2012

IRENE O'Dell, St Clare Hospice's community Macmillan Nurse, has passed her Masters in advanced practice. 
As part of her studies Irene spent a day a week for two years at Anglia Ruskin University at Chelmsford studying various elements which covered inter-professional working, leadership, ethics, and research. 
Irene said: "I found the course very challenging. I was well supported by colleagues and St Clare Hospice and I am delighted to have passed. 
"It will enable me to enhance previous knowledge and skills and adapt to changes for the 21st century."
Community manager Alison Kempthorne said: "Obviously Irene had to put an awful lot of her own time and effort into achieving the end result. 
"She talks fondly of the support from her team members who rallied round to pick up patients on her case load to ensure care was not compromised while Irene stretched herself with study and research.
"The purpose of this study was to arm Irene with the additional knowledge skills and disposition over and above her clinical practitioner expertise." 
Alison added: "St Clare Hospice and the people we care for will now reap the rewards of her hard work and I am delighted to have her working as a member of our team."

Robbery victim punched in the head

4.39pm - 1st February 2012

A MAN was punched in the head when he was robbed of his wallet in Harlow. 
Police say the man was in Berecroft between 6pm and 8pm on Tuesday, January 17, when he was approached by two men who demanded his wallet. 
The robbers then punched the man in the head and a further two men, one of whom held a knife, and a woman arrived again demanding his wallet. 
He was then marched to the cashpoint near Blockbusters in Staple Tye where the group demanded he withdrew money for them. 
The group further assaulted the man on the cycle track beside Blockbusters and fled with his wallet and a Samsung mobile phone. 
The victim received a cut and bruises to his face. Three of the suspects are described as aged between 17 and 20. 
One was white, slim with blonde short hair and wearing jeans and a dark jacket. 
Another of the men was white, very skinny with short brown hair and wearing blue jeans, white trainers and a grey hoodie with the hood up. 
The man with the knife was of mixed race and wore a bandana across his face, a dark coat with the hood up and dark coloured jeans. 
Anyone with any information should contact PC Joanna Barnes at Harlow Police Station on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

College celebrating Apprenticeship Week

4.39pm - 1st February 2012

PREPARATIONS are well underway at Harlow College for National Apprenticeship Week 2012 (February 6-10). 
The week has been a tremendous success over the last four years and the college says 2012 will be even bigger. 
The week is kicking off with an Apprenticeship Fair, from 4pm-7pm, in the college''s new University Centre,Velizy Avenue. 
Potential apprentices and parents can speak to employers who are recruiting, to current apprentices and the college's expert staff. 
On Tuesday to Thursday the college is holding a range of 'have-a-go' events.
Schools have been invited to attend 'hands on' workshops with exciting activities and competitions, including: plumbing, electrical installation, teaching assistant, hairdressing, motor vehicle, construction and engineering. 
The college is also running twilight events for adults. 
On Friday there is a business breakfast specifically for businesses who have not had an apprentice before, to find out more and how taking on an apprentice can help their business. 
College principal Colin Hindmarch said: "With youth unemployment at such an alarming level, apprenticeships have never been more important, but, it is important that young people and employers get the right information, and ensure they are using a quality provider: our success rates speak for themselves.
"National Apprenticeship Week is the time when all eyes are on Apprenticeships and it's all about raising the profile amongst employers, individuals, teachers, parents and the media."
 For more information about Apprenticeships Week activities, ring Jayne Brown at Harlow College on 01279 867469.

MP praises 'top of the class' college

8.52am - 1st February 2012

HARLOW MP Robert Halfon has praised Harlow College after the Government announced that it has been ranked number one for long courses out of the 223 further education colleges across the UK. 
Mr Halfon, who is a regular visitor to the college, said: "This is fantastic news. In terms of getting the top grades, 
"Harlow College was ranked number two for all its students - making it one of the very best places in Britain not only to study, but to do well." 
He added: "These results are a real credit to Colin Hindmarch (the college principal), the staff and teachers, and all the students and their parents. They are really putting Harlow on the map. 
"Having such a successful college may also help to explain why youth unemployment has been falling in our town since 2009, and why the number of apprenticeships locally has increased by 73 per cent.
"Ignore the critics who want to talk Harlow down. These results prove that we can compete with the best and brightest not just from Essex, but from the whole country."

Garages to make way for new homes

8.52am - 1st February 2012

SEVENTEEN eyesore garage sites in Harlow are to make way for new housing under regeneration plans given the go ahead by Harlow Council. 
At last Thursday's (January 26) cabinet meeting, the council agreed to start the process of disposing of sites to private developers and housing associations. 
The council hopes developers will build over 70 new homes which will be for outright sale, shared ownership and for rent to people on the council's housing register. 
The council is insisting that developers provide new building apprenticeships and other learning opportunities for local residents. 
The garage sites, which are over 40 years old, are either currently derelict or underused and attract anti-social behaviour, vandalism and fly-tipping affecting local residents' quality of life. 
Residents in the areas are being consulted on the future of the sites and the final plans will be subject to planning permission. 
Housing portfolio holder Clive Souter said: "These new housing developments will create new jobs and new homes for local people. 
"We want to see the developments provide a good mix of housing which includes homes built for local people waiting on the housing register. 
"Creating apprenticeships - where young people help build these new homes - is also something we will be asking developers to sign up to.
"Many of these areas are sitting derelict or are underused attracting anti-social behaviour and we think the best use of these sites is to provide additional housing to regenerate these areas. 
"We have good examples of where this has worked well like at Mia Court which replaced a garage block in Ryecroft."