Local Democracy Reporting Service

Cancer referrals in Essex have fallen by 47%, from 29,321 in April 2019 to 15,489 in April 2020, NHS attendance figures from Southend, external, Basildon, external and Broomfield, external hospitals reveal.

In June, the total number of hospital visits was 24,135 compared to 31,334 in June 2019 – an improvement but still a 23% drop which has raised concerns that people were not getting the treatment they needed.

Visits to A&E in Essex have started to increase, but are still well down on the year before Covid-19 struck.

At Princess Alexandra, external in Harlow there were 4,484 A&E attendances in April 2020, compared to 9,008 the previous April.

Those figures have also improved slightly, with 7,150 in June 2020 compared to 9,822 in June 2019.

Overall emergency admissions in England are down 17.3%.

Clinicians worry many people are still not seeking treatment because of the fear of Covid-19, despite suffering potentially life-threatening conditions such as strokes and heart attacks.

A grain store partially destroyed in an explosion last Friday is expected to be closed until the end of the month, as fires within some of the silos continue to burn.

Sections of the roof at the massive storage facility at Tilbury in Essex collapsed as flames shot into the air.

One person was treated for smoke inhalation, but there were no other injuries.

Image source, @AislinnCL/PA Media

Fire crews have remained on site all week, damping down hotspots and tackling other fires which have ignited within the silos.

Peter Ward, commercial manager for the Port of Tilbury, which runs the grain terminal, said: "Operations at the silo itself will be closed until at least 31 July and we will provide a further update on this during the month."

He added "grain handling and storage services however are still available" within the port area and a large off-site storage facility had been found.

Sarah Jenkins
BBC News

A man has been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following a stabbing on Colchester.

Essex Police, external said a 33-year-old man was assaulted while walking from Wimpole Road into Barrack Street at about 23:30 on Saturday. He was taken to hospital and later discharged.

The 22-year-old man from Harlow has been released on bail until 27 July while police continue inquiries and they're appealing for information and are "particularly keen" to speak to anyone who may have seen a black Astra or Mercedes in the area.

Matt Precey
BBC Look East

The latest number of new daily coronavirus deaths, external has been released by the government.

In the East, there was an increase of four deaths in the region's hospitals.

The total number now stands at 4,029.

• Luton and Dunstable Hospital: 2
• Northampton General Hospital: 1
• Southend Hospital: 1

The total number of Covid-19 deaths across the UK now stands at 44,602.

Timothy Madders, 7, says he was worried Her Majesty may have been feeling sad during lockdown.

Jack and Connie Cardy cannot wait to get back to running the gym they gambled everything on to open.

The runaway reptile surprised workers when they came across it coiled up under plastic sheeting.

Officers say the oysters, winkles and cockles may not be "safe for human consumption".

An Essex horticultural event has gone virtual for the first time ever due to the coronavirus outbreak

Image source, St Clare Hospice

More than 20 local gardens will be on show online to raise vital funds for St Clare Hospice in Hastingwoood, which has hosted the Open Gardens event for 26 years.

A dedicated web page , externalhas been created to host the walk-through garden tours and the charity asks participants make a donation to the hospice in return for their virtual experience.

Organiser Dan Bailey said: "Our Open Garden participants, some of whom have been opening their gardens for us every summer for many years, were eager to embrace technology this year to make sure the event can still go ahead."

The event starts on Saturday and runs until the end of August.

Katy Lewis
BBC News Online

Workers at a building site in Essex have found a 3ft-long (1m) royal python curled up under plastic sheeting.

The reptile was found at the site of a new development off Brooklands Road in Manningtree on Friday.

Image source, RSPCA

RSPCA , externalinspector Adam Jones said: "Workers have been flattening the land and started foundations for the buildings and the snake has somehow slithered onto the land and was hiding under some plastic."

It is thought that the python has escaped from a home and gone on the run - or more likely on the slide.

The snake is now being looked after at a local rescue centre. Anyone who believes it may belong to them should contact the RSPCA’s appeal line on 0300 123 8018.

The 149-year-old pier at Clacton, Essex, reopened to the public after lockdown on Saturday.

Plans to combat the impact of the pandemic could see offices in Colchester and Milton Keynes close.

A woman has been arrested as part of a murder inquiry after a man died following a drive-by shooting last month.

Robert Powell, 50, was shot multiple times from a car on Water Lane in Roydon near Harlow on Saturday, 13 June. He died in hospital the following day.

A 33-year-old woman from London has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Det Ch Insp Stephen Jennings, of Essex Police, said: "We're still keen to hear from anyone who has information about what happened to Robert and urge you to come forward."

Two women who were in the same car as the dead man were also shot, but not seriously injured.

The suspects drove off in the direction of Harlow, police said.

An off-duty Essex Police officer has been praised for showing the "highest standards" after helping to save the life of a motorcyclist she found unresponsive in the road.

PC Liz Ferris discovered the rider as she drove along Maldon Road near Tiptree on 30 June.

Image source, Essex Police

The officer performed CPR for about 15 minutes until passing paramedics from the East of England Ambulance Service were flagged down. They used a defibrillator to get the man breathing again, before he was taken to hospital.

PC Ferris, based at Stanway Roads Policing Unit, has been put forward for a commendation for her actions.

Adam Pipe, head of Essex Police’s Roads Policing, said ambulance staff told them that without her intervention the patient would have been "beyond help".

"Not only did Liz save a stranger’s life, she also demonstrated the professionalism and highest standards of a police officer," he said.

The parents of Ellie-Rose say they never thought they would be able to take her home.

A faulty ice cream freezer caused a fire which has badly damaged a cafe at Colchester Zoo, external.

The fire at the Playa Patagonia Coffee Shop happened at about 19:15 yesterday after the zoo had closed.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control, but the shop suffered "extensive damage" which will take "weeks" to repair. No-one was injured.

The fire was contained to the coffee shop, so the zoo remains open to visitors, with a temporary coffee shop to be set-up in the zoo's Penguini’s Restaurant.

A delay in the boy's delivery caused by two emergencies at the same hospital led to brain damage.

Purfleet in Essex adds "on-Thames" to its name in the hope of making it a "destination of choice".

Armed police were scrambled after people reported seeing some men with a gun in a car.

They were spotted at about 12:50 on Monday near Morrisons supermarket in Harwich.

Armed officers "quickly established it was a toy gun", an Essex Police spokeswoman said.

No action was taken against the men.

Special Constable Chelsea Ablett, who assisted the officers, wrote on Twitter that the "firearm was a toy bought from B&M".

However, she added: "It was a scary few minutes not knowing what was in the vehicle."

A man in his 40s has died at the scene after the car he was in collided with a stationary lorry at Chelmsford.

Essex Police, external said the Renault Megane hit a lorry in a layby on the A12 between Three Mile Hill and Galleywood at about 21:20 on Monday.

The northbound section between junctions 15 and 16 was closed.