Patrick Byrne
BBC News

A scheme to stabilise cliffs along the Clacton to Holland-on-Sea coastline costing £5m has been unveiled. 

A one-day exhibition of plans was held at the Kings Cliff Hotel in Holland-on-Sea yesterday and people got the chance to find out more about the project and ask questions. 

Tendring District Council, external will be working with consultants Mott MacDonald, external to develop a solution to coastal cliff instabilities. 

Image source, Tendring District Council

Nick Turner, cabinet member for commercialisation, said that measures put in place in the 1950s and 1960s are now coming to the end of their life. 

Landslides have led to the closure of slope paths and the removal of some beach huts (not the ones pictured, they were built in 2015).

Investigations and ground surveys are to take place over the coming months on the cliffs east of Clacton Pier.

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

The cost of the improvement to the A120 between Braintree and the A12 near Colchester is likely to cost £475 to £825m and could start in eight to ten years time, Essex County Council, external has revealed. 

George Kieffer, chairman of the Haven Gateway Partnership, external which represents ports and towns in north east Essex, reckons the road will boost the economy by more than £1bn a year. 

Rodney Bass, county councillor and chairman of the A120 board, is to launch a consultation at Westminster tomorrow to build government support for this scheme and investment. 

Witham MP Priti Patel, external has welcomed the start of the consultation but will not be able to attend the Westminster briefing. 

She said: "The road suffers from severe delays and is one of the most dangerous roads in England. 

"The road needs to be dualled and the route options being looked at could solve the congestion problems and unlock new jobs and growth in our economy."

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

One of the region main train operators has won an award for engineering efficiency, after it improved reliability on one route by nearly 100% and on another by 54%. 

Greater Anglia has scooped a Golden Spanner Award, organised by Modern Railways, external magazine, for reliability improvements on the Norwich to London line through Suffolk and Essex.

Image source, Abellio

But commuters and regular travellers said the firm should have been achieving high reliability rates right from when it took over the franchise. 

The yardstick of reliability compares a technical fault that causes a delay of three minutes or more with the number of miles rolling stock travels. On the Norwich-London line 48,122 miles were travelled between incidents compared to the previous figure of 24,251 miles. 

Commuter routes in Essex, saw an improvement of 54%, going from 17,553 miles per technical incident to 27,030. 

Peter Slattery, chairman of the Southend Rail Travellers' Association, said this level of performance should have been there from the start. 

While welcoming improvements, he said: "Greater Anglia still has a long way to go. Passengers should expect a much better service alongside the fares that go up annually." 

Greater Anglia said the improvements in rolling stock reliability was the result of better maintenance and monitoring performance.

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

A drug dealer who set up shop in a vulnerable man's home has been jailed for four years. 

David Joseph, 25, of Brandon Street, south London, was part of a gang believed to have taken over the man's flat in the Rundells in Harlow to use it as a base for dealing - a practice known as cuckooing.

Image source, Essex Police

Police raided the flat in July last year following concerns for the welfare of the man and Joseph opened the door to them, Chelmsford Crown Court heard. 

They later raided his home in London and found cannabis and £210 in cash. A further search of the Harlow flat revealed 26 rocks of heroin and crack cocaine, another £310 in cash concealed in Joseph's bag and a mobile phone. 

The vulnerable man was rehomed for his own safety. 

Joseph was found guilty of possessing a Class B drug and two counts of possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply and was jailed for four years last Thursday. 

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

An investigation is under way after a dog was dumped in Stanford-le-Hope last night. 

The dog was tied by her lead to a signpost on High Road in Fobbing, wearing a red coat with a grey bone motif.

Image source, RSPCA

"She was left with sleeping bags with her for bedding and is microchipped although there are no details registered," the RSPCA, external said. 

RSPCA Insp Adam Jones added: "She appears healthy and is very sweet-natured. I can't imagine why anyone would want to leave her in this way. 

"The road has a low traffic flow, especially at the time of night she was found, and very few houses. 

"We will be following up all lines of inquiry including trying to glean more information from the microchip but if anyone recognises this dog or knows how she came to be dumped here we would urge them to get in contact with us."

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

A persistent drug dealer, arrested twice in less than three weeks, has been jailed for more than three years. 

Unemployed Shelton Alexander, 23, was spotted by two police community support officers with a crowd of people in Old Road, Clacton, on 12 July.

Image source, Essex Police

They believed he was dealing them drugs and he ran off but was found a short time later in an alley behind a parade of shops. He had a small amount of cannabis in his pocket, but when police carried out a search of the area, they found 26 wraps had been discarded. 

While on bail he was spotted again on 29 July in Clacton when he also ran off and was arrested. A search of a nearby address uncovered £1,700 in cash and a quantity of cannabis. 

Alexander, of Nelson Walk, Tower Hamlets, was charged with possession with intent to supply crack cocaine, possession with intent to supply heroin, two counts of possession of cannabis and one count of possession of criminal property, which related to the money seized. 

He admitted all the counts and was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday to a total of three years and three months.

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

Five route options for the improved A120 road link from Braintree to the A12 have been picked for consultation following analyses of nearly 70 separate proposals. 

Drivers, residents, businesses and other interested parties can make their views known by filling out the survey online, external. 

Hard copies of the consultation materials will also be available at events in Bradwell, Braintree, Chelmsford, Coggeshall, Colchester, Cressing, Feering, Marks Tey, Rivenhall, Silver End and Witham over the coming months.

Image source, Essex County Council

Kevin Bentley, Essex County Council, external's deputy leader responsible for economic growth, said: "Upgrades to this section of the A120 are vital to support the continuing economic and housing growth across Essex and East Anglia. 

"Whether you have a preference for a specific route, or just want to see your journey times decrease, please take a couple of minutes to fill out this consultation." 

Rodney L Bass, chairman of the A120 board, said: "It is a simple fact that the A120 between Braintree and Colchester is not fit for purpose. 

"Upgrades to this road are long overdue and we are keen to get views from residents and businesses on how best to do this."

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

A violent prisoner who took a fellow inmate hostage and threatened to kill him after being denied painkillers for his bad back, has had an extra jail term for this offence reduced on appeal. 

Convicted armed robber, Jay Williams, threatened to "slice open" his cell mate's throat unless he got the medication he wanted. Riot police stormed his cell to rescue the hostage.

Image source, Essex Police

Williams, 38 and previously from Military Road in Colchester, was given an additional term of eight years. This was reduced by six months on appeal as he was suffering chronic back pain at the time of the offences in March 2015. 

He is already serving an indefinite sentence in HMP Pentonville for a string of knifepoint shop raids. 

The court heard Williams is a violent criminal with previous convictions for witness intimidation, robbery and making threats to kill. 

He had been moved to Pentonville from HMP The Mount, in Hertfordshire, after taking part in a rooftop protest.

Williams admitted blackmail and making threats to kill at Blackfriars Crown Court and was jailed in February last year.

Mr Justice Spencer, at the Court of Appeal on Friday, said the crown court judge didn't give him enough credit for admitting his guilt at his first appearance. 

Williams cannot be released from jail until the Parole Board considers he no longer poses a risk to the public.

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

Plans to upgrade a key route from Braintree to the A12 are to be presented for public consultation today.

Councillors will be looking at several options for a new stretch of the road heralded as a necessary improvement. 

Image source, Google

Essex County Council, external said the road is already heavily over-capacity causing delays. 

Nine possible options were released in December. 

The upgrade could unlock greater economic potential in the county, the council said. 

The first public event is in Bradwell on 30 January and people can contribute to the consultation online, external.

BBC Sport

Basildon's Stuart Bingham has been knocked out of the UK Masters Snooker at Alexandra Palace.

Image source, Getty Images

He was beaten 6-1 by Joe Perry, the Wisbech '"Fen Potter" last night. 

Ali Carter, from Chelmsford (pictured), who has been runner-up in World Championships twice, gets his campaign under way tonight.

Southend United will not make a decision on Nile Ranger's future until a Football Association investigation is completed.

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

A further £11.5m is to be spent on maintenance, repairs and major improvements to Southend Pier, external over the next four years. 

And options are being considered to replace the ageing pier train.

The timber outer pier head is to be rebuilt following storm damage in 2015 at a cost of £8m and a further £1.5m is to be spent on reinforcement works to the Prince George extension.

Southend Borough Council, external, which is funding the work, has set aside £300,000 for pier entrance improvements and £1m to reduce the risk of future pile cap failures. 

Further work is to be done to improve the pier as an attraction by developing the pavilion deck and a review of transport options to replace the ageing pier train. 

Ann Holland, executive councillor for culture, tourism and the economy, said: "This proposed investment does a number of things. 

"It ensures the future of this historical and listed structure, ensures that it remains open and a popular destination, and also looks to the future." 

The rail company Greater Anglia has signed an agreement to sell 40% of its rail franchise to Mitsui & Co, pending final regulatory approvals.

The two companies have a track record of working together. 

They first entered into a joint venture to bid for the West Midlands rail franchise in 2016, along with the East Japan Railway Company. 

Following this, Abellio felt that Mitsui would be the best partner to run the Greater Anglia franchise in a 60:40 venture.

It will be the first time a Japanese company has became a shareholder of a British train operating company.

Abellio first operated the franchise from February 2012, and re-won it in August 2016.

It will continue to have a majority stake in the business and be in overall control.

It plans to spend £1.4bn on more than 1,000 new carragies, free wi-fi and station improvements - and has a commitment to cut average journey times by 10%.

Passengers travelling on mainline rail services from Norwich to London face delays to their journey. 

Trains are running at reduced speed, due to a fault with the signalling system between Norwich and Diss.

Greater Anglia warns of delays, external up to 10 minutes, and says the disruption is expected to continue until 14:00.

Greater Anglia, external warns of delays to rail services between Norwich and Diss.

A fault with the signalling system means trains are running at  reduced speed. Services may been delayed by up to 10 minutes.

Network Rail engineers are working to fix the problem. Disruption is expected until mid-morning.

BBC Weather Watchers

As the sun rose in the sky this morning it brought a large number of contrasting scenes in across Essex.

These begged the question "would the day go well?" and our BBC Weather Watchers certainly caught the flavour of the morning.

The weather is going to be dry, but cold with some cloud in places.

Image source, Nik

Image source, large007

Image source, bluecap

Image source, freeyourspirit

The funeral of a Big Issue North seller was paid for through donations raised online, but just how common are crowdfunded services?

East Anglian Daily Times

Here is the front page of the Essex edition of today's East Anglian Daily Times:

Image source, Archant

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

A 58-year-old man has been left with a broken neck following an assault in Southend last month. 

Police have only just released details of the attack and are seeking information.

The victim was assaulted at the junction of The Grove and North Avenue while walking home at about 21:00 on Friday, 16 December. 

Police said he was still recovering from very serious injuries and hasn't been able to give them a description of his attackers. 

Det Con Paul Gutteridge said: "Someone will know what happened and who was involved and I am appealing for anyone with information to please come forward." 

Patrick Byrne
BBC News

A couple from Clacton who fell ill during a special holiday in the Dominican Republic to celebrate their ruby wedding anniversary are getting thousands of pounds worth of compensation from a tour operator.

Dennis and Margaret Wood were celebrating 40 years of marriage on an all-inclusive stay in 2011 when they suffered food poisoning. 

They were granted compensation at Birmingham County Court but operator First Choice appealed. 

In London on Monday, Court of Appeal judges upheld the county court decision, rejecting First Choice's claim that tour operators should not become the guarantor of the quality of food and drink the world over.

Image source, Getty Images

Mr Wood could now receive damages of £16,500 for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life and his wife will get £7,500. 

First Choice's counsel spoke of the firm now being potentially liable for every upset stomach which occurred during one of its holidays.