Basildon Essex
Archive for June, 2010
Optician’s Eyeball Paul warning
Jun 30th
AN optician is warning people to steer clear of a dangerous new drinking game called “Vodka eyeballing”.
Gordon Ayling, the manager of D Glick opticians in Wickford High Street, said the craze for tipping a shot of vodka into the eye could cause permanent damage.
It could even leave people needing a cornea transplant from a donor.
The “party trick” is meant to make the person feel drunk more quickly, giving them an instant high.
Mystery how top motor crashed
Jun 30th
MYSTERY surrounds how a top-of-the-range sports car ended up in pieces at the side of the road.
Motorists on their way to work yesterday were shocked to see the £57,000 black BMW M3 convertible in a tangled wreck.
The luxury car had clearly hit the wall at the top of Chester Hall Lane, near to its junction with Cranes Farm Road.
Chris Lane, spokesman for Essex Police, said officers couldn’t say when the car was crashed as it was just found abandoned.
He said: “We are continuing to try to trace the registered owner.”
Rettendon killer gets £44,500 compensation
Jun 28th
A KILLER convicted of gunning down three drug dealers will get £44,500 in damages… after being left with a toothache.
The Home Office has been forced to fork out the cash to Michael Steele after negligent dental care left him in agony for years.
Steele, aged in his late sixties, was given three life sentences in 1998 for murdering Basildon drug dealers Pat Tate, Tony Tucker and Craig Rolfe.
Police release “a good enough e-fit”
Jun 22nd
THIS is the face of the thug who threatened three women with a broken bottle before robbing them.
Detectives have released the e-fit of the man in a bid to snare him.
The crook has now struck three times in recent weeks, robbing a terrified nurse in the most recent attack.
64 years in jail for £9.5m drugs ring
Jun 21st
A GANG has been jailed for smuggling £9.5million worth of cannabis into the country to be sold on the streets of south Essex.
A dozen men were jailed for a total of 64 years and eight months for a conspiracy to import two huge shipments of the drug, hidden in boxes of cucumbers in the back of lorries from Spain.
They were all arrested during an undercover operation by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency last summer.
Ex-cop jailed for online sex chats with girl, 13
Jun 17th
A DISGRACED copper has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after he had online sex chats with a 13-year-old girl.
Russell West, 26, who lives in Rochford and served in Thurrock, encouraged the “vulnerable” schoolgirl to expose herself for him over a webcam, a court heard.
His sordid messages were only discovered after the girl went missing and Central Scotland Police seized her computer in a bid to trace her.
via Echo
Broken-bottle thug left Basildon nurse terrified
Jun 15th
A NURSE has spoken of the moment she had a broken bottle waved in her face by a robber.
The 25-year-old woman is the latest victim of the raider who has struck three times.
The nurse, who works at Basildon hospital, said: “It was terrifying. He was holding the broken bottle so close.
“It has really affected my confidence and when I go to work I’ve been getting cabs because I just don’t want to walk in that area.”
The nurse had finished her shift at the hospital and was walking along Nether Mayne, on her way back to Basildon railway station, when the robber approached from behind.
Police searching for skateboard attacker
Jun 15th
POLICE hunting a man who attacked a store security guard with a skateboard have released CCTV images of the prime suspect.
The incident happened when the guard chased a suspected shoplifter from Debenhams, in the Eastgate Centre, Basildon.
When the pair got to Southernhay, Basildon, the culprit turned and attacked the man with his skateboard. The guard was left with bruising.
Camp in Basildon for Olympics?
Jun 10th
TOURISTS could be camping in Basildon after councillors pitched an idea to transform Gloucester Park into a tent city for the 2012 Olympics.
Basildon Council has come up with the bright idea of allowing sports fans to stay in the park, off Cranes Farm Road.
Basildon is just over eight miles away from the Olympic mountain biking arena at Hadleigh, and a short train ride to the main Olympic stadium in Stratford, East London.
12ft World Cup takes centre stage in town
Jun 10th
A SHOPPING centre has ensured it will play host to the FIFA World Cup, whether England bag the iconic trophy or not.
The Eastgate Shopping Centre is championing its World Cup celebrations by displaying a 12ft-high replica of the gold statuette.
The impressive sculpture has gone on show in the upper mall, near Next, and is made entirely out of cardboard.
Artist Alistair Smith spent weeks crafting it and his handiwork has already scored a big hit with shoppers.
Basildon
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