Braintree and Witham Times

Storm Austen is expected to bring gale force winds and torrential downpours to Essex today. The Met Office has issued a weather warning for wind.

BBC Look East presenter Susie Fowler-Watt is leaving after 35 years, with her final bulletin on December 18, as she pursues a career in psychotherapy.

Essex Police investigate a Southend vehicle workshop assault on October 22, involving four masked suspects and a blank-firing handgun.

Drivers are being warned with a 25-mile diversion route in place overnight on the A120 this weekend near Braintree.

M25 flooding causes long delays anticlockwise between Junctions 25 and 24, with two lanes closed near Enfield and Potters Bar; congestion reaches Waltham Abbey.

Major supermarket, Tesco has announced it will be hiring 28,000 temporary workers across the UK

Braintree Council announces free Christmas parking in Braintree and Witham, including the Christmas Street Market and Witham Christmas Fayre from November 14.

Anglian Water has given its verdict on whether Storm Austen will end the hosepipe ban across Essex.

Maldon Promenade Zoo has announced it will be closing tomorrow due to the threat of Storm Austen.

The A12 is currently closed near Chelmsford after a crash which is causing severe delays.

Essex Police appeal for help finding wanted man Carl Clarke, 40, after he left Southend Hospital on October 21. Contact police on 101 with information.

Charlotte Smith, owner of White Elm Garden Centre and Petting Farm in Bicknacre, says staff spent weeks preparing displays

Radio Caroline’s pirate radio ship Ross Revenge will leave Essex’s Blackwater Estuary for Hull in February 2027 for vital structural repairs

A man with dementia stabbed himself with scissors before climbing over a hospital railing and falling onto a glass table, an inquest has heard.

Storm Austen brings strong winds, heavy rain and flooding risk to Essex on October 23, with closures at Markshall Estate, Brentwood Market and pumpkin patches.

A van has had its roof severely damaged after crashing into Manningtree railway bridge.

SuperValu and Centra salmon and prawn products recalled after Listeria monocytogenes found. Essex Trading Standards says do not eat.

Essex men Elliot Reddington and Joe Mongan jailed for cocaine and cannabis supply, firearms offences and money laundering at Basildon Crown Court on October 5.

A two-week operation saw officers make 105 arrests while recovering drugs, weapons and stolen vehicles across the county.

A man was assaulted on Fowler Road, Essex, and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries; Essex Police investigate the incident on October 21.