A MISS Essex contestant is hoping that real-life experiences will give her an edge against other girls in the competition.

Alex Jenkins, 18, of Bunters Lane, Great Leighs, will be taking on girls from across the county at Brentwood's Sugar Hut at the weekend for the chance to compete in Miss England.

Many celebrities are expected to be in attendance and Katie Price, aka Jordan, will be one of the judges.

Alex is a marketing account executive for a firm in London and believes these achievements at such a young age are rare among her peer group.

She said: "I think I have a strong work ethic. I believe you can't get anything you haven't worked hard for. I work hard and I'm very ambitions.

"I think I've shown that through the money I've helped raise for charity.

"I've only just turned 18 and a lot of people I went to school with aren't really doing much, whereas I'm up in the city five days a week.

"I left school and went to college but decided this really wasn't for me and went to work with my mum as a childcare assistant, then started an apprenticeship."

Alex won the Miss Charity title at Miss Teen UK for her charity work, which involved organising a number of fundraisers including a 'Waxing Hell' event.

"One guy had his eyebrows waxed off completely, as well as legs, arms. It was for 'Beauty for a Cause', and it raises money for charity from these competitions. I've had experience in pageants last year so I'm really looking forward to it and think I have a good chance of winning," added Alex.

CHELMSFORD celebrated its city status this week as Greater Anglia named a class 90 locomotive in its honour.

Chelmsford was officially granted city status last year as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee commemorations.

Ruud Haket, managing director of Greater Anglia, said: "We're delighted to name a locomotive City of Chelmsford marking the importance of Chelmsford as a thriving regional centre and gateway to London.

"Many thousands of our customers commute daily from the station and we're proud to recognise city status for Chelmsford in this way."

Councillor Ron Alcock of Chelmsford City Council approached Greater Anglia last year with his idea.

He said: "It just feels right that after being bestowed with such an honour as city status, we are now celebrating with the naming of a locomotive that we can all enjoy seeing pass through the station each day.

"The railway has brought great economic benefits to Chelmsford, enabling our skilled workforce to commute in and out of the city each day."

A veteran peace activist from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) will be in Brentwood today as part of his "Scrap Trident" tour.

Bruce Kent, 83, will be coming back to the town on April 26. He last visited in the 1980s on his walk from Land's End to John o' Groats.

He is calling for Britain's submarine-launched ballistic nuclear missile programme, known as Trident, to be scrapped and the £100 billion renewal scheme to be shelved.

Jill Dimmock, 69, convenor of Brentwood CND, said: "Bruce, who is an ordained member of the Catholic Church, has campaigned for most of his life against nuclear weapons and is a very down-to-earth and charismatic figure.

"He loves nothing better than an argument. We expect him to get some challenging questions from local people."

Ms Dimmock, of Mascalls Gardens, Brentwood, added: "It is not right that we have nuclear weapons especially when most countries in the world do not."

Mr Kent will be speaking to pupils of Shenfield High School in the morning, appearing on Phoenix FM in the afternoon before a free public meeting at Merrymeade House, in Merrymeade Chase, at 7pm, on Friday.

He will be taking as many questions from the audience as possible and anyone is welcome to attend.

For more information, call Ms Dimmock on 01277 216712.

ESCAPING Chelmsford Prison for charity may not be the usual motivation, but teams of people from across Essex did exactly that.

For the group supporting Chelmsford Boys Club, mobility scooters were their weapon of choice and their ambitious target was to get as far as the High Street.

Their plans was to race – or rather gently amble – around Chelmsford to raise awareness and as much money for the Boys Club as possible.

To make sure they did not look entirely ridiculous, most of them donned "onesies" in the forms of everything from a crocodile to a zebra.

Jamie Drummond, 24, club leader, said: "We are doing it to raise money for a club that has been part of my life since I was nine.

"I really believe in the club and that there should be a place where boys can be boys.

"My father was a club leader before me so it runs in the family.

"The mobility scooter idea was just to grab attention; we were lent them by Meadows Mobility so we are very thankful to them.

"I just asked them if we could borrow a few and they said yes so they have been brilliant."

Mr Drummond, who lives in Chelmsford, was all for the attention-grabbing gimmicks and the onesies just added to the surreal nature of their team.

The zebra, Sue Pell, 62, is heavily involved with the Essex Boys Club.

She said: "I have been up since 5.30am rounding up everyone and getting some of the bikes for the cycle teams in on time.

"I am usually the bus driver so I am always busy. I was asked by Jamie if I wanted to be on his team and I couldn't refuse.

"He said I had to bring a onesie. I didn't have one so he told me not to worry – he had a zebra one spare. So here I am dressed as a zebra on a mobility scooter.

"The club is really good for all those involved so I am happy to support it and hopefully it will help raise some funds."

Other teams came from across Essex and overall 50 "prisoners" were involved in the event.

They were all competing for a range of awards from the furthest distance to the most original form of transport.

Another team decided to rack up the miles by spending the day abseiling in Brentwood, while riding pedal cars in between.

Several teams refused to reveal their top secret plans, while others did not really seem to have any.

One Colchester-based team aimed to cycle through to the Suffolk coast, on the basis that Suffolk was flat, or at least they heard it was.

So far the teams have managed to raise more than £3,000 and the donations are still being counted.

Essex Boys and Girls Club in Rectory Lane is a registered charity that has been running since 1939, providing a variety of activities to the young people who attend.

The jailbreak, organised by the club, has been running for 35 years and always from Chelmsford Prison, with permission from the governor.

"Chelmsford Prison is part of the community and we want to make our contribution, that is why we allow them to come back every year," said deputy governor Lindsay Whitehouse.

DOZENS of migrating toads were squashed to death or maimed on a country road in Great Leighs, sparking calls for a volunteer patrol to help them cross safely.

More than 50 common toads were killed or injured while crossing Moulsham Hall Lane to return to their pond for the mating season.

Diana Parker, of Evelyn Road, spotted the "carnage" in her headlights on Saturday, April 13, when she was driving home at around midnight.

"It was really sad because there was so many just squished on the road – some just with their back legs squished.

"It was really hard to miss them all – there was just so many."

Common toads can travel as far as a kilometre in large groups to return to their pond for mating season, which normally starts around February but has been delayed by the cold snap.

Mrs Parked says it is hard to spot them because, unlike frogs, the toads crawl across the road instead of hopping.

"It looks like a leaf blowing in the wind," she added.

Her husband Andrew Parker, 46, who has worked with ponds since he was eight, and is owner of Evergreen Landscapes, carries the toads safely across the road when he can.

The amphibian expert said that Saturday was most likely the beginning of a week's worth of toad crossings, and said that a volunteer patrol to help them cross, and clear warning signs were needed to avoid more unnecessary toad deaths.

"I have recovered many a toad and frog over the years – but we should organise a proper patrol. People just don't know about it," he added.

Mr Parker also suggests the new owners of Great Leighs racecourse, which is next door, could install the two warning signs for motorists as a gesture to the community.

After MC Racetracks were given the go-ahead to beam 74 floodlights on the ground below, residents have expressed fears that local wildlife may be left confused between night and day.

Yet Mr Parker said this could be an opportunity for a valuable compromise with the animal kingdom. "I could tell them exactly where to put the signs," added Mr Parker.

Yet racecourse chairman Keith Brown has ruled out the prospect of funding signs. He said: "While we are keen to minimise any impact of the racecourse on local wildlife, signs on Moulsham Hall Lane would also require street lighting for it to be effective and so is not within our remit."

A CHELMSFORD runner came 19th in this year's London Marathon – making him the fifth fastest British competitor.

Springfield Strider Paul Molyneux ran a time of 2:21:54 – a personal best – just 15 minutes behind Ethiopian race winner Tsegaye Kebede.

The 32-year-old came fourth out the non-professional runners, with his previous best being tenth in 2011. Paul, a captain in the Army Medical Corps, told the Chronicle: "I'm really pleased to get a personal best, but a bit disappointed I didn't break the 2:20:00 barrier.

"Running takes up a huge part of my life so I'm just happy to run and achieve a personal best. Hopefully, I can break a sub-20 time next year."

Paul, who ran the Boston Marathon last year, said he was in his best shape for years. "It was 35 degrees so my time wasn't as good as I'd hoped," he said. "At London it was nice to get back to the level I had a few years ago."

Paul is a member of the Springfield Striders and has been running for ten years, competing in his first marathon in 2003, and taking part in more than 30 since.

He said: "I run all year round, but three months before I start the intensive training routines, which involve running longer and longer runs."

At the peak of his training, he runs about 80- 90 miles-a-week.

"I managed to beat my personal best by 20 seconds, but I had to run the last eight miles on my own, the last 35 km I dropped the pace a bit," he said.

"It's much easier if you're in a group because you push each other on." He added: "We got to about 13 miles and one guy in our group sped off and did about 2:19, I managed to catch him up a bit, but really I was on my own."

Paul plans to run either the Frankfurt Marathon in October or the New York Marathon in November, and has set his sights on dipping under the 2:20:00 barrier.

A DEVOTED couple are at their daughter's bedside in Dubai after the stress of a crucial court appeal resulted in her being put into a drug-induced coma.

Natalie Creane, 34, who was struck by a loose wardrobe panel in an Abu Dhabi hotel in 2008, has a "major infection" following epileptic seizures.

Three years ago, she and her family, which includes parents Angie and Derick Smith of Cold Norton, first appeared in court to fight for justice for Mrs Creane.

In February, the Emirates Palace Hotel, Kempinski group of hotels and the hotel's insurance company ADNIC were all found guilty of "gross negligence" over the incident.

Yet Mrs Creane was paid just £36,000 in compensation, despite her medical bills reaching £250,000 and her loss of earnings as an HR director, amounting to £500,000.

On April 17, the family returned to court to launch their appeal for sufficient compensation and the case was adjourned until next Tuesday.

Yet Mrs Creane's health went downhill last week, as it did following the February 27 case, and she is currently bed-ridden.

In a joint statement from Dubai, the family said: "Since Natalie has deteriorated so much, even more medical reports and documents will be submitted on top of the hundreds already handed over.

"Natalie has had a very bad week this week. Her health is still deteriorating, sadly. She is exhausted and has been bed-ridden most of the week."

They added that on the weekend, she was "particularly bad."

After the April 17 court appeal, which the family did not attend to save Mrs Creane the stressful journey from her Dubai home to the Abu Dhabi court, mum Mrs Smith, 63, said she respected the court's decision.

She said: "Winning the case against these defendants was only the first step. Now comes the fight for Natalie's future and for her life – losing this fight means she could lose both.

"We must have faith that we will win the fight and we will stop at nothing to achieve that.

"What happened to Natalie could have happened to anyone and still could, we cannot in good conscience allow that to happen.

"The world needs to know about Natalie's desperate fight for justice and they will – she has suffered too much for too long. There are no more excuses."

In 2008, Mrs Creane, who moved to Dubai ten years ago, was enjoying a £150-a-night holiday with her fiancé, and now husband, Trevor.

While unpacking, she was struck by a 2.2kg panel when it fell from an 11ft wardrobe.

Mrs Creane was immediately sick and lost consciousness.

She now suffers from post-traumatic epilepsy.

Following the February 27 guilty verdict, the family were paid just £35 in legal costs as well as the £36,000 compensation, which would not even cover one of Mrs Creane's treatments.

FELSTED Blue Hornets enjoyed double success as two of their girls teams were crowned regional champions.

The U10 and U12 sides were both triumphant in the events at Harleston in Norfolk, while their corresponding boys' teams also impressed by both finishing third.

The achievements of the U10 girls have been incredibly impressive.

Having won their county final a week earlier and not conceding a goal in the process, their defence was breached just twice as they marched to regional glory.

They topped their group after 3-0 wins over Norwich City, Hertford and Bury St Edmunds, with the only blot on their copybook being a 2-1 loss to Cambridge City. They then beat Tunbridge Wells 2-0 in the semi-final before a win by the same score over host side Harleston Magpies to be crowned champions.

Also on Saturday, the U12 boys topped their qualifying group with four wins out of four - conceding no goals - but were undone by a last-minute breakaway goal as they lost 1-0 to Ipswich in their semi-final.

They did, however, bounce back to beat Old Loughtonians 3-1 for third place.

The following day, there was more success as the U12 girls booked their spot at the national championships with their win.

They beat Wisbech, Sevenoaks and Bury St Edmund's in their first three group games before a 0-0 draw against Norwich City, and a 1-0 loss to Bluehearts saw them through to the semi-finals by just one goal.

There they faced the hosts, and after a 1-1 draw, prevailed 3-1 on penalty flicks before beating Broxbourne 1-0 in the final.

The U10 boys topped their group with three wins out of three, but were then sunk 3-1 by Saffron Walden in the semi-finals.

They, like their U12 division a day later, bounced back to finish third, thrashing Colchester 5-0.

The U12 girls will join the U14 boys - crowned regional champions a fortnight ago - in the national finals in Beeston on May 11.

It's four years since The Snow Centre, North London welcomed the first skiers and snowboarders to enjoy the closest real snow to the centre of London.

This May Bank Holiday The Snow Centre is celebrating their fourth birthday with what they promise will be 'a sn-occasion to remember!'

The Snow Centre's birthday bash will see visitors experiencing the slopes as the snow falls for the first time since they opened in 2009.   It's a unique chance to enjoy the UK's freshest powder on our slopes and enjoy skiing or snowboarding through the falling snow. Monday 6th May has all the makings for a great FREE family day out.  

You'll be able to explore the piste basher at close quarters and grab a picture of yourself in the driving seat or have a bash at Freestyling for free in the temporary outdoor snow park!

There will be free birthday cake, hot chocolate on the slopes and a mass balloon race with the chance to win some fantastic prizes.  Games, face-painting, a treasure hunt and competitions will make Bank Holiday Monday (May 6th) a day action-packed with snowy fun.

WINE, song and a Bailey's cheesecake were the order of the day when an order of nuns marked the 100th birthday of one of its members.

Sister Agatha, of Brentwood Ursuline Convent at The Grange in Queens Road, marked her big day with a special Mass, a guest singer and a three course dinner.

In honour of her achievement, she received cards from the Queen and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, along with a cheque from the Irish government.

Having arrived in Brentwood from her home in Woodstown, near Waterford in the Irish Republic, at the age of 17, Sister Agatha is well placed to understand the history of the convent, which was founded by Mother Clare Arthur on April 23, 1900.

"Mother Clare, she was very nice," Sr Agatha told the Gazette.

"She was strict in her own way but what stood out most was her kindness – she was very kind.

"She liked animals and she loved her dog, Poppy."

The convent founded several schools including the Brentwood Ursuline Convent High School next door.

Most of her memories of the convent are fond ones, although she does vividly remember when the building was set alight during a German bombing raid in the Second World War.

"We all went down to the shelter underneath the school," she recalled.

"We all had to go down to the shelter and everybody had to be accounted for.

"Luckily they all were all safe."

Many sisters in the convent taught at the Ursuline until recently.

Now they help the community in other ways, working in day centres for the homeless, with prison and hospital chaplaincy services, in local hospices and with the Irish travelling community.

One of Sister Agatha's fellow nuns, Sister Philomena, even scaled the barricades during the eviction of travellers from Dale Farm in 2011.

"The protesters wouldn't let anyone through," Sister Philomena said.

"They had cut a huge whole in the barricades but refused to let anyone through it.

"In the end I had to climb over to reach those inside."

Besides the Ursuline, the nuns have founded two primary schools and two schools in Kenya.

In July Sister Teresa, one of the other nuns at the convent, returned from one of the African schools, where she taught skills such as carpentry, masonry, motor-mechanics, dressmaking and knitting.

"It just enabled them to begin to support themselves, their families and in turn their villages," she said.

"They struggle to identify learning difficulties there and I noticed one boy was dyslexic.

"There they are often regarded as slow and unable to learn.

"I went to explain that in his mind his wording and spelling were great but he was punished because they didn't understand."

Sister Anne, the sister-in-charge, remains a governor of the Ursuline.

Now retired from teaching, she is still motivated to help others.

However she does acknowledge that the sisterhood is different today from when she took her vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in the mid-1950s.

"It was more of a career at the time," she reflected.

"Now, in more ways than before, people who join want to serve the church and live a dedicated life.

"I think that people aren't joining this sort of community because there are so many other opportunities now for young women to help people.

"But there weren't so many career opportunities back then."

Before Sister Agatha arrived at the convent in 1930, the nuns played host to and taught Princess Marie Jose of Belgium during the First World War.

In later life the princess was dubbed the May Queen in reference to her 35 day reign as the last queen of Italy.

More recently the convent played host to the Madagascar Olympic team officials and the Burkino Faso Paralympic team in August last year as they prepared for London 2012.

There was no lack of support for the West African athletes during the team's time trial road races.

On Friday, however, the nuns' mostly Irish roots were unashamedly obvious as a spontaneous singalong accompanied cathedral singer Robbie Watson during his rendition of Danny Boy.

Among the impromptu choir was Mary McDonagh, wife of the Irish ambassador to the UK.

"It has been a wonderful day," she said.

"We had a lovely Mass and it was a very powerful service."

"Everyone here is so enchanting, they are all lovely girls.

"I wish Sister Agatha all the best for the day and in the days ahead."

The sisterhood likes any good excuse for a party and they have already got the next one lined up on August 10 – when Sister Agatha celebrates the 80th anniversary of taking her vows.

CHARITY campaigners are hoping a new fundraising group in Ongar will help them collect even more cash to help find a cure for cancer.

Over the years, Barbara MacDonald, 75, of Marden Ash, and her army of almost 40 volunteers have collected thousands of pounds for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

But it is now hoped that volunteers will be able to collect even more money following the formation of the new Ongar District Fund Raising Group.

The group is being formed to help concentrate the efforts of would-be fundraisers and to help run events in and around Ongar.

Adam Walker, 25, the regional coordinator for Marie Curie, said: "Before I came to the area, Ongar was just a number with how much the volunteers collected.

"I thought it was going to be quite a large place but now I am here I can't believe how much they managed to raise from such a spread-out and small community – it is very impressive.

"Setting up the district fundraising groups is part of an effort to help organise fundraising across the region.

"Not every region is lucky enough to have a Barbara but I still feel the group will help raise even more."

The first meeting of the new group was held on Friday and, with plenty of free cake and tea on offer, it is hoped it will be the first of many.

One of its first tasks will be organising the Marie Curie Blooming Great Tea Party, a national event that has cakes and tea being consumed in abundance across the country.

"We will help raise awareness and raise funds by working with the community and businesses and organising great events," said Frances Austen of Great Stony Park.

The 69-year-old, whose daughter died of cancer nine years ago, has raised more than £6,500 for the charity after seeing the work it does first hand.

"What the Marie Curie nurses do is incredible.

"They are real help to those with terminal illness and I can't speak highly enough of them.

"Since my daughter died, my husband and I have wanted to pay them back for the work they did for our daughter.

"This fundraising group will hopefully get bigger and bigger and will help raise more and more money."

Ms MacDonald, who has lost many friends to the disease over the years, has helped to organise the Marie Curie Daffodil Appeal for many years.

She also mobilises an army of 38 collectors.

She said: "Marie Curie is a good cause and the nurses on the night shift for which it is so famous do so much for people.

"Hopefully this fundraising group will really help to raise more funds."

Mary Strange, 61 of Victoria Road, Ongar, was also present at the meeting.

She said: "I lost my sister to cancer 21 years ago.

"It is a terrible disease and it is something you never get over.

"The Marie Curie nurses looked after her and that is why I am here to give back to the charity."

The fundraising group welcomes anyone who wants to come along.

For more information, call Frances Austen on 01277 366646.

VICTORIOUS runners gathered for the awards night of the Brentwood Half Marathon.

Competitors received their honours and were joined by the main charities to benefit from the race, including SNAP and St Francis Hospice.

Brentwood a Becket Rotary Club organises the Brentwood Half Marathon and were present with their district governor and president.

Anne Bender, a Rotarian who is part of the half marathon organising committee, said:

"Every one of the 4,000 runners made a tremendous effort completing the course in Siberian conditions.

"We also enabled several other groups like Georgia's Teenage Cancer Appeal to raise money on the day.

"All of the entrants – from the youngest to the oldest – June Gutteridge, aged 79 – were extremely happy to have their awards presented by the mayor."

IT IS a dilemma that no parent should ever have to face – deciding whether to risk your child being brain damaged by allowing her to have chemoradiotherapy for an aggressive brain tumour.

Yet this is exactly the conundrum Sean and Debra faced over their daughter Iris Connolly.

Three years ago on a family holiday in Malaysia, the married couple, from West Horndon, were told that the three-year-old had a tumour the size of a ping pong ball in her brain.

After successful operations, both abroad and at home, the family had to decide whether to agree to radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment for their child.

"You're completely desperate," recalled her mum Debra Teo.

"You'll do anything, you'd pay anything, you'd say anything and you want to believe that there's some magical cure."

Earlier this year, Brighton mum Sally Roberts lost her High Court case to go against doctors' wishes and use alternative medicine rather than radiotherapy to treat her seven-year-old son Neon.

The Connollys' own decision to go through with this treatment was difficult and they say the lack of information given to parents by doctors can make it even tougher.

"We encountered some of the same problems as Sally in getting in-depth information from doctors, so I think her campaign to get more information available to parents is a reasonable one," said Debra. "She does have a point and we're living with the after-affects of radiotherapy on a very young brain."

After poring over scientific research papers during their own research, it became clear to them the treatment could make the difference to Iris's survival.

Iris, now 6, then endured six weeks of radiotherapy and 48 weeks of chemotherapy and although it was successful, her parents admitted they will remain worried about her health for the rest of their lives.

"She has a lifetime increased risk of having other unrelated tumours, said Debra.

"For example, if she smokes she'd be much more likely to get lung cancer.

"We have to be completely paranoid for the rest of her life about sun block and her exposure to the sun."

Iris is also likely to suffer from memory loss and her parents are aware she may have to start writing with the help of a keyboard because she may never be able to process letters as quickly.

The family remains cautious but believe luck has been on their side since Iris was diagnosed.

Debra said: "The first bit of chemo ran with the radio.

"It varies from child to child but if she'd been a few months younger they wouldn't have done the radiotherapy first because they won't do it for a child under the age of three."

At the start of her treatment Iris was very weak.

She struggled to keep food down and was paralysed down the right side of her body, leaving her unable to walk.

Her worried mum took to sleeping beside her every night for a year, as Sean recalled: "It was the only way she could get any sleep."

The family, completed by three year old daughter Athina, found ways to cope through communication, routine and the support of others.

"We came up with the rule that mummy and daddy would be in charge at home and Iris would be in charge at hospital so that she felt empowered there," Sean said.

With a wry smile Debra added: "She had one or two tantrums at home and she'd just say, 'I want to go back to hospital, I want to be in charge'.

"Fair enough really."

Since their ordeal others have turned to the family to ask for advice on how to cope with the challenges that face young families dealing with cancer.

Their advice is simple.

"Ask for help a bit sooner than we did," said Debra.

"We weren't aware of all the resources and organisations out there.

"First you have to get over the fear that your child may die, you've got to believe that it's possible they may live and then you have to get your head around what life's going to be like for them.

"At some stage you have to take a bigger view about what is going to happen after treatment.

"What's going to happen in five, 10, 20 years."

Among those who provided that support to the family were the Little Havens Hospice, social workers and the Rainbow Trust.

Determined to "give something back," the Connollys set about raising £35,000 to support a care worker at the Trust.

Iris did a tricycle ride, Debra shaved her head and Sean grew an elaborate twirled moustache.

Last year, Debra successfully completed the London Marathon.

Her proud husband said: "I think it was the promise she had made that got her over the finish line."

Iris has regained much of her strength since completing her radiotherapy.

She has grown much of her strength and appetite back since the end of her treatment and started at nearby West Horndon Primary School last year.

This Easter, Debra enjoyed watching her develop after giving up her veterinary practice to devote more time to her children.

For Iris, the presence of her little sister is a real motivation and they learned to walk together.

Debra added: "The progress she's made has been amazing and we're very much focusing on the positives."

February 2010: Iris is diagnosed with a brain tumour during a family holiday in Malaysia. She undergoes 13 hours of surgery to remove 40 per cent of the tumour

March 2010: The entire tumour is removed after surgery at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital

April 2010: Started six weeks of daily radiotherapy at University College London Hospital

May 2010: Debra's head shave

July 2010: Started full chemotherapy which lasted 48 weeks in the end

August 2010: Managed to walk again

September 2010: Returned to preschool

June 2010: Completed chemotherapy treatment

October 2011: Visit from New Zealand by big half-brother Samuel

December 2011: Went to visit family in New Zealand

January 2012: Started full-time reception

BRAINTREE TOWN boss Alan Devonshire has revealed he is hoping to stay with the club for several more seasons.

The 57-year-old signed a contract to keep him at the club for a third season before the 1-0 win over Barrow on Saturday which secured a ninth-place finish in the Blue Square Bet Premier for the Iron.

Devonshire took over after the club's promotion in 2011, and has led them to top-half finishes in their first two seasons in the top flight of non-league football.

The former West Ham midfielder has penned a new one-year deal, but he is hoping to keep on going at the helm.

"It's the same as this year," he told the Chronicle. "I'm happy there. I had eight years at Maidenhead and eight years at Hampton so it'd be nice to have eight years at Braintree.

"I think the new ground is being done but we've just got to take one year at a time. The main aim next year is to get them 50 points again."

Braintree endured a punishing schedule in the closing months of the campaign, but they kept on fighting and Devonshire was thrilled with how the campaign finished up for his men.

"It was a good end to the season and where we finished was fantastic," he added. "I've got to give a lot of credit to the boys.

"It's our second season in the league and we just wanted to make sure we weren't in the bottom four.

"That was the aim, to get the 50 points, so to finish where we have is a fantastic tribute to everyone at the football club."

Having played twice in every midweek except last week since the middle of March, Devonshire might have been forgiven for wanting a night in front of the TV – perhaps to watch Bayern Munich dismantle Barcelona – on Tuesday, but he was instead out watching a game as he begins to shape his squad for next season.

He added: "I'll be watching games as much as I can now. The lads might be finished but I'm still working away.

"I've been looking for next year for the last couple of months. I've got a few targets so we'll see if we get them or not. I've sat down with most of the current squad. I think we're going to lose two or three but most of them are going to be there for next season.

"It's a good foundation, we'll go again with the nucleus of the side and try and replace the ones that we end up losing."

One player who will be at the club next season is Dean Wells, who has signed a one-year deal.

Braintree's season has been one full of highs, and Devonshire admitted it has been a season with plenty of good memories.

"There's plenty of high points," he said. "Looking back, doing the double over Luton, whoever would have dreamed of Braintree doing the double over Luton?

"Beating Grimsby at home when they were flying, beating Mansfield at home when they were flying and Forest Green. There's been some good ones, getting the cameras down against Tranmere, there's loads.

"It's been a hell of a season with some good memories. And some bad ones, a few bad days at the office but you just enjoy it while it lasts."