The trial is scheduled to start at Chelmsford Crown Court today of Ongar man, Paul Groves, who has pleaded not guilty to murder. The case is expected to last two weeks.

At a preliminary hearing in December factory worker, Groves, 34, pleaded not guilty to the murder of William Martindale.

Martindale died after allegedly being struck with a pick-axe handle in an attack at a farm at High Ongar last September. Groves is also accused in connection with an attack on another man, Paul Meeking, at the farm.

At a preliminary hearing in December he denied murdering Mr Martindale, of Cripsey Avenue, Ongar and wounding Mr Meeking.

A Chelmsford pervert caught with child porn and extreme pornography has been spared jail and told by a judge  to "man up."

Instead of putting Stephen Tunstill, 58, behind bars even though she said he deserved it Chelmsford Crown Court judge,, Recorder Patricia Lynch QC,  made Tunstill the subject of a three year community order.

As part of the order he must attend an internet sex offenders programme and for five years must remain on the sex offenders register and comply with a sex offenders prevention order.

Tunstill, pleaded guilty to two charges of downloading indecent images of children and one offence of possessing extreme pornography, all between 1 March and 3 September.

As she sentenced him the judge told him : ""It's all very well crying through you're police interview. You've got to man up."

The judge continued : "You deserve to go to prison but I have a duty not to leave your problem untreated."
Prosecutor, Sorrell Cameron said there were ten still images - one at level one, one at level two, four at level three and four at level four - one movie lasting 36 seconds of a child at level four and six images of "extreme pornography."

Tunstill, who had received a caution for similar offences in 2011, was visited by police last September and the images were found when they checked his lap top.

When interviewed, Tunstill claimed he had an "addiction to pornography" and that "he wanted to get caught because he accepted he had a problem."

His counsel, Caroline Noonan, told the court Tunstill described himself as addicted, hopeless, a lost cause and was disgusted with himself.

She added : "He knew he would get caught and wanted to."

Boredom Busters Dog and Puppy  services had a huge attendance for their first dog show yesterday.

The event was in aid of Friends of Wallace Kennels in Brentwood and saw more than 100 visitors with 73 dogs entered for the six categories including: Best in Show, Most Handsome Dog, Golden Oldie, Best Puppy, Best Cross Breed and Prettiest Female.

Organiser Linda Ward, 42 of Pilgrims Hatch, said: "I've never organised anything like this before and I was so nervous. 

"But it went really well there was way more dogs entered than I thought there would be. I'm just looking forward to organising it next year and raising even more money."

Tina Windle, 57 from Romford, took Poppy, seven, a greyhound, the Prettiest Female winner, said: "It was a great day and she really enjoyed it. She likes chews and bones as well as her egg and bacon in the morning and gets on really well with the other dog."

Holly Ditchman, 22, of Woodford won Best Puppy with Dougie, six months, who is a Puggle - a cross between a pug and a beagle.

She said: "It was a really lovely day with my nan and granddad. Dougie loves to go to the park and loves to learn. He's so obedient; when he's old enough I'm going to train him to be a therapy dog, so he's got a lot to do."

Fiona Mordrick, 52 from Ongar, took Radison, four, a colly-cross with a springer and he won Best Cross-Breed.

She said: "He loves to chase rabbits and run in general. It was a really lovely day, I've been to a lot of shows before but this won was really good."

A Crown Court jury was told this morning that drug production and money were at the heart of a row which ended with the death of an Ongar man and another man being attacked.

Paul Groves, 34, of Queensway, Ongar, pleaded not guilty this morning at the start of a two week trial to murdering William (Billy) Martindale, 39, at Meadow View Farm, High Ongar, last September.

He also denied wounding Paul Meeking, of Barking, by attacking and biting him.

Prosecutor, Simon Spence QC claimed at Chelmsford Crown Court that Mr Martindale, of Crispey Avenue, Ongar, had complained that Groves had not paid money due in respect of a cannabis crop.

He told the jury of eight men and four women : "On the evening of 7 September, 2012, Mr Martindale died as a result of a severe head injury - a fractured skull caused by two heavy blows across the back of the head with a pickaxe handle - inflicted after a number of punches to the face which rendered him unconscious.

"Mr Meeking suffered serious injuries to his head and face and a bite mark to his stomach area. The defendant was arrested later that evening and denied any knowledge of what happened to the police officer who arrested him.

"The pick axe handle was found in his van. When interviewed at length by police officers the following afternoon, he answered no comment. "

They had known each other and "been friends for some years", said Mr Spence.

But he continued : "It seems, however, they had fallen out over the defendant's production of cannabis, something Billy Martindale disapproved of, although it was he who put the defendant in touch with a man for advice as to how to grow the crop.

"In return for this Martindale was to receive a payment for each crop that was harvested and sold. Over time Billy Martindale was paid twice for crops that were grown but he believed, rightly or wrongly, that a third crop had been produced and that the defendant therefore owed him a further payment.

"The issued caused friction between the two and matters came to a head, fatally for Billy Martindale, on 7 September."

A Chelmsford man who took part in a filling station burglary in which £3,000 cigarettes were stolen has been spared jail.

Instead Jason Bagalo, 21, of Meadgate Avenue, Chelmsford, who bit the policeman who caught him was given a suspended sentence.

Chelmsford Crown Court was told that Bagalo bit the police officer on the finger. The officer had chased him after he fled from a getaway vehicle following a half hour 120 mph car chase.

Bagao pleaded guilty to burglary at the petrol station at Brook Retail Park, Clacton and to assaulting the police officer.

As he passed sentence Recorder Silas Reid said : "You took part in a professional burglary. You all turned up, smashed your way in and stole cigarettes worth £3,000. When caught you bit a police officer's finger."

The judge imposed an 18 month jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered Bagalo to attend a Thinking Skills programme and carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

Prosecutor Sasha Bailey told the court the raid happened on at 10.00 pm on 21 October last year. The gang arrived in a Nissan van and smashed their way in with a metal object. A Vauxhall Astra which was involved also arrived.

Bagalo made his getaway in the Astra and when it was stopped by a police "stinger" device he ran off pursued by police.

When caught he bit the middle finger on the officer's hand.

Two others involved in the burglary have previously been jailed and another given a suspended sentence.

Nicholas McElroy, 23, of Woodford Close, Chelmsford, was given an 18 months suspended for two years with 150 hours unpaid work, Nathan Saunders, 24, of Kennard Street, Silvertown was given three years six months and James Knight, 22, of Richard Street, Plaistow, two years four months.

Accused killer, Paul Groves, had help from a mystery friend in the attack in which he is alleged to have murdered one man and assaulted another.

Chelmsford Crown Court was told this afternoon that Groves, who pleads not guilty murdering William Martindale and assaulting Paul Meeking, arrived at High Meadow Farm, Ongar, where the attack took place with a mystery man.

Prosecutor Simon Spence QC claimed Groves hit Meeking with a pick axe handle, bit him and gouged his eye.

He said it was Meeking who had let Groves and the other man on to the premises and that Meeking who was anticipating trouble and was armed with the pick-axe handle. However, this was later taken off him by Groves and used in the attacks.

Describing what is alleged to have happened next Mr Spence continued : "Groves went straight up to Mr Martindale and said to him 'I'm here now, let's sort it out'.

"What Groves meant was violence because he then immediately punched Mr Martindale four or five times to the right side of his face with sufficient force to knock him out. He slumped forward and was rendered unconscious.

"Mr Meeking then attacked Groves with the pickaxe handle, across his back and shoulders. He and Groves started fighting and he wrested the handle off Mr Meeking.

"He hit him with it several times to his face, his body and knees. With his hand he gouged at his left eye and he bit him to the stomach."

The prosecutor claimed that Groves' friend held Meeking down during the attack to prevent him from defending himself but eventually told Groves : "Leave it Paul. He's had enough."
 
He continued : "Groves went back to where we say Mr Martindale was still lying unconscious and struck him with the pickaxe handle to the back of the head, at least twice, with heavy blows which were sufficiently powerful not only to break the skin all the way down so the skull was visible but also to fracture the skull over the front righthand side."

Mr Spence continued : "These blows, the prosecution say, killed Mr Martindale."

He claimed that the whole attack lasted just seven minutes.

The hearing suffered a legal hiccup earlier when the initial jury had to be discharged because of a procedural matter and a new jury sworn in this afternoon.

The hearing continues.

A serial teenage burglar who ransacked the Heybridge home of an 80-year-old widower and stole the treasured belongings he remembered his late wife by has been spared custody.

Chelmsford Crown Court was told of the devastation felt by George Little when he returned to his bungalow after walking his dog to discover the burglary.

His home in Goldhanger Road had been broken into through the front door and the contents of his late wife's drawer in the bedroom – described as "her shrine" – had been plundered. Her jewellery box as missing.

Heart broken Mr Little estimated that a total of £10,000 worth of items had been stolen by the 16-year-old from the Aylesbury area who for legal reasons cannot be identified.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Little said: "I cannot settle. If I hear any car slow down outside or any unusual noise I have to get up to check what it is.

"And I now only leave the house if I have to. My social activities have been restricted because I don't want to leave the house."

Recorder Silas Reid said that the youth, who pleaded guilty to burglary, deserved custody and that if he had been an adult he would have been sentenced to at least four years.

But in view of his appalling up-bringing he said he was prepared to give him a "last chance to change."

However, the judge admitted : "People will probably think I have lost my mind and say you should go back into custody."

The youth, who has spent nearly two months on remand waiting for his case to come on was made subject of a three-year youth rehabilitation order. This included a 180 days activity requirement, three years' supervision and a three-month electronically tagged curfew from 7pm-7am.

The judge told him : "You took that man's precious memories.

"You went through his possession and those of his late wife. You took a large amount of her jewellery. I imagine you got just a fraction of that £10,000 taking it around the pawn shops but the value to the victim was priceless."

Counsel for the youth, Daniel Cavalieri, said the boy was not allowed to live with his mother in Northampton and his father couldn't be contacted. His brothers and sisters were taken into care but not him.

He said he had no positive role model in his life but was now in residential care and for the first time in his life would have positive role models and structure and stability.

A GRIEVING family has been left heartbroken after the angel statues marking their son's resting place were swept aside by the council.

The family of Leo Stevens, who died just weeks before his 17th birthday in September 2009, were shocked when the mini figurines, marking the spot where his ashes are scattered, were removed as part of a council tidy-up.

A six-inch cherub, a four-inch angel and a hanging light were all taken from around a bench dedicated to the teenager in the woodland area of Maldon Cemetery.

The items – donated by friends and loved-ones – were then piled up besides the side of the site, with no notice given to the family.

"I arrived on Sunday to paint Leo's bench and found the angels and cherubs had been piled up against the memorial wall with no respect at all," said Leo's father David Stevens, 54.

"The family have all been devastated by it. People have left these items out of respect for Leo and they form part of the memories we cherish of him. The worst part of it is the fact that nobody contacted us to let us know this was happening – there was no notice whatsoever."

Leo, a former Plume School pupil, had been studying carpentry at college when he died of heart failure three and a half years ago.

"He just got up that morning, phoned his girlfriend and put the rubbish out and then suffered the heart failure – it was so sudden," his father added.

"He was such a popular, active guy before it happened and so many of his friends now regularly visit the site to sit on the bench and think about him.

"One of his best friends recently told his new girlfriend he wanted to take her to the site to introduce her to Leo – they're all heartbroken too."

The family has contacted Maldon District Council, who own the woodland area, but claim an officer showed them no sympathy at all and said it was part of a planned clear-up.

A spokesperson for the council said: "The Woodland Glades area in the Maldon Cemetery is a natural burial site, where wildlife is encouraged to grow and headstones are not allowed.

"Plaques and benches are allowed in certain parts of the Woodland Glades but no other memorials such as cherubs and wind chimes are allowed.

"The council makes it very clear how the site is managed when families enquire about the Woodland Glades.

"All tributes left in the Woodland Glades area are placed at the memorial wall which was designed for that purpose.

"We are sorry if the removal of these memorials has been distressing for the family. However, it is also upsetting for the other families who wish to keep the Woodland Glades as an environmental and ecological area, as it was intended to be."

FARMERS are fighting back against rural crime in Ongar by embracing technology.

Agricultural workers and business owners have signed up in their droves to a free electronic system which allows them to bring suspicious activity to the attention of the police – and one another.

The system, known as FarmWatch, allows members to exchange texts and emails with one another in a bid to discourage criminals from preying on rural communities.

At present, 150 people from Ongar and the surrounding villages have signed up.

Monthly meetings with the police are also held.

"FarmWatch has a high success rate," said Rosemary Padfield, 60, the chairman of the Epping Farmers' Neighbourhood Action Panel.

"We are seeing farmers and people in rural areas being much more vigilant.

"By concerting our efforts we have had great success in catching criminals and the network has grown substantially."

She added: "FarmWatch isn't just about farm crime, it's about rural crime too, so local businesses who may have suffered are getting involved.

"We are all working together."

A scenario in which FarmWatch would be used might start with a farmer noticing strangers on his land.

He would then take a note of their appearance, the registration plate of their car if they have one and any other information.

In an ideal situation, he or she would take a photograph too.

This information would then be fed into the FarmWatch system.

This then allows the police to investigate while keeping farmers and other business owners fully informed.

Tony Ellis, Essex Police's crime reducation officer for Brentwood and Epping Forest, is the liaison officer for FarmWatch.

Mr Ellis said: "Sometimes the emails may report random sightings of unusual activity but when put together with CCTV footage, it has been possible to track criminals as they work an area."

One of the farmers to have signed up is David Kerr, 47, of Wyldingtree Farm, Weald Bridge Road, near North Weald.

Mr Kerr said: "With the spread of CCTV coverage in urban areas, criminals see rural areas as softer targets.

"FarmWatch has been a great help – you feel like you are doing something about the criminal problem.

"Hopefully it has become a deterrent – if I take a picture of someone on my land and tell them I am sending it to the police they may think twice about committing a crime.

"You don't find out if they were criminals or not but if they get caught or just move on then it's a success."

He added: "It makes you feel safer and that something is being done.

"The monthly meetings with the police also keep you updated – it's a great community effort."

The theft of livestock, metal and red diesel are common examples of rural crime.

Yet in a further bid to tackle this, the Epping Farmers' Neighbourhood Action Panel has funded and produced so-called witness prompt cards, which note the information the police will need when a rural crime is reported.

Pocket-sized rural crimes companions, which provide information about rural crimes such as illegal shooting, hare coursing and poaching, have also been produced.

Brentwood and Ongar MP Eric Pickles said: "This is an excellent example of folks working together to protect their land, buildings and equipment.

"I understand arrests have been made as a direct result of information received through the 'email family', and the number of criminals operating in the area has fallen.

"I am truly impressed by the scheme's success."

The Communities Secretary added: "Rural crime has always been a source of great distress and frustration to farmers in Brentwood and Ongar.

"The measures taken by our local farmers and police, to make the reporting of unusual activity in our fields and countryside simple to report, has obviously been very effective, and I congratulate the Ongar farmers and Essex Police for working so well together."

For more information about joining FarmWatch, visit www. essexfarmwatch.org.uk

JUST nine months ago Peter Neale was sleeping in a bus shelter in Chelmsford.

He slept rough for three and a half months, not knowing where his next meal was coming from.

But today he lives in a one bedroom council flat in Melbourne, and has finally begun dedicating his time to his true passion, ceramics – which are now on display at Chelmsford library.

Mr Neale featured in a report on CHESS's night shelter last October, after he had just secured a temporary bed there.

At the time Mr Neale admitted that he was in a "bad place" and had forgotten about his art.

But within weeks he was moved to CHESS's "halfway houses," where he started to paint again.

"Getting the house in Melbourne was the first step to getting back my independence," said Mr Neale, who has been living there for about two months.

"It was easier for me to get a property because I am 62-years-old and slightly disabled and therefore I am a high priority.

"I now live on a slight hill where the sun rises in the morning and I can see above the other houses – I cannot believe my luck."

The artist grew up in Dunmow and attended Dunmow Secondary Modern but left the town at 28-years-old to enrol in a therapy class in Los Angeles in 1979.

He worked two jobs, a night cleaner at both Mid-Essex Tech and at Dunmow Secondary Modern, to afford the plane ticket.

After a taste of the American lifestyle he decided to stay, delivering burgers on a motorbike around Beverly Hills. He was later inspired by abstract Native American art to build sculptures.

Mr Neale only decided to return to the UK two years ago, when he found himself in an emotionally bad state.

"It was the first time ever that I was homeless, so it was an experience, because if you haven't got a stable place you can't really focus on anything else but just living from day to day and surviving.

"I met a lot of different kinds of people on the streets, some have drug and alcohol problems, but others had just lost their jobs and couldn't afford their homes – no one is cut from the same mould.

"It has been a real education for me."

CHESS helped Mr Neale to bid on houses, and admitted they did their best to secure him a home.

After getting settled he contacted Chelmsford library, where he had spent all his days while living on the streets, and asked if he could showcase his art.

They agreed, and it has encouraged Peter to start collecting more pots from charity shops to paint.

"Art is my way of keeping grounded in reality, it is my religion," he said.

"You hear so many depressing stories about people being homeless, and I just wanted to tell my story to show that there are some positive stories that come out of being homeless."

A HUGE revamp of Chelmsford railway station moved a step closer this week after private investors agreed to a £1.3 million deal.

The ambitious plans, which will part-pedestrianise the area between the station in Duke Street and the historic former Quaker meeting house opposite, are considered as a stepping stone to further developments by improving the city's image to keep up with rivals like Cambridge and Norwich.

The deal was approved by Chelmsford City Council cabinet as part of a joint venture with Essex County Council, Greater Anglia, Network Rail and the Genesis Housing Group.

An improvement plan of this scale has been in the pipeline since 2011 but now the search for private-sector funding has been completed the project can begin.

Neil Gulliver, cabinet member for planning and economic development, said: "It will really give the whole area a lift. I think it will help business and people will flow better through and around the station.

"It's going to make a huge difference aesthetically and practically.

"Hopefully it will look very much more modern. The west has become quite run down, so hopefully this will encourage further private sector investment in the area – everybody wins.

"About 15,000 commuters come in and out of Chelmsford station so it will make a better impression than is currently made.

"No money will be taken out of the council budget as the Enterprise Growth Fund will be used, so money will be put back from development of the area into council funds."

Private-sector funds will be used to integrate the Genesis housing development of 507 homes, offices and a supermarket on the old university site, which includes the restoration of three historic buildings – Anne Knight, Frederick Chancellor, and the Law Building – with the new Amlin insurance headquarters approved for Caxton House in Victoria Road, and improved access to the bus station.

There will be new bicycle facilities, a pedestrian square at the front, granite paving and bus shelters. The BT pay phones will be replaced and the area of Duke Street immediately outside the station will be resurfaced.

Also included will be a parade of shops with a newsagents and coffee shop.

Foot traffic at peak hours will be relieved by the creation of a wider, more accessible entrance and exit by the bus station.

Councillors have long recognised the need for the station to be redeveloped.

However, progress has been thwarted by frequent changes of train operator and the recession.

David Bigg, chairman of the Braintree and Witham Rail Users Association, said: "Of course we welcome any improvements that make the station safer.

"But for some time we've been more concerned with what's actually going on inside the station and the level of staff.

"These improvements need to come with better security, especially at night; this is something we would actively lobby for."

The project is part of a wider scheme set up by MPs, rail companies, business leaders, regional enterprise and commuter groups called "Once in a Generation", with the aim of improving rail capacity across the whole of the East and Greater Anglia.

Initial work is due to begin on cycle facilities later this year.

The work will also tie in with Bellway's plans to redevelop the former Marconi factory in New Street into 437 new homes.