GOING out to lunch together and talking problems through is the key to a successful marriage that has endured for 60 years.

Marina and Peter Anderson, who are celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary, first laid eyes on each other across the crowded dance floor of a jive concert in Custom House, east London, in the 1950s.

"When I was 14 or 15 years old, there was a crowd of girls and boys and the rock and roll scene had started coming out – I was a jiver myself," said Marina, 79.

"I met him just as a friend and he used to come and watch me play netball at school. He was a lighterman on the river barges off-loading and reloading cargo.

"I think he just asked me out once – we went to the cinema and it started from there. People kept talking about this Peter Anderson guy. All the girls went for him but I still won," added Marina with a smile.

They married on April 17, 1954, in Custom House when Peter was just 21 and Marina 19.

They have lived a happy life together, first in Forest Gate, moving around London, before ending up in Hornchurch and later moving to Weymouth Road, Springfield, Chelmsford, in November last year.

"I was nervous and excited," said Marina about her wedding day and the wedding reception lasted three days.

"We lived in a pre-fab flat when we moved to Forest Gate so we had it in there," she added.

"It was magical, I got a warm glow inside."

While Peter moved from the barges to become a dock worker, Marina tried her hand at lots of things, including packing sugar, being a machinist at a clothes factory, working in an office and being a freelance bookkeeper.

"I also worked for a shipping company that did the radios in a clerical role," said Marina.

But while the pair were happily in love, they were not joined at the hip. "I was into running, it was athletic and Peter was an amateur boxer," said Marina, who fell pregnant at the age of 25 and went on to have Jenny, now aged 54, and Jason, 48, now in Canada.

When asked about the highlight of the past 60 years, she said: "When I had the children they were everything to us. We travelled to Paris and Jersey and Germany and Luxembourg."

And after the pair moved from Hornchurch to Chelmsford to be closer to family, they say they are already enjoying their time here.

"I love it in Chelmsford, it's better than Hornchurch," she said. "It's much quieter here and I like it when I can get into town to do shopping. We go out at lunchtime. He likes to potter about, he has the shed and greenhouse and gardening. I do knitting and the computer, chatting to family."

While the East Londoners have, like all couples, had their ups and downs, their bond is still strong after all these years.

"The spark and the memories are coming back now. I'm happy and content. I still get these butterflies and emotion every now and again, even now – it's great," said Marina.

"I feel happy and content. We've had a wonderful day, we've got plants and flowers from Canada."

And could she spend another 60 years with her 81-year-old husband? Her simple response: "I should be so lucky."

"I WILL never get over it, my home isn't my home any more now I know a person has walked around and taken stuff – they took everything from me."

Grandmother Karen Mitchell was at work when burglars broke into her Witham home for the second time in a year, stealing at least £2,000 worth of Christmas presents she had hidden away for family and friends.

But nearly five months after the incident on December 12 last year, in which an Armani watch, an iPad and an LED TV were among the gifts stolen, nobody has been brought to justice for the crime that has left the 53-year-old wanting to leave her house of 24 years on Rickstones Road.

But Karen is not alone as the latest figures reveal that between April 2013 and February 2014, fewer than one in five victims of domestic burglaries in Essex saw the culprits caught and punished.

"They're still out there doing it, if they're not getting punished they'll just keep walking about doing this – it's an absolute disgrace," Karen told the Chronicle.

In the 11 months leading up to February this year 6,857 people suffered burglaries or attempted burglaries at their homes across the county, but only 16 per cent of these incidents were solved by Essex Police.

Yet this figure in fact represents an improvement in last year's rate of 11 per cent, despite still sitting at significantly less than the average solved rate for all crimes of 29 per cent in the same period – a situation that police say arises from the professional and experienced nature of burglars operating across the county.

"We very seldom see a person that has committed their first ever burglary, by and large there tend to be very few in number but that have committed a great deal of offences, and normally they have an addiction of some kind," said Detective Inspector Alan Stevens of Braintree CID.

"They will ensure that there are no other people in the area to see them committing the burglary and it therefore becomes very difficult to detect them unless forensic evidence is present at the scene, and this becomes even more the case in rural areas."

It was a lack of evidence that led to two local men being released without charge in connection with the burglary at Karen's home soon after the incident.

The Witham pair, aged 22 and 18, were arrested after information was received by police that they might be responsible for the crime but insufficient evidence to proceed further led to the case against them being dropped, although the case was fully investigated by officers.

As a result of professional and practised criminals, police are forced to rely heavily on evidence collated from members of the public who may have witnessed the incident, but these challenges are of "absolutely no comfort" to the victims of the crime, admits Essex Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Alston.

He said: "It is the crime that we have most of that causes the most concern. I have been burgled myself and I know how horrible it can be. It can be deeply traumatic for victims of which police are acutely aware and so they look at the figures very closely as they know the impact it has.

"I'm delighted at the increase in the numbers of burglaries solved, it is a huge increase. When the chief constable was appointed I told him I wanted him to focus on a reduction in crime but he said he also wanted more crime solved and there is the evidence.

"But I'm disappointed that it's still a very low number and below where all of us would want to get it. The aim is somewhere in the low thirties as I'm told that's about as good as it gets, it's a good benchmark target."

With an even steeper increase needed to bring them in line with that goal, however, are figures relating to burglaries or attempted burglaries other than those at a home, for which just six per cent are solved by police according to the latest figures.

It comes as little surprise to business owner Darrin Hammond, who arrived on Friday, September 13, last year to find the Witham company he had built up from scratch raided by burglars.

They had made off with £17,000 of equipment from his yard and caused around £2,000 of damage.

The culprits of the burglary at DRH Landscaping are yet to be found despite coverage of the incident in both the Chronicle and on a Channel 5 show.

Darrin said: "It had a major impact, firstly the shock of having someone enter your premises, and then when staff came in on Monday morning I had no tools to give them to complete their tasks as they'd all been stolen. I then had to inform all my clients and customers who fortunately were all very understanding.

"I think I would feel better if someone had been apprehended as you'd know it wouldn't happen to someone else again.

"But I'm not alone, I'm not the only person to suffer this sort of thing so you just have to pick yourself up, and I'm not going to let these rascals, to be polite, beat me."

1. If you are replacing windows install ones certified to British Standard BS7950 windows of enhanced security. Think about using laminated glass 6.4mm or greater, particularly in ground floor and accessible windows as it's much harder to break.

2. Fit window locks to all easy-to-reach windows, for example, those on the ground floor, above a flat roof or near a drainpipe. Remove keys from locks and store them somewhere out of sight.

3. Strengthen wooden doors by fitting a steel strip and plates to the door frame and around the lock. These are called London and Essex bars.

4. Keep your doors locked even when you are at home.

5. Burglars are less likely to target a house with an alarm so make sure you fit one. Contact a professional to install it.

6. If you're going to be out all day or are going on holiday, set timers for lights to come on when it gets dark.

7. Check for weak spots in fencing around a property, such as a low sagging fence or a back gate with a weak lock.

8. Think about laying gravel in your garden and driveway – burglars don't like it because it's noisy to walk on.

9. A thorny hedge around your home can put thieves off but make sure passers-by can still see the front of your home so a burglar can't work unnoticed.

10. Nominate a key holder, a person that can be contacted if there is a problem with your home and police are unable to contact you. To register for the scheme download a form from www.essex.police.uk/pdf/s_ky_01.pdf

EFFORTS to regenerate a large area of Chelmsford city centre are continually being blocked by "relics of the past".

The city council's planning committee waved through plans for 52 apartments off Wharf Road on Tuesday.

But the development cannot go ahead until National Grid relinquishes its old licence to use the two redundant gas towers nearby.

It is the latest development attempt at the site to run into difficulties in the past 17 years, to the frustration of council leader Cllr Roy Whitehead, who has seen several projects fail.

"We collectively put in a bid with National Rail to get them removed, they are a relic of the past, but they are not in a hurry to do it," he said.

"We are certainly in a hurry and it's frustrating, they are not part of a 21st century city.

"It was originally going to be the site of the John Lewis commercial development, next to the Essex Record Office.

"Supermarkets have wanted to go there, the site has been part of our Local Development Plan for a while, and we've been looking to do something there since I was made leader 11 years ago.

"We can develop our part, but we have been hoping to do something with the top part of the site, which is frustrating to progress."

There are a number of timetable changes taking place across our network from Sunday 18th May - details are here. JA pic.twitter.com/05Cwpq0Blw

— Greater Anglia (@greateranglia) May 7, 2014

OLIVER NEWBY is hoping to show Lancashire what they are missing after arriving at Essex on a month's loan.

The 29-year-old was brought to Chelmsford after the club's seam bowling reserves were depleted even further on a costly final day in last week's drawn game with Gloucestershire.

Already without Reece Topley, Saj Mahmood and Matt Salisbury, the visitors saw Graham Napier and David Masters both suffer injuries at Bristol.

And with both ruled out of the game with Leicestershire this week, the county were left with just Tymal Mills.

So Essex made a double swoop, bringing in Newby from Lancashire and registering Pakistan-born Tanveer Sikandar, on a dual-registration deal with minor county Hertfordshire, having been training with Essex during the winter.

Both are in action against the Foxes at Chelmsford, and Newby is relishing the chance to get back to first-team action.

"It's been a bit frustrating up at Lancashire," he said. "I've not getting in the squad so I want to play first team cricket here and hopefully take lots of wickets.

"I'm looking forward to it. The sun's been out all day and we don't get that often up in Manchester.

"I was a bit surplus up at Lancs with the bowling situation up there, so I asked the cricket director Mike Watkinson if it was possible to go on loan and the opportunity arose here at Essex.

"With Dave and Napes injured, it's good to come down here and hopefully I can get some wickets and help win a couple of games."

The tall Newby played just three Championship matches for his home county last year, and is yet to feature for the Red Rose this season.

So his month with Essex is a chance to show his home county what they are missing – and he is hoping to get a chance to impress in the T20 as well.

"I'm available for all forms and hopefully if I get a go I can get myself in the team," he added. "I enjoy T20, I like to mix it up with slower balls and different deliveries.

"It's been a bit difficult up north with signings and playing more all-rounders but I hope to get an opportunity and play as much cricket as possible."

Having played in both divisions of the County Championship, Newby is an experienced campaigner, and he insists the only real difference between the two leagues are the pitches.

"We played in Division Two last year and it was tough," he said. "There's some decent cricket about.

"I think sometimes the wickets are a little bit better in Division One with more teams in Division Two trying to get results, but there's some really good cricketers in the country so it's not massively different."

Newby's home county have recently been forced into a change of coach after Peter Moores was named as England's new coach.

And Newby is sure he will be a success in his second attempt at the role.

"Definitely," he added. "I think when he came to us he was a breath of fresh air, he did a few different things and motivated a lot of guys to perform and that's what the England team needs at the moment."

DANNY BUCHAN maintained his perfect record in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000cc Championship with a convincing victory at Oulton Park last weekend.

Buchan, who turned 21 last week, dominated the practice, qualifying and then the race to finish in a time of 22min 04.038sec, with Jason O'Halloran finishing in second 5.150 seconds back.

The Burnham biker said: "We had great pace all weekend. We tested here a couple of weeks ago at the official BSB test so, taking that into account, the Tsingtao Racing ZX-10R Kawasaki just worked awesome straight from the off."

As the lights went out for Monday's race Buchan took an immediate lead and had a 1.647sec advantage at the end of lap one.

O'Halloran then reduced the gap to 0.2 seconds for several laps but in doing so allowed David Johnson to take second place.

Buchan responded and increased his lead lap by lap, holding a steady four-second buffer. By lap eight O'Halloran had reclaimed his second place but was unable to match the flying Buchan.

Buchan added: "We knew we could do the times on the old tyre, so the plan was to get out there; get the head down and do as many quick laps as we could at the start. I actually ran on at the end chasing my own tail and 36-second laps, as I had it in my head all weekend.

"But I calmed down and concentrated on those 25 points. To come away from the opening two rounds with two wins is awesome and I can't thank the team and my personal sponsors enough."

Buchan also set a new class lap record, posting a 1min 37.177sec effort on the fifth lap of thirteen.

With a perfect score of 50 points from the opening two races Buchan now leads the championship by ten points from O'Halloran, with Adam Jenkinson a further 16 points adrift in third

Buchan now has more than a month to wait until he has the opportunity to add to his points tally, when the action moves to Snetterton on June 13-15.

RISING racing star Alex Lynn is heading to Barcelona today (Thursday) for the biggest race of his fledgling career.

The Great Dunmow driver will be taking part in his first GP3 race at the Circuit de Catalunya this weekend, on the undercard of the Formula One race at the same track.

Lynn, who is part of the Red Bull Racing Junior Programme, will be competing for the Carlin team in Spain, and has already made an impression in testing.

And now he can't wait to get going this weekend.

He wrote in his blog: "Early morning flights might not be everyone's cup of tea but I can't wait for Thursday when I'll be heading to Barcelona for my first GP3 race.

"And what a weekend of firsts it will be. I've never done a GP3 race before, I've never driven for my team Carlin and while I've done a lot of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, I've never raced there.

"And then there's the colour of my car: it will be decked out in Red Bull colours and that's going to be pretty special as I start my first season as a Red Bull Junior Team driver."

Lynn is hoping to follow in the footsteps of F1 drivers Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat, who all graduated from the Red Bull programme.

But, for now, his aim is to make an impression in his GP3 debut weekend. "The immediate goal for the weekend is obviously to come away with some good points from the two races," he added. "My overall goal for the weekend is to be top three in the championship and to be there or close enough in terms of pace.

"I'm quite confident we'll be fast but you can never be sure everything will go to plan because that doesn't happen.

"We just need to make sure we get good points in both races: that's the important thing because it gives you a good springboard for the rest of season.

"Qualifying is going to be important but it's absolutely everything in every category of racing. It's important to be up the front, particularly on pole and that's obviously something I'll be looking to achieve.

"Even though I've never raced there I know the track well and I can't wait to start my first season in GP3 and the next step on the ladder to Formula One.

"It's going to be amazing to be part of a Formula One weekend, racing in the spotlight of the world's media and in front of all the Red Bull team bosses.

"That's the opportunity I've always wanted: and I'm going to grab it with both hands."

A CAMPAIGN to halt a "neglectful" homes plan has gathered pace after a meeting was secured with district councillors.

Save Maldon Action Group (SMAG) is fighting a 1,375 home scheme at a site that would be known as the South Maldon Garden Suburbs.

The group made an official objection to the Local Development Plan (LDP) at the last consultation phase on the basis that the plan was "unsound" and hope to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate when public consultations start in July.

SMAG has now scheduled a meeting on May 11 with Conservative district councillors Bryan Harker, Brenda Harker and Andrew Cain.

Heybridge East councillor Bryan Harker said: "I am sympathetic to their cause and understand their concern for the South Maldon Garden Suburb. Traffic through Wycke Hill and in and out of Maldon will be greatly affected heading to Danbury and especially through Hatfield Peverel.

"There doesn't seem to be a solution to the traffic problem, or consideration of the issues this could cause. It can be extremely difficult to get around now, let alone without the new homes."

SMAG has delivered thousands of leaflets in the area and started an e-petition, which now has 800 signatures.

Chairwoman Kath Vale said: "We're delighted to have received support from three district councillors. They are sympathetic to our cause because none of them voted in favour of the LDP.

"Our ultimate goal is for the LDP to be completely redefined. We are not against new housing, but there are better options – like building closer to existing infrastructure.

"It is clear from the submission that Maldon District Council has been neglectful and has not conducted the rightful due diligence. They have chosen not to listen and represent the community."

The group has also invited the Green Party and the Wildlife Trust to the meeting, to be held at the West Maldon Community Centre from 4 to 6pm.

Andrew Cain, Conservative councillor for Maldon South, said: "I will be attending the meeting and I'm keen to hear what the residents have to say, what they are trying to achieve and the strength of opinion."

The LDP has now been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, who will then decide if the plan is sound or unsound and could make recommendations to Maldon District Council to adjust the plan.

"We hope to make a representation to the Planning Inspectorate in July and hopefully they will listen to us more than Maldon District Council has," said Mrs Vale.

Mr Harker feels that although SMAG has attracted support, the campaign may have come a little too late.

"Sadly for the group there have been three public consultations now and it's not until the bulldozers move in that people start to get uptight," he said.

SMAG attended a Maldon Council planning and licensing committee meeting on Wednesday, April 16 where they made a two-minute statement against the submission of the LDP.

But despite their statement, it was endorsed by the council and submitted to the Secretary of State for examination in public.

A Maldon District Council spokesman said: "A key focus of the master-planning work for the South Maldon Garden Suburb has been on the development of a comprehensive access strategy including the delivery of a new relief road to the north of the A414 at Wycke Hill.

"A number of options have been developed and are currently being assessed in consultation with Essex County Council."

Cllr Bob Boyce, leader of Maldon District Council, said: "I am delighted that the LDP has been endorsed. I would like to thank the thousands of residents and businesses who engaged proactively in the plan-making process."

Campaigners have also voiced their concerns about plans for 240 new homes in Southminster on page 6.

FORMER Essex County Council leader Lord Hanningfield is set to be suspended from the House of Lords this week, after allegedly using his beloved chickens and pet dog as an excuse for the latest "clocking-in-and-out" parliamentary scandal.

A House of Lords Privileges and Conduct Committee met this week for a disciplinary hearing, and was expected to suspend the 73-year-old peer from Parliament until the next general election and order him to repay £3,330 worth of falsely-claimed £300-a-day attendance allowance.

A source said that Lord Hanningfield, formerly known as Paul White, told the committee he must claim a full day's allowance for visiting Parliament so he can pay his four employees, one of whom cares for his Bernese mountain dog Jefferson and rare-breed chickens in his absence.

Speaking to the Chronicle from his home, he said: "No, I did not use the chickens as an excuse, it's ridiculous. "You can see my list of employees. You will find out everything in due course."

The House of Lords launched an investigation in December after the Daily Mirror filmed Hanningfield clocking into Parliament on 19 occasions in July 2013, collecting a total of £5,700 in attendance allowance and claiming £470 for travel costs.

On 11 of those 19 visits he was there for no more than 40 minutes, with his shortest stay clocked at 21 minutes, racking up £3,300 from the daily £300 allowance.

In a report expected to be published today, reflecting on the final disciplinary hearing on Tuesday, he is expected to be forced to repay that £3,300 and suspended until the general election, expected next year.

In December he told the Chronicle: "It's a storm in a teacup – I haven't broken any rules, I haven't done anything wrong."

But the House of Lords source said Hanningfield routinely claimed for a full day's £300 allowance, instead of the half-day £150 allowance, to foot the bill for his dog and chicken-sitter.

Hanningfield, who was handed his peerage in 1998 for his help founding the Local Government Association, was forced to step down from the Government front bench in the Lords, resign as Essex County Council leader and suspended from the Conservative Party in February 2010 after being charged with fraud over £14,000 of Parliamentary expenses.

Between 2006 and 2009, Hanningfield had falsely claimed for hotel rooms in London when in fact he had been chauffeured back to his home in West Hanningfield at the Essex taxpayer's expense – inventing next-day train fares and petrol claims to avoid detection.

He served nine weeks of a nine-month jail sentence in 2011 and was reinstated into the Lords in April 2012, after repaying £30,000 to Parliament.

In November 2012 Essex County Council released full details of Hanningfield's credit card spending, amounting to £287,000 between 2005 and 2010, including lavish meals out and trips abroad. Despite this, a further police investigation was dropped. The authority said about £40,000 of his bill was irrefutably wrongly claimed and is to this day attempting to reclaim the money.

Essex County Council Liberal Democrat group leader Mike Mackrory said he would ask at a full council meeting next week for an update, adding: "What we're talking about is taxpayers' money.

"There are hundreds of thousands of people worse off than he is and they are having to pay their council tax and very often taken to court because they are in arrears, yet this man, in terms of paying back to Essex County Council, just seems to be putting up two fingers."