BRAINTREE will be one of the first three towns to benefit from the superfast broadband in Essex as a new programme is rolled out.  

The first three 'live' fibre broadband cabinets in the county were revealed last week including Rivenhall, in a bid to get better connections to businesses operating in rural areas of the county. 

Approximately 300 homes and businesses in these areas are the first to be able to benefit from the programme – just over 100 of which are in Colchester Business Park, over 130 in Rivenhall village, and just under 70 in the Harlow Enterprise Zone. 

On Thursday June 12, ECC, BT and BDUK, celebrated the arrival of the first cabinets in the Braintree District, in Rivenhall Village, and the Harlow District, in the Enterprise Zone. 

The launch of the Rivenhall cabinet in Church Road, near Rickstones Road, was supported by Braintree District Council, Rivenhall Parish Council, Rivenhall CofE Primary School and members of the community. 

The Primary School's choir performed two songs accompanied by guitar, As One and Give it all You've Got, as part of the event. 

Priti Patel, MP for Witham, said: "As Chair of the Essex Business Transport and Infrastructure Forum (EBTIF) I have campaigned extensively for better broadband services in my constituency and across Essex. 

"I am pleased that this week the first three of the local Superfast Essex fibre-enabled cabinets are going live with one of the launches in Rivenhall. I am looking forward to seeing this superfast broadband introduced in my constituency where it will support the growth of our local economy and bring greater better broadband access to much of our community." 

Essex County Council say improving broadband will boost the county's economy and help enable businesses to grow and compete in a global market, support people to get the most out of their education, training and career by enabling better access to online information and services, and support people to work or run a business from home. 

Superfast Essex is a £24.6 million programme to deliver the county's biggest ever broadband transformation and the council is spearheading the programme in partnership with BT to make fibre broadband available to more than 87 per cent of premises in the county by the end of summer 2016, with the potential to achieve superfast speeds of 24Mbps and above. 

The Superfast Essex programme aims to deliver 2Mbps for all premises in the county in the project area, fast enough to use online services such as BBC iPlayer. 

It is estimated engineers from Openreach, BT's local network business, will lay nearly 900,000 metres of optical fibre and install more than 400 new green fibre broadband cabinets at roadsides throughout the county. 

The programme builds on BT's commercial plans, which have already made fibre broadband available to more than 500,000 Essex premises.   

Residents and businesses can check if they are connected and able to access fibre services from these cabinets by using the Openreach link in the How do I get it? box at the bottom of the 'Where, when and how' page of the Superfast Essex website, www.superfastessex.org. 

No-one will be automatically connected and anyone interested in taking up a fibre broadband service will have to ask their existing Internet Service Provider to switch their service to fibre and may have to change packages or provider to get a faster connection. 

A MAN will go on trial for murder over the stabbing of a young father.

Luke Eva, 24, of Avondale Road, Leigh-on-Sea, appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday (June 24) charged with killing Michael Haastrup at a property in Cressing Road, Braintree, at 11.30pm on April 16.

At the 10-minute hearing, he spoke only to confirm his name and plead not guilty to one count of murder and one count of having an offensive weapon in a public place.

Eva has been held by police since he was arrested in Loughton on April 17. Judge Charles Gratwicke remanded him in custody and a trial date was set for October 20.

Mr Haastrup, 24, of Enfield, north London, was taken to Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire, but he died the next morning. A post-mortem examination found the cause of death to be a stab wound to the heart.

Mr Haastrup – full name Prince Michael Adeboye Haastrup – was related to the Nigerian royal family and was also known as Larry, Jay Mic J and Larry Productions to his friends.

He became a father in December and had recently moved from Southend to Enfield with his girlfriend and son, as well as starting a new job.

On May 8, relatives of Mr Haastrup gathered outside the Cressing Road house where he died to read prayers of remembrance. His father, Prince Lawrence Haastrup, a bus driver in Brixton where Michael grew up, said: "He was loved by many and helped people when he could. He used to bring in young homeless children to spend Christmas with his family to make them feel a part of this world again and bring hope into their lives. May his humble soul rest in peace."

A 21-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender in connection with the murder was released without charge on June 20. A 57-year-old man also detained with relation to the offence was released with no further action in April.

A LORRY driver has been questioned by police on suspicion of careless driving following a multi-vehicle road crash on the A12 near Witham today. 

Officers were called shortly after 7am following reports of a collision involving seven vehicles on the southbound carriageway. 

Two people were taken to hospital with slight injuries  and one lane was kept open past the scene of the crash and the road was fully reopened at about 10 30am.

The vehicles involved were a white DAF HGV, two white Ford Transit vans, a grey BMW Z4, a grey Vauxhall Zafira, a blue Toyota Avensis and a red Ford Fiesta. 

The lorry driver was interviewed by police and has been reported for careless driving. 

Enquiries are continuing and any witnesses who have not yet spoken to police should contact PC Matt Turner at Chelmsford Road Policing Office on 101.

ROADS boss Rodney Bass has today made a plea to the Highways Agency and the Government to take urgent measures on the A12, following a series of accidents near Hatfield Peverel. 

As a result of this spate of accidents Cllr Bass recommends arrow markings to assist drivers to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front are painted on the road, along with a ban on HGVs overtaking between 6am and 8pm.

He is also calling for the restoration of A12 police patrols with an offer by Essex County Council to part-finance these excursions. 

Essex County Council's cabinet member for highways and transportation wants to see signs on both sides of the Witham Bypass saying "Slow Down", "Maintain Distance" and "Keep Alert". 

Councillor Bass said: "Safety is of the utmost importance for our residents and I would like to see the Highways Agency and the Government take these actions as soon as possible."

This month alone there have been seven crashes on the A12 involving 27 vehicles resulting in 11 injuries and one death. 

The first was on June 3 when three cars crashed at around 7.30am between the junction with Witham south and Hatfield Peverel. 

On June 5 five cars collided near junction 20b at Hatfield Peverel, heading towards London just before 7.30am. 

Then three vehicles crashed, again on the London-bound A12 carriageway, this time between Three Mile Hill and Ingatestone on June 6. 

A crash involving a van and a car has shut the A12 at Chelmsford on June 12. 

On June 19 seven people were injured, including two young boys, in a five vehicle accident that blocked the London-bound A12 between Howe Green and Galleywood. 

Bonnie Hiller from Tiptree was killed on June 21 when her Mercedes crashed into a bridge support under the A12 at Kelvedon. 

The latest smash was this morning when two crashes involving a total of ten vehicles brought the A12 London-bound carriageway to a standstill. 

The first collision, involving three cars, was at around 6.25am between junction 21 at Witham and junction 20b at Hatfield Peverel. 

The second crash involved seven vehicles, including a lorry, and happened at 7am at junction 20 Hatfield Peverel. As a result a lorry driver has been questioned by officers for careless driving. 

Three months ago Essex Police announced officers would be stepping up an operation to reduce collisions and casualties on the A12 in Essex. 

Operation Excellence was launched on March 1 in response to concerns about an increase in crashes and delays on the road. 

It is hoped that the operation, which is also targeting criminals using the A12, will reduce problems by curbing speeding, tailgating and other forms of inconsiderate driving.

The operation is likely to continue for a further three months and will include larger days of action in which units from Essex and the Norfolk and Suffolk road policing department will join forces for widespread rush hour patrols covering from Brentwood to the Suffolk border.

A 15-year-old girl has been taken to hospital after being thrown from a horse in Greenstead Green. 

Ambulance crews were called at 5.42pm yesterday (Tuesday, June 24) to Stisted Road in Greenstead Green. 

Due to access problems the hazardous area response team (HART) were called to help safely transport the girl to Broomsfield Hospital in Chelmsford. 

An ambulance spokesman said: "The girl suffered injuries to her neck, back and hip and we administered her with pain relief at the scene. 

"She remained fully conscious throughout and her condition isn't thought to be life threatening. It was important to make sure that we moved her safely without injuring her further and she was taken to Broomfield Hospital for further care."

A CHELMSFORD man plans an epic drive to drive from Chelmsford to Morocco's Western Sahara desert in a Nissan Micra. 

Anton Mayo, 24, from Manor Road Chelmsford and Ben Topping, 25, from Manchester left Essex on Saturday (June 21) on their mammoth journey along the Morocco, Algeria border. 

The pair plan to already have crossed the Mediterranean by Monday morning at Algeciras in southern Spain to Tangiers in Morocco and to be heading towards Marrakech, the country's capital city. 

"We have been talking about doing this for years and decided now is the time to take the plunge and raise some money for charity in the process," said Anton, who works as an engineer for Advanced Engineering Engine Research in Basildon. 

"It will be tough, camping out in the wild, travelling 250 miles a day with no air conditioning and sleep deprivation is going to be hard, what will make it even more of a challenge is it is probably the most ridiculous car we could possibly do it in." 

The duo who met at Oxford Brookes University, aim to raise £2,500 for Cancer Research and those that donate can write their name on the 1996 Micra that is also kitted out with air horns flash lights and a roof rack. 

They plan to travel to the Rif mountains through to the middle atlas mountains over high atlas, then onto the Sahara and be back in England by July 6. 

 "We want to raise as much money as possible but if we could get £2,500 that would be great. 

"We're excited, looking forward to the challenge, my biggest fear is breaking down before we even get to Dover, and we only just started thinking about how dangerous this trip could be," added Anton. 

Since buying the red car two weeks ago the vehicle has suffered a few mechanical problems with a gearbox malfunction and clutch problems. 

To follow Anton and Ben's journey they will be updating their website with pictures and posts as make their trek across the desert at www.micramachines.co.uk and their Justgiving page www.justgiving.com/manchester-morocco.

A SINGLE mother who says her 38KK breasts are "destroying her life" will continue to fight for NHS-funded breast reduction surgery.

Kim Mills, 32, of Trenchard Crescent, north Springfield, says her chest is so heavy she struggles to bathe her four-year-old daughter Alyssa-Mae, push her on a swing and even sit down.

After being diagnosed with arthritis of the spine in May, she applied for funding from the Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group but was denied this month.

"The arthritis is going to continue to rob me of years off my life and that is why I will continue to fight," said Miss Mills. "It's destroying my life, and not only my life, it's taking years out of my children's life.

"Whether it's five months or five years, who knows, the arthritis is going to cripple me possibly to the point that I can't get out of bed."

The mother-of-two, who moved to Chelmsford eight years ago, has struggled with the size of her breasts since she was teenager.

The office worker admits her body size probably caused her arthritis. She weighed 19 stone 8lbs at her heaviest, but she has lost five stone since January.

She wrote to the CCG via her GP in March asking for funding but was told she must prove why she is an exception to similar prospective patients.

On May 2, however, she was diagnosed with arthritis after her GP sent off X-rays for examination.

"It was a huge shock but it was bittersweet as the GP said they would then have to do the breast reduction surgery to reduce the weight on my spine," said Miss Mills.

When her application was refused on Friday, June 6, with the same reason, she approached the national press, attracting support across the world, as well as online abuse.

An Egyptian woman has even donated £10 to a fundraising page, amounting to £60, set up by colleague Lorelle Toomey to fund the £5,000 cost of private surgery.

"I just think that's really lovely," said Miss Mills.

Breast reduction surgery, unlike cosmetic enhancements which Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said last week should not be paid for by the taxpayer, is available on the NHS depending on the local CCG panel. The NHS nationally spent £3.5 million on 790 breast implants last year alone.

Miss Mills, who says a friend had reduction surgery funded in Berkshire, added: "I thoroughly believe that the pot has been bled dry in Essex for cosmetic purposes, that's totally why it is. I thoroughly believe I'm entitled to have that done. I've never asked for anything before and I've always paid my taxes."

Miss Mills has appealed against the Mid Essex CCG's decision with the clinical reviewing group which is expected to consider the case on Wednesday.

A spokesman for Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group said: "New evidence has been submitted regarding this case and it is due to be considered again in early July, so we cannot comment any further. Mid Essex CCG do not fund cosmetic surgery."

POLICE are warning elderly female shoppers to be vigilant after a spate of purse thefts in Maldon.

Thieves used distraction and sleight of hand techniques to target five vulnerable residents over four days in High Street stores Iceland and Poundstretcher and the Morrisons in Wycke Hill.

Police Sergeant Benjamin Felton from Maldon police station told the Chronicle: "We have had five reported thefts of purses over a four-day period, between June 16 and June 19, including three in the High Street.

"Most of the victims were elderly women shopping alone and in some cases a distraction technique was used, or victims were targeted after using cash points in the town.

"Please be vigilant when using cash points and keep your handbag or purse close and in view at all times."

The first purse theft took place on Monday, June 16, at about 1pm in the High Street, when an elderly victim had her purse, containing £700, stolen by some form of distraction technique that police have yet to identify.

Then on Tuesday at 9am at the Poundstretcher store, a woman who had used a cash machine to withdraw money was followed into Poundstretcher by a man of "Asian" appearance who told her she had left a £10 note hanging out of the ATM.

When the victim opened her purse the suspect placed the £10 inside and tried to steal the woman's debit card.

The woman realised what was happening and the suspect dropped the card and walked off with another man.

On Wednesday, June 18, at 11am a victim in her 80s had her purse, which contained £51, stolen in Iceland in the High Street.

And at noon on Thursday, June 19, two purse thefts took place within minutes of each other in the Morrisons store in Wycke Hill.

Both of the victims were elderly women. One had her card used at a nearby cash machine shortly afterwards, meaning someone must have watched her entering her PIN number.

Sergeant Felton said: "If you find your purse has been taken please call police immediately or call if you see any offence taking place."

Anyone with any information should contact Essex police on 101.

7.45am Traffic is slow on the A127 Southend Arterial Road westbound in Southend-On-Sea between Kent Elms Corner and the Progress Road junction

On the A127 Southend Arterial Road London-bound in Rayleigh between Rayleigh Weir and A130 traffic is slow

7.40am There is slow traffic on the A12 Chelmsford Bypass London-bound in Chelmsford between J19, A130 (Boreham Interchange) and J18, A414 (Danbury)

7.35am  One lane is closed and there is heavy traffic on the M11 southbound between J7, A414 (Harlow) and J6 M25, because of an incident. NOW CLEAR

All lanes have been opened on the M11 northbound between J6 M25 and J7, A414 (Harlow) following an incident but there is heavy traffic

7.30am The M25 clockwise at A282, QE2 Bridge is congested to before J30, Lakeside

Traffic is slow on the M25 clockwise around J26, A121 (Waltham Abbey)

7.25am There is stop-start traffic on the M25 anticlockwise between J27 M11 and J26, A121 (Waltham Abbey) in the roadworks area

7.15am Traffic is queuing on the M11 southbound between J5, A1168 (Loughton) and J4, A406 (Woodford)

7.10am  There is queuing traffic on the M25 clockwise at A282, QE2 Bridge with congestion to before J30, Lakeside

7am Traffic is slow on the A127 Southend Arterial Road London-bound between Dunton Wayletts and Romford. NOW CLEAR

There is very slow traffic on the A13 London-bound between North Stifford and Lakeside.

6.55am There is queuing traffic on M11 southbound between J5, A1168 (Loughton) and J4, A406 (Woodford)

6.50am Traffic is slow on the A12 Brentwood Bypass London-bound in Brentwood around J12, A1023 (Mountnessing). NOW CLEAR

6.40am There is queuing traffic on the M25 clockwise at the QE2 Bridge

Traffic is heavy in the roadworks are of the M25 anticlockwise at J26, A121 (Waltham Abbey)

6am Flights are returning to normal following earlier industrial action by air traffic controllers in France and Belgium

A man who went missing from South Woodham Ferrers has been found safe and well.

Courtney Bunce was located by the police yesterday evening in Fambridge at just before 7pm. 

He had been missing since early yesterday morning after walking out of Bromfield Hospital following an argument with a loved one.

Essex Police have thanked the public for their help with the appeal.

Three people had to be cut free from a car after it flipped in an accident in the early hours of this morning.

The incident occurred on Witham Road, Cressing at 12.20am where the vehicle left the road and overturned.

Two Braintree fire fighters were called and used specialist cutting equipment to free the casualties by 12.50am.

They were left in the care of paramedics

THE police investigation into an attempted armed robbery by a man wearing a Rod Stewart-like mask is continuing after a man was released without charge.

Shortly after 9.30pm on Thursday, March 27, a man entered Costcutters in Dryden Close wearing a distinctive mask with blond hair, which looked like the Scottish pop singer.

The armed robber, brandishing a handgun, left empty-handed after a shop assistant at the till pressed the panic alarm and the crook escaped.

The suspect ran out of the shop to the right down a pathway separating Dryden Close and Browning Road.

A 51-year-old man from the town was arrested a few days later in Maldon and released on bail pending further inquiries.

The man has been released from his bail and without charge now those inquiries have been carried out.

The suspect is described as being over 5ft 8ins and of medium build. He was wearing a grey and white top, a black coat with a white logo and workman-style trousers with reflective stripes at the bottom.

The investigation to identify the man who entered the store continues and anyone with any information should contact Essex Police on 101.