Serie A's elite clubs have shown an interest in taking Spurs midfielder Paulinho on loan but Juventus have come out as the front runners as the only club offering to take him on a permanent deal.

Paulinho arrived at White Hart Lane for a reported €22 million so Daniel Levy would want to recuperate some of that back and Juventus would be more than able to do so.

The Brazilian's exit would free up from some room at the club with Aaron Lennon also reportedly on his way out of the club.

Mauricio Pochettino has been linked with plenty of players to bring in to try and make his stamp on a club full of players he inherited from previous managers and it seems he will be able to spend what the club recuperates in transfers.

Tonight's Ryman North clash between Brentwood Town and Heybridge Swifts has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

It was thought beforehand that the match would be postponed after Brentwood's match on Saturday suffered the same fate.

Up next for Heybridge is sixth placed Aveley at home this Saturday.

No new date has been announced.

A builder's mission to turn a derelict former Victorian schoolhouse into his family home will be featured on Channel 4's Restoration Man.

For years the Old Schoolhouse on Braxted Park Road, Great Braxted - where workers of the neighbouring stately home schooled their children - had been unloved and unlived.

But now it is enjoying a new lease of life just 18 months after changing hands into the ownership of Jim and Bee Goody – a renovation that attracted producers of the TV show, who sent presenter George Clarke to visit the project several times, while film crews were at the house more than 20 times during the revamp.

On Wednesday (January 14), Jim and Bee will be seen reliving the mammoth task as the episode featuring their new beloved home was aired to the nation.

Jim said: "It was wrecked inside. We had to do everything, refurbish the whole lot; it was re-plumbed, had new electrics, was plastered and redecorated. Everything."

The Goody's, including Bee's stepson Lewis, 22, have relocated from Chigwell after their £288,000 bid for the property, built in a 'Tudor revival' style popular at the time, was accepted in September 2013, before work began in April 2014.

"We didn't know what we were looking for until we found it," said Jim. "I went to view the property and saw the views around it, so I text my wife a few photos of the fields around the place.

"So we thought let's do it, we put in a bid three days later, and the rest is history."

The project was perhaps not as daunting to Jim, who specialises in home refurbishments, as it would have been to other property developers.

"At first I wanted to do everything myself but after being in the home for a few months we wanted to get it all finished quickly," said Jim.

"And with the deadline for the filming fast approaching, it gave us a target to aim for. It did add some pressure, but it also kept us motivated and rejuvenated us when we were struggling."

The four-bedroom property boasts a number of unique features, including a new staircase, a space-age kitchen, glass roof, surround sound, and double length ceilings.

Work started on the property in April 2013 and the couple finally moved in in October 2014 after spending around £200,000 in total.

"Money quickly goes, when you start looking at kitchen designs and thinking of the possibilities things add up quickly," Jim told the Chronicle.

"We did go over budget, but my house in Chigwell had also gone up in value, so I received more money than I anticipated there.

"And now the property is the home of my dreams, when we started the build we always knew it would be a great home, but I didn't realise just how good," added Jim.

The Old Schoolhouse was built in 1843 by the former owner of Great Braxted estate, Charles Du Cane, who intended to educate the children of his many estate workers there.

Often pupils would have had to labour on the land when not studying and this meant many lessons were missed while they took on annual tasks such as pea-picking.

When the school opened the school mistress at the time was a Miss Susan Bentall and by 1908 the head teacher at the school was earning £95 a year, rising to £366 by 1922.

It's fair to say that this did not go down well with the school managers who recorded their disapproval during the school minutes, even threatening to bring the matter before Parliament.

On completion of project, the programme makers presented the Goody's with a book celebrating the history of the building.

And six months after permanently relocating to the village, the family has fallen in love the new rural lifestyle.

"The house and the village are perfect for us. It's a fantastic area to live," said Jim.

"The people have welcomed us into the community, it's great to use the local shops, local pubs and restaurants and immerse ourselves in village life."

The episode featuring The Old Schoolhouse can be viewed on Channel4oD or during repeat showings.

A brief history of Braxted: 

• The Manor of Braxted was granted by William I to Eno Dapifer, Governor of Colchester whose tenant was Richard de Sackville.
• It consisted of six villagers, six smallholders and one Freeman and was valued at £8.
• In 1745 Peter Du Cane took over the estate, rebuilding Braxted Lodge and improving the estate. His grandson also called Peter continued development and had the park enclosed by the four and a half mile brick wall which took around six years to construct.
• In 1841 the manor passed to Charles Du Cane. Mr Clark said: "For various reasons that are rather slanderous he lost all his money and had to sell the manor in 1919 to Sir William Boulton."
• It was then sold it to The Plessey Company in 1947, and occupied by Sir Allen Clark, chairman of the company and subsequently by his son, Michael Clark.
• In 1955, 45 acres in the north-west of the old park was developed as a private golf course and this use continues today. 
• The estate is now owned by a family trust and managed by Sir Allen Clark's grandson, Duncan Clark, who came out of a 17 year banking career in the City to devote all his energies to the estate.
• He launched a £2 million investment programme in 2004 and the Braxted Park wedding, conference and business venue was born.

Tonight's Robert Dyas League Cup round three clash between Witham Town and AFC Sudbury has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

No new date has been set for the match. 

Witham will turn their attentions back to the league when they travel away to seventh-placed Wingate & Finchley on Saturday.

Following the uproar over Chelmsford road signs and the removal of its Birthplace of Radio welcome signs - the spotlight has shone once again on the city's Marconi legacy.

Guglielmo Marconi was a radio pioneer and a well respected figure in Chelmsford, but is there anything about the man you don't know?

Have a look at these facts for a brief, and cursory, education.

1. Marconi was educated in England and Italy, but was particularly interested in the work of Heinrich Hertz known for his work with electromagnetic waves.

2. Despite being a pioneer in radio he finished his formal education without receiving any technical qualifications.

3. In 1923 he joined Mussolini's Fascist Party, later becoming a member of the Fascist Grand Council.

4. Marconi came to Chelmsford after accidently picking up transmissions from across the Atlantic. This was quite significant because it was thought transmissions could only be made across lines of sight.

5. Marconi's main business purpose at the time was to provide communication for ships.

6. 'Birthplace of radio' is the name given to Chelmsford because the Marconi Building on New Street was the first purposely built radio factory. It has now been converted into flats after being derelict for years.

7. Marconi received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1909 and was also awarded the honour of the hereditary title of Marchese in 1929.

8. Marconi married twice and had five children.

9. His mother-in-law liked to call him 'Marky'.

10. The BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre, which were formed from research laboratories in Great Baddow and Chelmsford, evolved from Marconi's original research facilities that are now responsible for groundbreaking discoveries in science. 

11. Two Marconi radios were used when the Titanic crashed, which were hailed as pivotal in receiving help for up to 700 survivors. The British postmaster went as far to say: "Those who have been saved, have been saved through one man, Mr Marconi and his wonderful invention."

12. He narrowly missed a passage aboard the Titanic, due to a choice of alternative passage and his son's illness.

CHELMSFORD completed the double over Braintree as they romped to a ten-try 56-0 demolition of their near neighbours.

In the first fixture following the three week winter break, the visitors tackled manfully but were outgunned by a home side dominant in the scrum, line-out and loose.

The result keeps Chelmsford top of the London Two North East table, two points ahead of Campion, while Braintree stay second from bottom after suffering their 13th straight defeat of a horrendous campaign.

Chelmsford's win, however, did come at a price, as influential backrow/ second row, Simon Quinn dislocated his knee with minutes to go on the clock and his loss will be a blow for the home side, particularly in these wet and muddy conditions throughout the winter period.

On the plus side, Chelmsford welcomed back flanker Josh Cavey, who has been missing since October through suspension and injury and he made some penetrative runs.

The wet, muddy and windy conditions, plus some constant disruptions through injuries in the visitors' ranks, particularly in the front row, meant the game was a stop start affair.

Chelmsford adapted to the conditions better than their opponents and with the pack being dominant, they were able to play the game on the front foot.

Even though the Chelmsford three quarters tended to over elaborate at times with ball in hand, they had the elusiveness and speed to threaten the visitor's defence.

Chelmsford kicked off up the slope and facing a strong wind they went ahead after five minutes, when following a good break by the three quarters from their own half, fly-half Simon Hoult was on hand to touch down near the posts.

Chelmsford increased their lead through full-back Jamie Ash after an initial break from wing, Jamie Morrish, both of these tries went unconverted and Chelmsford were leading 10-0.

Braintree then had their only real clear-cut chance of a score, when they chased a loose ball, only for the bounce to beat them on the line.

Chelmsford were now applying the squeeze on the visitors' scrummage and a series of penalties near to the Braintree line meant it was only a matter of time before there was a another score.

Chelmsford chose scrums and from one of these, scrum-half Ben Bailey darted over the line to score an opportunist try and with Hoult converting, Chelmsford now lead 17-0.

Several minutes before half-time, Chelmsford scored their fourth try and secured a bonus point. Some good driving play from the forwards resulted in a break from hooker Dave Hyett and he managed to get the ball away for tight head prop, Miles Pitcher to dive over the line.

With the wind and slope in their favour, Chelmsford dominated the second half, scoring six tries.

The first was scored by skipper, Paul Redford when he was on hand to score, following a catch and drive from a line-out, taking the score line to 27-0. Chelmsford then brought on 3 substitutes, Dean Lester at loose head prop, Rhys Whitelock at fly half and Alex Ellis in the 2nd row.

With Chelmsford getting their fair share of turnover ball, they took full control of proceedings by going on to score five further tries in the space of 16 minutes.

Josh Cavey went over from another catch and drive, centre Harry Simpson burst through the cover defence to score under the posts, Ash recorded his second try and then from a kick ahead, centre Adam Cunnah won the chase to the line.

Finally Quinn touched down for a try from another catch and drive at the line-out. With Rhys Whitelock converted two of the tries.

Chelmsford's director of coaching, Eddie Gooby, said: "This was a great team performance with a high skill set, but unfortunately it was marred by the injury to Simon Quinn, so it took the gloss off a good start to the new year.

"The game, in testing conditions was great to watch, as a team we played some great running rugby and in scoring ten tries with forwards and backs combining well, we produced a lot off the training field and put this into the game. The mood after the game was subdued and I am sure next week's game will be played hard for Simon who we all wish a speedy recovery."

Braintree's joint-coach, Brain Joslin, said: "This was always going to be a tough encounter for us. Chelmsford had won ten out of 12 and we'd lost every one of our games.

"We lost heavily but I cannot fault the effort of the 18 lads who took to the pitch. They defended doggedly throughout and gave their all, as they always do.

"Chelmsford look destined to go up and they deserve it. Good luck to them. As for us, we can still avoid the drop, but we need to start winning now. Our season starts from the next game."

That is against the team directly above them, Basildon, at home Saturday. Chelmsford travel to Norwich.

Leading newsagents will reportedly buy 2,000 copies of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to sell in the UK.

The special 'survivors edition' of the magazine will be on sale from tomorrow (January 14), one week after the horrific terrorist attack in Paris which claimed the lives of 12 people.

Five of Charlie Hebdo's cartoonists, including the editor, were killed.

The magazine will not be directly stocked in WH Smith, although Smiths News and Menzies have snapped up the copies for sale. It is not expected to reach some UK shelves until Friday.

Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi attacked the magazine's offices on January 7. The brothers were later killed by French security services after a stand-off north of Paris.

The edition which is expected to be released on January 14 will see three million copies sent to newsagents across France and the rest of the world.

Dozens of you have suggested alternative messages to be engraved on our Welcome to Chelmsford signs.

We asked Essex Chronicle readers on our Facebook page what should be printed on the ten brown road signs when they're replaced by Essex County Council later this year.

The topic provoked uproar when Chelmsford City Council leader Roy Whitehead said the words "Birthplace of Radio" could be removed in a bureaucratic dispute over safety and word count.

You responded in kind, suggesting some serious references to our traffic woes - and some more lighthearted examples.

Here we rank the top ten suggestions based on the number of "likes" received on the social media site this afternoon (January 13).

1. "Welcome to Chelmsford. Please go the right way over the flyover" By David Blows.

2. "Don't come after midnight, you won't see anything!" By Sharon Fleet.

3. "Welcome to Chelmsford. Hope you bought plenty of change for parking". By Robert Webster.

4. "Shame that most posts are negative about Chelmsford, personally I love living here". By Mark Cutts (We don't think this was actually a suggestion).

5. "Welcome to Chelmsford. Take U-turn when possible. Pass A12 to collect free towel". By Katrina Barrell. (Maybe in reference to this incident?)

6. "Expensive, over-crowded, too many Italian restaurants". By Thom Lumley.

7. "Welcome to Chelmsford but stay away from the A12 for your own sanity!!!!" By Jo De Ath.

8. "Welcome to Chelmsford. Be happy, you could be in Basildon instead." By Jon Draine

9. "Welcome to Chelmsford. Home to the worst music festival ever". By Kevin Jackson

10. "Welcome to Chelmsford - Apologies In Advance!" By Corinna Plum.

FYI - the city council has submitted a final design for approval from the Department for Transport which reads: "Welcome to Chelmsford. Birthplace of Radio" (with mention of twinned towns Backnang and Annonay).

Motorists are expected to endure a torrid time on the roads over the next few days with stormy conditions forecast for Essex.

Met Office forecasters have tonight (January 13) extended a yellow warning for wind and ice to cover the entire east of England region until at least tomorrow morning.

Heavy rain is then predicted to take over, followed by gale-force winds.

A warning for snow in western England, Wales and Scotland has also been extended to cover the south east.

A deepening Atlantic low pressure system is being blamed for the extreme conditions, which could cause chaos for drivers heading in and out of the county on the M25 and the A12.

Highways Agency officials are also expected to keep an eye on the Dartford Crossing, which could see restrictions put in place on the Dartford Crossing.

The Met Office chief forecaster said: "Road temperatures will fall widely below freezing overnight with icy surfaces likely to develop in places, especially where showers have occurred on Tuesday afternoon.

"In addition, a few showers of hail, sleet and snow are possible overnight. These could very locally produce a slight covering, adding to the ice risk."

If you're affected by the weather conditions, get in touch with us via newsdesk@essexchronicle.co.uk, our Facebook page, or on Twitter @EssexChronicle.

THE key to success in any marriage is "not to live in each other's pockets" according to one devoted husband who has just marked 60 years of wedded bliss.

David Pond, 80, of Admirals Walk, Chelmsford, celebrated his diamond wedding anniversary with wife Maureen and family at Le Bouchon brasserie in Heybridge on December 27.

Maureen, 81, joked: "You don't get that long for murder."

The couple met at the YMCA dance hall, Weston Avenue, in Romford, some time in 1952 and continued to see each other through mutual friends for two years until they finally tied the knot.

Against tradition at the time, the young couple went on holiday to a small village called Fieberbrunn in Austria together, before they were wed.

Maureen, who was a teacher at the former St Peter's High School in Burnham on Crouch, admitted: "My parents wouldn't let me go. It was not heard of couples going on holiday together before they were married.

"But they were open-minded people and came to terms with it eventually."

The couple have continued to enjoy rail holidays ever since and they spent their 50th wedding anniversary on the Royal Hungarian Express, visiting parts of the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The couple were married at St Edwards Church in Romford on December 27, 1954.

David said: "We didn't have enough space to invite everyone, so some people did not know we were getting married that day.

"So it was quite a surprise for people from our cricket club when they walked past and saw Maureen in her dress."

She added: "My dress was blowing everywhere in the wind as it was such a windy day.

"They asked me 'What are you doing here?' and I just had to laugh."

Since then, the couple have had two daughters and four granddaughters, and lived in Romford, Billericay and Chelmsford.

While living in Billericay, the golf enthusiasts had their two daughters, Deborah (now Soames) and Caroline (now Bere), before moving to Torquay Road, Chelmsford.

Now with a family of her own, their daughter Deborah, 57, of St Stevens Road in Cold Norton, said of her mum and dad: "It's a wonder they are still together sometimes when you can see them raising their eyes behind each other's backs.

"But they are an amazing couple.

"They are incredibly active 80-year-olds and so sociable, you always have to book to see them.

"It is wonderful they have stayed together so long."

James Cleverly has been selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Braintree.

Mr Cleverly will take the place of Brooks Newmark who announced in October he would withdraw as the candidate for this year's elections.

Mr Newmark's withdrawal came after he was caught up in a tabloid sting, sending naked images to an undercover male journalist.

After the decision on who would fight for the Braintree seat, Mr Cleverly took to Twitter to say: "Tonight I have been selected to be the Conservative candidate for #Braintree. I'm delighted and excited."

Tonight I have been selected to be the Conservative candidate for #Braintree. I'm delighted and excited.

— James Cleverly (@JamesCleverly) January 13, 2015

Currently the London Assembly Member for Bexley and Bromley, Mr Cleverly is also the chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority.

He has been an officer in the Territorial Army for over 20 years, rising to the rank of Major.

Mr Cleverly saw off competition from the three other potential candidates Suella Fernandes, Michael McManus and Sarah Macken.

The general and local elections take place on May 7.   

A pilot scheme in Chelmsford enabling bikers to secure their bikes and store their riding gear has been deemed a success.

Chelmsford City Council is now in talks with Motoparking to roll out more of the storage stations after a six-month trial.

Tony Impieri, UK marketing director for Motoparking, said: "We originally had two machines in Fairfield Road car park and one off Parkway, and now we are talking about putting some lockers in behind the train station.

"We would like to see about 20 in the city by spring, but there will definitely be about 12 to 15 going in by then.

"They save people a lot of headaches, and it is obviously a good idea for people to be able to lock their gear away.

"When you think that a helmet can cost around £700, and then you have good-quality leathers as well, it is a lot of money that people have spent on their stuff so they want to be able to keep it safe."

The Italian-born businessman, who owns Bar One, in Exchange Way, High Chelmer, as well as the UK franchise of Motoparking, originally got the idea to bring the scheme to the UK after seeing the scheme work well in mainland Europe.

Chelmsford City Council agreed to a six-month trial in June, with two solid-steel units at Fairfield Road with 245-litre capacity.

Also included was a smaller 85 City unit off Parkway, designed for scooters or bicycles.

Having stored their equipment and secured their own vehicle with the chain supplied, bikers need to shut the case with their own padlock.

Mr Impieri said: "As well as extending the scheme in Chelmsford, we are also in talks with people like QParking and NCT in London, and also people in Brighton.

"When you go into towns, you see so many bikes, and it's nice for people to be able to leave their heavy bike gear and actually go and do other things, like car drivers do.

" When you leave your stuff in one of the lockers and you come back it's still there, it is dry. We like it."

As the business begins to expand across the country, Mr Impieri said his biggest challenge will be getting the word out to bikers that the service is available.

"We are introducing it to people, and they are finding out that the facilities are there. Every single biker we have spoken to has said they like the idea, so we just need to make sure that we keep on telling more bikers about it."

A spokeswoman for Chelmsford City Council said no decisions have been made yet.

Hail, sleet and snow are an overnight possibility while winds of 50-65 mph could cause disruption.

Although the snow forecast for Essex never arrived yellow warnings remain in place for wind and ice.

Driving conditions could potentially be difficult after warnings of ice on the roads.

Temperatures are expected to fall below freezing overnight and showers of hail, sleet and snow are possible.

There is a risk of disruption to transport with winds affecting the area throughout the afternoon and overnight.

If you're affected by the weather conditions, get in touch with us via newsdesk@essexchronicle.co.uk, ourFacebook page, or on Twitter@EssexChronicle.

CHELMSFORD cyclist Alex Dowsett's attempt at the UCI Hour record looks in doubt after he broke a collarbone in training yesterday (Tuesday).

Dowsett's team Movistar revealed this morning that he is scheduled to undergo surgery tomorrow.

He is set to undertake the Hour challenge at London's Lee Valley VeloPark on Friday February 27.

The 26-year-old tweeted this morning: "Thanks for all the kind messages guys, far from ideal timing but will bounce back asap."

Movistar revealed Dowsett crashed during a training ride on home roads, and he was immediately taken to hospital after suffering pain in his right shoulder.

He was due to hold a press conference next Tuesday about his Hour attempt but that has been cancelled. 

In a statement on their website, Movistar added: "Details on whether Dowsett's attempt will go on as planned or be postponed will be specified in the next few days, subject to medical examination after his surgery and Dowsett's own consideration."

DUNMOW racer Alex Lynn has secured his seat on the 2015 GP2 Series with French team DAMS Racing.

The 21-year-old 2014 GP3 Championship winner will join Pierre Gasly as the team's drivers.

DAMS will also be looking for success this season once more, being the constructors for last years GP2 winner, fellow Brit Jolyon Palmer.

The GP2 Series is seen as an important stepping stone towards getting a Formula One seat, with past winners including Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

The season will get underway in Bahrain, with the first race to take place over the weekend of April 17-19.

BILLY BRICKNELL left Ebbsfleet this week after having his contract terminated by mutual consent and Chelmsford boss Mark Hawkes has refused to rule out any interest in the player with 'no comment.'

The striker spent the 2010/11 season at Chelmsford where he helped the Clarets reach a play-off semi-final scoring seven goals in 29 appearances.

His one year stint at Chelmsford was followed by a move to Dover before an 18 month spell at Ebbsfleet was cut short this week.

Bricknell is in high demand with clubs in and around the league after his services and Chelmsford could be in the driving seat to sign the striker

A group of people pictured on a mobile phone which was misplaced by an assault victim in Chelmsford have been identified.

Police were trying to trace the individuals in connection with the incident, which took place outside Faces in Chelmsford at around 2.30am on New Year's Day.

The victim did not see the person who attacked him

Anybody who witnessed the assault is asked to contact PC Carley Parodi at Chelmsford CID on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

A man has died after being hit by a train at Kelvedon. 

Police and paramedics were called to the station shortly after 10am today to reports of a person being struck by a train.

A man was pronounced dead at the scene.

All lines are currently closed through the area and commuters on trains from Norwich and Ipswich to Liverpool Street are affected.

A spokesman for British Transport Police added: "The incident is not being treated as suspicious, and our officers are now working to identify the man and inform his family.

"A file will be prepared for the coroner."

Travel advice

• Customers for London may travel from Norwich/Ipswich to Cambridge, then on train from Cambridge to London Liverpool Street. 
• Great Northern trains will also pass valid Abellio Greater Anglia ticket holders between Cambridge and Kings Cross. 
• Delays are expected in the region of 90 minutes when lines reopen, with disruption expected until 2.30pm

The A120 eastbound carriageway is closed in Braintree this morning after a collision involving four cars.

The carriageway is shut eastbound between the A131 and B1018 as a result of the collision. Nine people are believed to be injured.

A spokesman for the East of England ambulance service, which are currently at the scene,said: "We were called at 10.49am to reports of a road traffic collision on the A120.

"We sent a a paramedic, a rapid response vehicle and an ambulance.

"The last update we have is there nine patients, all with minor injuries."

Road users are advised to expect to delays and to consider alternative routes or delaying their journey.

Police are diverting traffic via local routes.