THREE watches are among a collection of items recovered from the car of burglary suspect.

Police are keen to hear from anyone who recognises any of the items - which were found after detectives investigating a break-in at house in Benfleet on Tuesday 15 January arrested a 44-year-old man on suspicion of burglary.  

DC Kirsty Morgan said: "These items are not connected to the burglary we were investigating at the time but we suspect that they may have been taken from other homes in Essex. If anyone believes that any of this property belongs to them then we would urge them to get in touch with us on 101.

MORE information is needed by police about a burglary in Westcliff-on-Sea in which a Russian-made pocket watch was among the items stolen.
Two silver bracelets and two gold sovereign pendants were also amongst the items taken from the house in St Vincents Road on Friday (January 25) between 1:50pm and 3:50pm.
Thieves got into the house by smashing a glass panel beside the front door and then climbing through it.
They are then believed to have climbed out of a front bay window to the house.
Anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the area or who has been offered similar items for sale can call Essex Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

ELECTRICAL fires accounted for more than a fifth of all house blazes in the county last year, according to Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.

Between January 1 and December 31, 2012, there were 194 such fires, with seven occurring in Brentwood, one in Ingatestone and three in Billericay.

The majority of the fires started in the kitchen, with more than half of the people who had an electrical fire in their homes not being alerted by smoke detectors.

A third of the fires occurred in homes with no working smoke alarm and a third in homes where the positioning of the smoke alarms meant that they did not sound or where detectors were fitted but were out of batteries.

Station officer Bryan Mansfield, community safety liaison officer for Basildon and Brentwood, said: "Many of these fires are preventable.

"We are urging everyone to look for old or worn flexes and make sure that all appliances are in good working order.

"The best advice I can give is make sure that you fit, and regularly test, a smoke alarm.

"It is the single most important piece of safety equipment in any home.

"It provides vital warning that a fire has broken out, giving everyone time to get out."

"All too often it is the simple things that people could check for themselves that can lead to a serious accident.

"So we are urging everyone to make basic visual checks around the home to ensure electrical safety."

A PIONEERING PCSO who uses her computer to pop crucial crime updates into people's inboxes has watched her idea be copied by other officers across Brentwood.

Karen Gibbs, who has been working the Hutton beat for seven and a half years, says the best way to fight crime is to work closely with the residents she serves.

"Whenever it's needed," the 36--year-old crime fighter sends an e-mail to around 200 homes on her patch, with news of incidents within the neighbourhood and tips on staying safe.

Despite reaching this number in just two years, the PCSO will not rest until she has 500 residents on her database.

Following on from her scheme, similar initiatives are now being rolled out by her colleagues across Warley, West Horndon, Ingrave, Herongate and Pilgrims Hatch.

She explained how, up until she launched the service, Essex Police kept residents up to date with an expensive phone messaging system called Ringmaster (now decommissioned), which was succeeded by a hard copy newsletter.

"I decided to get it going because it's quicker and nearly everyone is on e-mail," she said.

"It's about communicating with the public and getting the information out to them so that we can work together to reduce crime.

"The Hutton community is such a lovely community, they are so polite to me.

"I have been in the area for seven and a half years, they all know me and as soon as I see them I ask them to sign up and I've not had one person say no."

Included within the updates – which comes under the umbrella of Neighbourhood Watch – is information about crimes, scams and advice on protecting valuables in the home and the car, not to mention anti-social behaviour updates.

"I have had so many scams e-mailed to me from members of the public so I send them out to all members," she said.

"It's just about trying to reduce the fear of crime, stop people panicking and get them one step ahead of the criminals."

Any residents of Hutton who wish to join the e-mail group should e-mail Karen.gibbs@pnn.police.uk

However, she is keen to point out that witnesses or victims of crime should continue to call 101, rather than report them on the e-mail system.

Anyone wishing to join a group from Warley, West Horndon, Ingrave, Herongate or Pilgrims Hatch, should find out who their PCSO is and replace karen.gibbs with their firstname.latename in the e-mail address.

LIFE expectancy will drop dramatically in Havering unless the borough's obesity problem is tackled now, it has been warned.

Private healthcare firm BMI is urging residents to stop yo-yo dieting, eat properly and exercise regularly in order to become fitter, happier and ultimately healthier.

At current rates, it is estimated that more than 85 per cent of adults in Havering will be obese by 2050.

Obesity can lead to many health complications, including diabetes and heart disease.

According to research by the Department of Health, 27.3 per cent of Havering residents were classified obese in 2012, which is above the national average of 24.2 per cent and the London average of 20.7 per cent.

Separate research by BMI has found that 74 per cent of Havering residents are either obese or know someone who could be classed as obese.

The study also found that 65 per cent of residents had been on an unsuccessful diet, while 75 per cent said that they had dieted in the past but then put the weight back on.

Obesity is most prevalent in the less affluent wards of Gooshays, Heaton and South Hornchurch.

Healthcare professionals believe that four deaths from obesity-related cancer and eight deaths from heart disease and strokes could be prevented in the borough each year if the level of obesity was reduced by 5 per cent.

Likewise, the proportion of physically active adults has decreased from 9.4 per cent in 2008 to seven per cent in 2012.

Obesity expert Mr Kesava Mannur, who practices at BMI Healthcare, said: "The simple fact is that dieting is not a long-term solution to maintaining a healthy weight.

"When it comes to weight, the core problem is the imbalance between the energy we take into our body through eating and the energy which is used through physical activity.

"Healthy eating and regular exercise are the best tools we have to tackle this epidemic, yet unfortunately for many people the message simply isn't getting through."

Obesity carries with it other health risks such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke, arthritis and cancer.

"All of these conditions that occur as a direct result of obesity are serious and can dramatically shorten a person's life expectancy," Mr Mannur added.

"As a nation, and as parents, we all need to wise up and become more aware of the food we are eating and the energy we are expending through exercise.

"Improving the health of people in Havering is a key priority and that is why I am encouraging residents to get tough on obesity and ditch their yo-yo dieting habits."

THE number of people waiting for a council house in Brentwood grew approximately ten times faster than the national average.

Figures from Brentwood Borough Council show that the waiting list rocketed from 777 in April 2004 to 2,514 in April 2011 – an increase of 223 per cent.

During the same period, the average for England rose by 28 per cent to 1.84 million, according to the homeless charity Shelter.

Between April 2011 and April 2012, the council's waiting list increased further, from 2,514 to 3,054.

The news has sparked criticism that the authority is failing to address people's housing needs.

Gabriella Clarke, 25, who lives in social housing in Rollason Way, said she feels lucky to have been offered a housing association property after spending 30 months on the waiting list.

She told the Gazette this week: "There is not enough affordable housing and quite often there is an attitude that there can't be poor people living here in Brentwood."

Hutton North councillor Russell Quirk said: "The Conservatives locally may have a disdain for those in need of social housing, but it is the council's responsibility to ensure that they act to provide housing when it is needed and not to neglect our residents in this appalling way."

The council's minority Labour group leader Mike Le Surf added: "This is a crisis and the only way we can get out of it is to build more houses."

A borough council spokesman said: "Our current revision of our waiting list will see a change requiring anyone on it to have a local connection.

"This will lead to the reduction in the waiting list where there is no such restriction currently."

BURPING sheep are the subject of a ground-breaking study at Writtle College which aims to tackle global warming.

While most people do their bit for the environment by recycling food packaging, switching off lights and saving water, student Francine Gilman is researching ways to stop sheep from belching so many harmful greenhouse gases into the environment.

As part of her MSc in Livestock Production Science this spring, the 24-year-old is studying to improve the digestive systems of sheep with therapeutic essential oils.

"Of all the greenhouse gases produced by agriculture as a whole, methane from livestock accounts for 80 per cent, so it is a major problem all over the world," said Francine.

"Sheep – and cows even more so – produce vast quantities of methane so if we can reduce that even by a small amount it will have a far-reaching effect."

Francine's first job is to investigate which essential oils are likely to be most beneficial.

She will then spend hours in a laboratory, undertaking endless tests to see which ones, or combinations, will have the right affect on the sheep's digestion.

She said: "There are thousands of essential oils and we regularly use only a small number of them.

"I will look at the impact the essential oils have on how the sheep metabolise to see if they help them to convert their feed more efficiently and cause less nutrition wastage, and belching.

"The essential oils are split into components so you can see the interactions between each one.

"Each component will have between 60 and 300 minor components, so there are endless combinations.

"This is the type of research which could go on for years and years, but if I manage to make one small breakthrough I will be very happy."

The subject of Francine's research has already impressed major agricultural company NFU Mutual, which has presented her with one of their five Centenary Awards, which covers 75 per cent of the cost of her full-time Masters course.

Francine, who lives in Colchester, said: "Receiving the centenary award has made a huge difference to me as I am now able to devote more time to my studies and achieving the best results that I can.

"Also, knowing that I have a company like NFU Mutual supporting and believing in me is a massive confidence boost."

CHELMSFORD-BORN Ian Stannard kick-started his sixth season as a pro bike rider in Australia this month, keen as ever to put his hundreds of miles of winter training to good effect as he starts his build up to the mud and crashes of his favourite races of the year, April's cobbled Classics.

And the 25-year-old had an extra incentive to perfect his training this winter as he starts his 2013 racing campaign wearing the red, white and blue jersey of the national champion, having won the British Road Race championship last June.

Now in his fourth year with Team Sky, Stannard is a renowned Classics specialist and has already achieved significant results in one-day 'Classic' races having finished third in Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne in 2010 and fourth overall in the 2011 edition of Paris-Tours.

Having taken a short rest after finishing his 2012 season with a crash and fractured pelvis, Ian has been clocking up the miles starting with a lone week's training in Lanzarote before joining up with his teammates at Team Sky in Tenerife and then Majorca.

Having topped their 2012 season with Bradley Wiggins stunning victory at the Tour de France, the team have been looking at how they can replicate that success in the Classics and part of that plan has seen a Classics squad training together over the winter before they started their first race of the year this week 'down under'.

That careful preparation even had the group undertake a rare visit just before Christmas to some of the cobbled roads that feature in the Tour of Flanders – one of Stannard's favourite races – for an early recce of this year's race route.

Did it seem strange to Ian to be riding those roads in December? Never one to be fazed, Ian answers that question very simply; "No, they are the same roads, etc, it wasn't any different to when we race them in March and April."

He was equally direct in explaining how he felt he'll respond to Sky's focused attention on the Classics and the specific training programme they'd been undertaking; "Its ok, nothing new really just solid training. How will I benefit from it? I don't know, I'll have to wait until the racing has begun to find out."

Usually at this time of the year Ian will know exactly what his early race programme will consist of but it's been reported that Team Sky will be missing some of the early semi-classic races and usual warm up races like Tirreno – Adriatico that usually feature in Stannard's programme and instead be undertaking Classic specific training camps so at this stage all Ian can say about his racing schedule is that it will involve "some racing and lots of training. Basically, I don't know!"

In a recent video promo on Team Sky's website Ian said that his goal for the season was to "perform in the Classics and prove myself" and he recently expanded that comment adding that by the end of the Classics campaign he wanted "just to have raced my bike to the best of my ability".

That's one thing that's always been Stannard's determination, to give of his best whether it's playing a support role helping a team-mate chase a win or, as he's always dreamed of, being the first British rider to cross the line first at his favourite race of the year, Paris – Roubaix and 2013 will be no different.

THE contractor for Witham's new £9.5 million leisure centre is looking for local firms to help with the build.

With work due to begin this year, lead contractor Barr Construction is looking for Essex companies to get involved in the project.

This week Barr will hold a 'suppliers day' and is inviting local businesses to find out more about becoming a subcontractor.

Alex Hammond, unit commercial director at Barr Construction, who will take charge of the day, said he hoped to award contracts by the spring.

He said: "Barr has a track record of delivering leisure facilities all over the UK and we have a policy of working with local sub-contractors wherever possible. We would encourage companies from all disciplines to come along and discuss these supply chain opportunities at this dedicated suppliers day.

"We are looking for as strong a team as possible, which is why we are giving suppliers this chance to find out more about this exciting project for Witham and talk to us about what they have to offer.

He said staff from the construction, commercial and architectural teams would be on hand to answer any questions.

The new leisure centre will replace Bramston Sports Centre and will feature a six-lane, 25-metre swimming pool and learner pool, a fitness suite, two dance studios, a sauna, a steam room, two squash courts and two physiotherapy and beauty rooms.

Councillor Chris Siddall, cabinet member for prosperity and growth at Braintree District Council, said the authority wanted as many local firms as possible to get involved in the "landmark" project.

He said: "We want as many local businesses as possible to be involved in this project which is why Braintree District Council and Barr Construction want local businesses to come forward and attend this event.

"There are many opportunities available for all sorts of local businesses to play a part in this landmark project. The message is 'don't miss out, come along and get involved'."

The event takes place at the Rivenhall Hotel, Rivenhall End, near Witham, on Thursday, January 31, between 10am and 4pm.

MUMS to be will soon be able to deliver their baby in a state of complete relaxation when a birthing technique which will reportedly be used by the Duchess of Cambridge comes to Brentwood.

Hypnobirthing, which aims to take the fear out of childbirth, thus allowing expectant mothers to deliver their baby more comfortably, will be taught to those who are more than 20 weeks' pregnant by mum-of-two Tamara Cianfini, 40.

"It's about putting the joy back into birth," said Mrs Cianfini, who will soon open her business above Halfords in Brentwood High Street.

"Hypnobirthing specifically teaches you techniques to remain calm and in control."

Mrs Cianfini, a qualified hypnobirthing instructor, will teach customers how to develop relaxation and breathing techniques, along with visualisation and massage that enables the body to release its natural painkillers.

Attendees also receive a book, a CD, a folder with hand-outs, refreshments and a comprehensive birth plan with support via phone or e-mail.

Indeed, the CD is an integral part of the course, as Mrs Cianfini explained.

"It's a hypnosis CD that helps re-program the mind that they will have a positive birth," she said. "It's all about belief which creates confidence.

"Your mind is in the right place, you are prepared to deal with whatever comes your way, you're very much in the moment and remember everything."

Her tools include Blu-Tack and blue satin ribbons to demonstrate the inner muscles of the uterus, which, it is claimed, when visualised enables women to relax while having a contraction.

Mrs Cianfini, who has taught Hypnobirthing to around 1,000 women over six years in London and Hertfordshire, first learnt of the method when she was 36 weeks pregnant with her second child and has come to Brentwood in order to teach couples in Essex.

The technique, which can be used in homes and hospitals, will "prepare you and help you deal with whatever turn your birthing takes," she added.

Pregnant mum-of-one Ainhoa Keskin owns Mi Neni, a Spanish baby boutique on the Ongar Road.

Ms Keskin, 25, and 38 weeks pregnant, attended Tamara's Brentwood Hypnobirthing class with her partner Charlie, 27, on Saturday.

"The second time round, pregnancy is so much scarier because I know how much pain I'm going to be in," Ms Keskin said.

"Antenatal classes didn't benefit me and Tamara made me feel relaxed.

"To be honest, it benefited me and my partner – it's soothing and calming.

"After the class he was glad he went because he felt he could go into labour feeling calm too."

Expectant mums and dads-to-be are invited to take part in the course of five classes, which will take place on Saturdays between 1-4pm.

The course, which costs £295, will begin on February 16.

For more information, visit www.birtheasy.co.uk

A WOMAN has received serious injuries following a road traffic collision on Southend Road, Wickford.

The East of England Ambulance Service attended the accident on January 26 at 2.50am. An ambulance, response car and duty officer attended the scene.

Gary Sanderson, spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service, said: "Paramedics worked very hard to treat, stabilise and immobilise the woman who suffered a head injury before she was taken to Queens Hospital in Romford for further care."

PROPOSALS to cut speeding in Little Burstead have been welcomed by residents but need to be extended, according to the parish council.

A consultation by Essex County Council Highways about the proposed introduction of a 40mph speed limit to sections of Rectory Road, Tye Common Road and Lower Dunton Road closed on January 18.

Little Burstead Parish Council hosted an open consultation over the speed limits on January 9 to which all members of the public were invited.

The speed reductions were supported by all who attended.

The parish council said it was pleased with the support for the proposal.

However, it also felt that the sections included could be more extensive, particularly as they exclude certain accident blackspots such as Botney Hill Road.

Roads throughout the village, such as Rectory Road, Botney Hill Road and Tye Common Road have in recent years become major access routes to the A127 and, as such, have become busier.

Roger Savage, chairman of Little Burstead Parish Council, said: "We are very pleased that there has been such a strong support for the council's proposed speed reductions in the village.

"However it would be more effective if the speed limit was more extensive and included Botney Hill Road.

"Over the years the roads have got busier with people trying to take shortcuts through the village."

ABANDONED sugar plantations and heat-drenched rainforests will be the backdrop for a Warley man's latest fundraising trip.

Barry Ford has been walking up to 15 miles a week to prepare for his 100km trek across the Caribbean island of Cuba.

The 63-year-old will fly out to the communist state on March 2 for the challenge, which will start in Hanabanilla and finish five days later in Trinidad, a UNESCO world heritage site.

Mr Ford, a member of Brentwood Breakfast Rotary Club, will be raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support, in memory of his wife Hazel who died of myeloma in 2008.

In the past he has trekked in the Alps, China and Jordan in support of a range of charities.

For his latest venture, Mr Ford will walk through rainforests, coffee and sugar plantations and even subterranean rivers.

The semi-retired insurance broker, of The Galleries, in Pastoral Way, said: "These walking trips can be really hard work – I've been walking between 10 and 15 miles each week just to keep fit.

"The last thing anyone wants is to have to drop out because you are not fit enough – and the fitter you are the more you can get out of the trip.

"You want to be able to keep up with the pace."

Mr Ford said he is particularly looking forward to experiencing Cuba before capitalism changes it forever. "Right now is the last chance people can see the old influences of communism before capitalism becomes too widespread," he said.

"Although there is a small amount of capitalism coming through at the moment that is likely to increase.

"But there is still a lot of poverty in the countryside where a lot of people still live hand to mouth.

"The best time to go is now when there is still a remnant of the old regime in place."

He added: "I'm hoping to be able to squeeze some of Havana in."

To date, Mr Ford's wandering exploits have helped to raise £20,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support, Myeloma UK and the Alzheimer's Society.

To help fund his trip to Cuba, he has organised a quiz night at the community hall at Brentwood Cathedral at 7.30pm on April 20.

To sponsor him visit www.justgiving.com/barry-ford-cuba2013

AN ANXIOUS mother from Mountnessing is pleading with Essex County Council to clamp down on speeding vehicles in her road after a series of accidents which have wrecked her property and put her baby at risk.

Keely Harbot, 36, has labelled the 60mph St Anne's Road, off Roman Road, a deathtrap.

In the past eight years, she believes there have been at least 20 crashes near her cottage on the road, which links Roman Road to Thoby Lane.

Indeed, on one occasion she heard screeching tyres and smashing metal as she put her one-year-old daughter, Oriana, into a car just metres away.

Mrs Harbot, a lawyer, who moved into her cottage with husband Richard, 36, in 2008, says accidents stopped outside her house during an 18-month period in which a fence was situated at the boundary of their property.

Before the fence was erected, four cars left the road and entered their garden, smashing two fences and a brick pillar.

After the fence was replaced with an £11,000 holly hedge in August, she says there have been at least ten prangs next to their home.

In early November, a driver ploughed into the Harbots' hedge, and the same day another five vehicles crashed trying to avoid the damaged car.

On December 3, while the family were not at home, a Range Rover careered from the road and destroyed almost a third (11m) of the hedge.

Then just a week later, a car crashed opposite their cottage, and a motorcycle then smashed into the car.

Two weeks before Christmas, a man had a lucky escape when he roared through the gaping hole in the hedge and into the Harbots' garage, his car stopping just inches from a gas canister.

Having contacted Brentwood Borough Council about the problems in January 2010 and Essex county councillor Dr Ann Naylor earlier this month, Mrs Harbot, whose company car was damaged in the latest incident, says she has little confidence anything will change.

Mrs Harbot said: "Do we have to wait for someone to be seriously injured or killed before anything gets done? Because that's what it seems like."

Having originally been told there was "no budget" for traffic-calming measures by a member of BBC staff, she turned to Brentwood's MP Eric Pickles at the end of last year as the number of accidents increased again.

His parliamentary assistant Karen Sheehan then put her on to Dr Naylor and the Gazette.

Mrs Harbot said: "I have spoken to Ann Naylor and she said 'we can try' but I am not getting any confidence that anything is going to be done.

"Ten accidents already [since November] and now we are expecting to get much worse weather. What is going to happen then?"

A TREK to the roof of the world may not be the wisest trip for Louise Larner.

It's not the cold – although it will be -10C – that is proving daunting for Louise. Nor the arduous walk that will get her close to the world's highest mountain.

It's not even the risk of altitude sickness, which can be life-threatening, that is worrying the 30-year-old physiotherapy manager at Spire Hartswood Hospital in Brentwood.

Louise is scared of heights.

Having to cross tiny suspension footbridges, one of which sits about 40 metres above a raging river, is the part of her trip she is trying not to think about.

Louise is planning to fly out to Nepal in March for a 17-day round-trip to Everest Base Camp. She hopes to raise at least £5,545 for Saint Francis Hospice – representing one pound for each metre she will be above sea level when she reaches Base Camp.

Louis said: "Saint Francis Hospice does amazing work and they looked after a family friend which is why I wanted to help them.

"I made the decision to do something big for charity, but I only found out about the bridge part later. I'm not going to think about it. I'm just going to cross that bridge when I get to it."

Louise will fly into Kathmandu and from there into Lukla airport, high in the Himalayas, where she will make the trip up to 5,545 metres, or 18,000 feet above sea level in the shadow of Everest.

Louise, who lives with her husband Paul Larner in Holbrook Close, Billericay, said: "It's going to be hard and there are parts of the trip that will scare the life out of me. But I know why I'm doing it.

"While I'm doing it, all I need to think about is however hard I'm finding it, there are people in the hospice who are having a much tougher time."

Louise, who expects to be walking with about six others and a team of sherpas who will be carrying the bulk of the equipment and provisions, said: "We actually get to Base Camp on day 12 of the hike but the highest point is on day 13.

"We then come down in four days. It shows you just how hard-going the trip up to Base Camp is going to be. We have to go slowly because of the way the oxygen levels get lower and we don't want to risk altitude sickness."

Anyone who want to donate to Louise's fundraising effort can go to www.justgiving.com/Louise-Larner

THREE friends, a £250 car, and 3,000 miles to cover.

That's the challenge this group of intrepid fundraisers has taken up for charity.

Luke Maynard, 22, of Mayland, and friends Jonny Mear, 24, a manager at Morrisons in Maldon, and Chris Page, 22, an engineer of Mayland, will join hundreds of other contestants in the 2013 four-day Scumrun Rally across Europe on May 2.

Known as a poor man's version of the famous Gumball 3000, the rally requires teams to find a car worth less than £500 and cover the 3,000 miles across the continent with only a postcode delivered each morning as a guide to where they will end up.

Luke, a marine engineer with the Royal Navy, said: "I've always talked about wanting to get involved with a charity and given that I'm a big car enthusiast this seemed like the ideal way to do it.

"All we know for sure about where we're going is the ferry from Dover to Calais and then it's just a postcode each day, and campsites overnight."

Part of the fun for the boys has been turning their 1997 Vauxhall Astra into a Thunderbirds inspired racing machine.

"We've managed to find a local signage expert who usually works on racing cars but who put together something for our car for free after he heard it was for charity," said Luke, who works five days a week in Portsmouth on HMS Illustrious.

The group has also decided to design and wear themed costumes and not take them off for the entire four days in the hope of securing an extra prize.

"It's kind of like a dirty lad's holiday really," Luke joked.

The boys are now looking for people to dig deep to help them raise the £500 minimum sponsorship needed to take part, with all money raised donated to WellChild.

The national charity supports children and their families dealing with the consequences of serious illness and complex conditions.

To support the boys on their rally visit http://www.justgiving.com/TeamLDRScumRun