Farmers and landowners are being warned to beware a scam in which household and business waste, camouflaged as plastic-wrapped hay bales, is illegally dumped on open land.

Environment Agency officers believe criminals are making huge sums of money by charging to take away rubbish before then dumping it in remote rural locations.

The compacted waste is built into haystack shapes to give the impression they are the "normal" hay-storing bags used by farmers.

The police warning follows the discovery of about 1,500 tons of waste after a search warrant was executed on land in south Essex.

Lesley Robertson, an Environment Agency environmental crime team leader, said: "The discovery of around 3,000 bales of rubbish in Essex is believed to be linked to a highly-organised criminal scam involving the disposal of household and business waste."

She added: "The waste includes all forms of household and business rubbish such as food waste, plastic and cans. They are being dumped and abandoned with total disregard for the environment, landowners and any member of the public who use the land.

"We urge any landowners, farmers, ramblers or dog walkers who find these sites to call us immediately on our 24-hour free incident hotline number 0800 80 70 60 or make an anonymous report to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."

Three men, aged 19, 23 and 47 and all from east London were arrested on suspicion of depositing and storing waste on an unpermitted site when police and the Environment Agency ambushed the Arterial Road site in Purfleet on April 10.

They are on bail until July 10.

The Essex Birdwatching Society travelled by luxury coach to the Grove Ferry & Stodmarsh RSPB Reserves on Sunday 24 March on a very cold day.

These reserves would normally be receiving the summer migrants from southern Europe and Africa,  but due the recent snow and icy these were in short supply. During the walk many Water Fowl could be seen on the open lagoons which were frozen in places. These included winter visitors of Pochard, Wigeon, Pintail. Teal, Gadwall and resident Tufted Ducks.

The protected areas of scrub and wet meadows held remaining winter 'thrushes' of Redwing and Fieldfare. These would soon be moving back to their breeding grounds in eastern Europe.
An elusive Bittern ventured out onto the frozen water in search of an opening to catch small fish in these difficult conditions  Encouraging signs of spring was the unmistakable call of Cetti's Warbler from deep within the reed bed together with a drake Garganey swimming on a lagoon with Mallard.

Gliding effortlessly over the reeds we had excellent views of Marsh Harriers hunting. From one of the elevated hides we could see four different Marsh Harrier at one time along with a Hen Harrier. Another highlight of the day was a Treecreepper poking every crack and crevice of the trunk of trees for insects, just ten metres from the path in the wooded area.

Together the group identified over seventy species during the day visit to the largest reed bed in south east England.

Details of future friendly field trip meetings can be found on the Essex Birdwatching Society website www.ebws.org.uk"  

THE music industry might well be saturated with X-Factor wannabes and self-publishing artists but one Brentwood teen is determined that his new website will be the place to go for unsigned bands.

Matt Edgley, 17, of The Tyburns, Hutton, this week described MySpace as "a shadow of what it used to be" yet, despite his ambition, he says he doesn't want to the next Simon Cowell.

"We are an alternative to the X Factor route," he said, "so I don't see myself as a Simon Cowell-like character.

"At the moment it's all about site traffic. I would rather have 1,000 views than £1,000 but I am not ruling it out."

Matt believes his site, Sukora, has the edge over the established competition.

"I wanted a site where people could find unsigned bands, all in one place," he said.

"At the moment it is very fragmented but our site makes this process simple – it's all there in front of you.

"We want to be the one place to go to discover new music.

"I wanted bands to be able to link to one site where all their music, gigs, videos and information could be found."

He is dismissive of the sites already out there, saying: "Myspace is a shadow of what it used to be – it seems very outdated and took ages to actually try to adapt."

He believes his site, which focuses around a chart on the homepage, has the potential to grow into more than just a way to discover bands.

"We are aiming to work with record companies to get our bands signed and we hope that will be the main attraction of our site," he said.

"People can come onto our site and vote for the bands and songs they like – this will give great feedback for the bands and record labels."

It has been said that all good ideas aim to solve a problem that people face.

For Matt, it was his annoyance that "great" musicians were going unnoticed.

"I have many friends in bands and the music they were throwing out was really good. It was much better than any of the stuff you could hear in the charts," he said.

"But they couldn't get signed, no matter what they tried.

"So that is how I came up with the idea of Sukora."

As with all online enterprises, Matt needed a name.

He said: "Every popular social website has a short snappy name, this name doesn't have to tell you what they do.

"Bebo, Facebook – if you didn't know these sites you wouldn't know what they did.

"Sukora is short, snappy and stands out.

"It comes from the Japanese word for blossom – sekora."

Sukora offers bands a selection of packages, some paid for and some free, and currently hosts artists as far afield as Australia and the US.

Sukora is supported by a group of three entrepreneurs, namely the founder Matt, developer Dean Perry, 19, from Southampton, and designer Phil Stringfellow, from Liverpool.

Visit www.sukora.com

STRIDING out into the elements, adults and children braved the cold to raise money for people in the developing world.

More than 40 supporters of the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) braved the wintry weather to walk through Hanningfield Reservoir Nature Reserve near Billericay and raise more than £100 in the process.

Children enjoyed a treasure trail and formed a giant human 'IF' as part of the Enough Food For Everyone IF campaign after the event on Friday.

Diocesan manager Joanna Jarvis said: "Despite the cold we were delighted that so many people turned up to support our walk and enjoy Hanningfield Reservoir, which is such a beautiful place to spend a few hours."

Supporters came from the surrounding areas including Chelmsford, Billericay, Brentwood and Basildon. They also travelled from slightly further afield from Woodford, Loughton and Ilford.

YOUNG riding enthusiasts looking to emulate Essex Olympic hero Ben Maher will literally be able to follow in his horse-steps after the delivery of sand from the Greenwich equestrian venue where Team GB triumphed last summer.

This tangible piece of Olympic history was delivered to the old Wheatsheaf pub in Rettendon, which is set to become a riding centre after plans were given the go-ahead by the council last week.

The 360 tonnes of sand cost about £54,000 and was the scene of much celebration during London 2012 as Team GB won nine medals – five bronze, three silver and one gold.

Elsenham-based Maher was part of the show jumping team that won a dramatic gold medal.

Andrews Bowen Ltd supplied the sand at Greenwich, which is also used at some of the most prestigious riding venues in the world, including the Al Shaqab centre in Qatar, which boasts the world's only indoor air-conditioned race track.

The new centre in Rettendon, to be constructed on the site of the Wheatsheaf on Main Road, may not be as grand as the Qatari facilities.

But it aims to help many in the village by connecting to much-used bridleways, opening new ones, and linking up with nearby Rettendon School, so children can enjoy the proposed wildlife pond.

The Greenwich sand was rigorously tested using a mock of a horse's leg to measure the impact on a real equine tendon.

With this technology, the Rettendon centre hopes to prevent damage to horses' hooves and joints in a similar fashion.

Local millionaire David Bishop who bought the pub at auction and is set to spend £500,000 converting the site, plans to give it to a charity once it is complete.

He told the Chronicle: "My daughter knows the equestrian market and thought it would be an absolutely wonderful opportunity to get an Olympic surface in the area. None of the sand is diluted, every grain comes from Greenwich. It's the same as a footballer playing on the Wembley turf.

"It is a wonderful Olympic legacy for Chelmsford and I don't think there's anything like it anywhere in the area. We want it to be a truly unique facility."

One of Mr Bishop's primary objectives for the centre is to create a safe place for riders after his daughter Katie was knocked down by a lorry 14 years ago in a crash which killed her horse.

He added: "I want to create somewhere where this can't happen to anyone else's child. We're looking to connect directly to bridleways so when riders can't go outside they can move safely inside."

But the transition has been far from smooth – the proposal has been met with animosity from some residents in the village that oppose the potential scale of the development.

The final agreements to be ironed out with the parish council concerns a Pegasus crossing, bus shelters, better bridleway connections and a tree planting scheme to eventually obscure the riding centre from the view of residential properties.

There are also plans for a restaurant, salon, a general store with a Post Office and two shops.

"We plan to set up a charity called Ride Safe, run by trustees, who will operate it for the benefit of the community," added Mr Bishop. "I see this development as a vital part of the regeneration of the village."

CONTENDING with a misbehaving dog and looking after two children while running 5km isn't everyone's idea of a good day out.

Yet that's exactly what breast cancer survivor Jazz Cooper will be doing when she takes part in her sixth Brentwood Race for Life on May 25.

Mrs Cooper, of Chase Road, Brentwood, will be joining in the annual fundraising run with her six-year-old English Pointer Toby and her daughters, Amy, 14, and Katie, 13.

The 44-year-old was diagnosed with cancer in 2009 and has since been raising funds to support the work of Cancer Research.

Speaking to the Gazette ahead of next month's canine-flavoured event, she said: "It's a great way of getting the dog out and about, he has a lot of energy and hopefully he will be good at the picnic, weather permitting, afterwards.

"He is a very friendly and lively dog and he definitely isn't small but I am a little worried he will misbehave."

She added: "I am absolutely determined to get my own back on this terrible disease.

"That's why I've signed up for Race for Life in previous years and it's why I feel so passionately about recruiting more women to join me at this year's event.

"I did my first race, one of three that year, only three weeks after finishing my treatment in 2010 – I was still ill but somehow I ended up with my best ever time."

The mother-of-two is dedicated to raising awareness and helping to get ever closer to finding a cure for cancer, which affects almost 30,000 people in the East of England every year.

Last month she took part in a so-called Cancer Slam dance routine at London Liverpool Street Station to try to encourage people to sign up for this year's Race for Life events.

The star-studded event included Strictly Come Dancing stars Camilla Dallerup and Karen Hauer, who danced alongside Mrs Cooper in the middle of the busy station.

"I am a big Strictly fan so it was great meeting the stars," said Mrs Cooper.

"They were both very nice people and I am very grateful for them getting involved."

Gill Burgess, Race for Life event manager for Essex, said: "We are very grateful to Jazz for taking part in the Cancer Slam and helping to spread the word about Race for Life."

To sponsor Mrs Cooper, visit www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/tickledpinkgirlies

Are you getting involved at this year's Race for Life? What is your motivation? Tell us your story by commenting below, e-mailing editorial@gazettenews.co.uk or calling 01245 602729.

A SELF-CONFESSED technology geek is launching teddy bears up to the edge of space for a charity mission.

Matt Downs, 33, is obsessed with gadgets and, having attended an event based around advanced balloon technology, set about working on his own project.

He plans to replicate – on a much smaller scale – the mission undertaken by Felix Baumgartner who set the record for the highest skydive, by sending teddies into the stratosphere, all in the name of charity.

"It's a bit of a hobby – one day a similar balloon went over my village and I got the idea then. I thought 'I can do this,'" said Matt. "I'm a bit of a techie at heart and I went to a conference about it, then I bought some bits of circuit board and started playing around."

Six months later Matt, a security systems engineer from Boreham, has created the tracking device for his spacecraft or, as he describes it in simple terms, "a box strapped to a big balloon".

"I hadn't realised quite how much time it takes up," he said.

"It was the tail end of last summer that I wanted to do it."

Nonetheless, Matt is determined to make the mission a success and raise money for the Essex Air Ambulance and Cats Protection charities at the same time.

Pilot Pete, the Essex Air Ambulance mascot, and Catsronaut, for the Cats Protection charity in Chelmsford, will be attached to the balloon called Monty, named after Matt and his wife Vicky's cat which died last year.

Monty will be tracked by Matt's homemade device, transmitting radio signals down to Earth, which allow him to measure the temperature, altitude and just how far his craft has travelled.

The helium-filled balloon can reach heights of up to 35km. When it bursts, Matt will then aim to track the teddies once they have parachuted down to earth, wherever that may be.

Matt is also investing in a camera that allows him to take pictures of the mascots on the edge of space.

"It's quite a niche group of guys who do this," he said. "The idea is that the two little teddies will go up there with a camera and that will take loads and loads of snapshots in what they call 'near space' – it's not actual space, but it's still pretty cool. The images are amazing."

Essex Air Ambulance Trust fundraising manager, Helena Morgan, said: "It's such a unique fundraising idea. Most people who approach us are doing sponsored runs and walks, so it's really exciting."

After the event, the EAAT plans to raffle the teddy to raise more funds for the charity.

Kieron Adams, manager of the Chelmsford Cats Protection group, said: "I thought it was really exciting and new when Matt asked us about it."

Matt hopes to launch the balloon at the start of the summer.

DETECTIVES have re-issued their appeal to find a London man wanted in connection with the murder of a music producer in Colchester.

Jack Hummerstone, also known as Jack O'Reilly, aged 18, and from the Clerkenwell area, is wanted in connection with the murder of Tom Brittain.
The 26-year-old musician, described as a "lovely, kind and funny man" by family, died after being stabbed at a flat in Colchester on Saturday March 9.
A second man has been arrested and charged.

There is a Crimestoppers reward of up to £3,000 for information leading to Hummerstone's arrest.
Detective Chief Inspector Anne Cameron, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said he could be anywhere in the London area and warned people not to approach him but to call 999.
Anyone with information should call Essex Police on 101 or email scdappeals@essex.pnn.police.uk or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

PEOPLE are being warned to keep their homes secure following a number of burglaries in the Castle Park area and Tiptree.
Burglars forced open doors to steal jewellery, cash and electrical goods in a number of houses in March. 
Insp Barry Atkinson urged householders to store their valuables securely and to keep a note of serial numbers of any electrical goods.
"Always lock windows and doors when you are not at home, look in to having an alarm system installed, and do not leave valuables on view. Make it as hard as possible for burglars to break in to your home."

Anyone wanting more information can contact their local neighbourhood policing team on 101 or visit www.essex.police.uk/burglary

A MAN wanted in connection with the murder of Thomas Brittain in Colchester was arrested on suspicion of murder at 3am on Sunday morning.
Jack Hummerstone, 18, was arrested at a property in Errol Street, Islington, and is currently being held at a London police station before being brought back to Essex for questioning.
A 22-year-old man from London was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Mr Brittain, a 26-year-old musician, died after being stabbed at a flat in Colchester on March 9. 

A MEMORIAL fund for a murdered vicar has been set up to help the homeless.

The Rev John Suddards, ex-vicar of St Nicolas Church in Chipping Hill, Witham, was murdered by a homeless drifter in his new parish last February.

Stephen Farrow, 49, was jailed for life for his murder in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, in November last year.

But in memory of the Rev Suddards, 59, a much-loved vicar at St Nicolas for ten years, fellow parishioners decided to set up a charity in his name.

Andrew Holt, 46, is one of those involved with the John Suddards Memorial Fund.

"We wanted to do something to keep his name alive," said Andrew. "We felt it would be a good idea to have his name attached to something that would help others."

One of the ways in which the money was to be spent was by making a donation to the Rev Suddards's old theological college, Queen's College in Birmingham, for study books. However, the group's ultimate plan is to create a lasting legacy in the reverend's name.

"We are helping a charity called Emmaus," said Andrew. "It has a house in Colchester and provides homeless people with a trade. They take in damaged furniture and they repair it.

"By doing that they give homeless people something to do, which gives them some self-worth."

The group, led by Georgia Palmer, Shirley Lott and Andrew, has big plans for the fund, which has so far raised £4,000.

"Our grand scheme, if we get lots of money, what we would love to do is to start one up in Chelmsford. There's a crying need for it," said Andrew.

The reverend's body was found on February 14 by workmen. He had been stabbed seven times.

His murderer left a Bible open on his chest before staying at the vicarage overnight, drinking beer and watching films.

The Rev Suddards's caring nature was the reason why he invited Farrow into his home, but it was also the reason people in Witham knew and loved him.

"He quickly established himself as being a really lovely, likeable rector," continued Andrew. "He was basically characterised by being caring and loving. He was one of the most caring men you could hope to meet and ultimately that's what led to his death.

"That was the way John was. I would say that had he not died, he would do it again. That exemplified the way he led his life.

"He was a very much loved rector at the church. We were already missing him – mourning him – after he left us the previous July, so his death came as a great shock."

To donate to the fund, go to www. justgiving.com/JohnSuddards or www.johnsuddardsmemorialfund.org

HOUSE sales in the East of England hit a three- year high during March as the region saw a rise in the number of new buyer enquiries.

A survey conducted by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) this month revealed an average of 18 home sales per surveyor over the previous three months.

This increasing stability was mirrored by prices with fewer respondents in the East reporting negative prices during March compared with last month.

This increase in activity is seen as a sign of growing market confidence, linked to the Funding for Lenders Scheme, designed to encourage the amount banks lend out, plus an influx of first-time buyers.

Terry Holmes, director of Beresfords, which has branches across the region, said: "I think both towns (Chelmsford and Brentwood) are proving to be very, very popular, which is no surprise, given that we have great transport links into London.

"Brentwood is a very popular area and since Chelmsford got the city tag there's been a lot more activity and house prices have risen.

"There's been a significant increase in the first-time-buy and buy-to-let market, as well as tenants looking to buy because these sectors choose when to enter the market."

Nationally, the buy-to-let market is up 15 per cent on the same period last year.

Initially, under the Funding for Lenders Scheme, increased lending by banks failed to translate into further house sales.

But the March figures show otherwise, with the number of sales per surveyor at the highest it has been since November 2009.

Mr Holmes added: "People say it's impossible to get a mortgage. It's not, unless you have bad credit history.

"With things like the government-backed scheme, it still requires the people to have confidence in the market.

"But this extra confidence feeds back on itself; for every £1 spent on a new build, it generates nearly £3 in the local economy as builders hire local contractors and so on.

"The perception is that rental property is the future but, at the end of the day, rental properties have to be owned by someone.

"People see it as an investment, with the way pensions are going. Lots of landlords with one or two properties are people who weren't around 10 or 15 years ago."

As well as rising sales, surveyors have also reported seeing less negative pricing, with 29 per cent posting their highest enquiry figures since May 2012.

Nick Oliver, deputy manager of the branch of Douglas Allen in Billericay, said: "It's all looking pretty hopeful. The way the market is going, it's on the right track, going up a bit, about one per cent.

"The first-time buyers' market is the major factor behind this increase. With interest rates so low, it's very encouraging for buyers.

"The Funding for Lenders Scheme is dependent on the amount of new-build properties, but it's all very encouraging for the future of the housing market."

At a regional level, the survey suggests that, on average, surveyors in the West Midlands have seen the biggest increase in homes sold since the start of the year, followed by those respondents working in the London area.

Robert Swiney, RICS East spokesperson, said: "The inclement weather had a negative effect on sales, yet the market outlook is more positive than it has been for some time. After an unpredictable six months, we are now seeing greater stability in the market, no doubt affected by government support for first time buyers.

"It is heartening that new enquiries have reached an eleven month high and with future sales expectations in positive territory, we can only hope this translates into market buoyancy."

A cat has died after it was shot by what is believed to have been an air rifle in Wickford.

The 11-year-old cat, which lived with its owner in Seven Acres, was injured last Thursday morning and had to be put to sleep as a result of its injuries. The vet who had to put the cat down said the animal was shot at close range.

Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen anything or who has any other information to contact PC Steve Miller at Basildon Police Station on 101.