In the news in 2019: Review of the year (July - December)

Sarah Dakin, 39 was at home in Braintree with George, 11, Olivia, eight and Poppy, two, when she suffered an epileptic fit.

The older duo put their mother into the recovery position before calling relatives and an ambulance for help, all while looking after two-year-old Poppy.

Sarah said: “Once the ambulance arrived George got all of my medical records up on my phone while Olivia played with Poppy.

“I’m extremely proud and amazed at how calm the children were and how much they both did”

Olivia and George both received awards from the Guides and Scouts after saving their mum.

HUNDREDS of workers at a chicken factory were left jobless after bosses announced they were closing the site.

The 2 Sisters Food Group revealed it was shutting its processing plant on Freebournes Industrial Estate in Witham following a review into “loss-making” sites.

Around 100 workers were redeployed to other plants owned but 428 employees lost their jobs.

The closure was condemned by workers’ union Unite and town MP Priti Patel, but 2 Sisters said it had no alternative.

A FUNDRAISING bid was launched to secure money to repair an iconic mill.

The Friends of Bocking Windmill aimed to raise £12,000 to replace some of the 300-year-old structure.

The mill was built in 1721 and is maintained by a group of volunteers who urged residents to make donations so the mill could be repaired.

Volunteer Aidan Kelly said: “Looking forward we want to try and get the sails turning and continue to preserve one of Braintree’s pieces of history.

“It needs donations to keep up maintenance.”

August

A CAT which had been missing for 12 years was finally re-united with its family.

Quincy was first reported missing from his home in Witham by owner Margaret Smith in December 2006.

Margaret sadly died two years later, always believing he must have died in a car accident or from illness.

Twelve years on, Quincy was taken in by volunteers, a quick scan showed Margaret’s details and volunteers located her daughter, Paula, through social media.

Paula said: “Mum would have been really pleased he’s finally made his way back to us – she really adored him.”

THE Conservative Party had to dismiss claims its chairman was speeding and using his mobile phone just seconds before he was involved in a crash on the M11.

Braintree MP James Cleverly was involved in a minor collision with another car driven by Asim Khan.

Mr Khan took to Twitter to accuse Mr Cleverly of dishonesty and posted a short video of the scene where Mr Cleverly can be heard discussing the crash.

Mr Khan wrote on Twitter “This guy James Cleverly is not to be trusted. He hit my car on M11 while speeding and using his phone.

“At the scene he admitted it was his fault.”

A spokesman for the Conservative Party rubbished claims Mr Cleverly had been speeding or using his phone while behind the wheel.

A 71-YEAR-OLD pensioner who suffered a horrific head injury was left disgusted after being told he would have to wait eight hours for an ambulance.

Alan Shaw, of Godric Road, Witham, fell and cracked his head on his bedside cabinet, suffering two gashes on the top of his head.

He said: “Blood was streaming down my face into my right eye. I managed to get off the floor, giddy and dazed, and made my way to the bathroom followed by my wife.”

The couple waited three hours before receiving a follow-up call from the ambulance service advising Mr Shaw to make his own way to Broomfield Hospital – ten miles from his home.

A spokesperson from the East of England Ambulance Service said: “The call to attend this patient was received at a time when we were experiencing high demand and we had to prioritise patients. We would like to apologies for the distress caused.”

September

A YOUNG horse fanatic had her dreams come true after featuring in a Lloyds Bank advert.

Ava Schwingen, aged eight, from Coggeshall, played a starring role after writing to the bank to express her love for the adverts.

The letter, which said “It would be my absolute dream to be in one of these adverts with these beautiful, majestic horses”, was picked up by Catherine Kehoe, head of marketing.

Ava’s mum, Rachel, said: “The whole day was beyond our wildest expectations, Ava described the day as the best day in her entire life.”

HOLIDAY-MAKERS were left devastated after the sudden closure of Thomas Cook which left their dream anniversary trip in tatters.

Teresa and Gary Nash, from Braintree, were due to fly to Dubai and the Maldives to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary on the day Thomas Cook collapsed.

Teresa said: “It’s just sad that we can’t go. We will get our money back but we have to wait 90 days. We have had a really tough year and we were really looking forward to it.

“But there are lots of people in worse positions than we are. The girls in the Braintree shop are so lovely – it’s not the staff’s fault.”

A FORMER Braintree Town defender was jailed for his involvement in a plot to supply “an extremely dangerous” criminal with a sub-machine gun and loaded pistol.

Ricky Gabriel, 28, will serve 14 years alongside identical brothers Reiss and Ralston after they were convicted of conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

Detectives found mobile phone surveillance evidence which showed all three men were involved in the handling of the weapons.

October

RESIDENTS were left appalled and disgusted after train bosses were given the go-ahead to build a multi-storey car park.

Greater Anglia was given the all-clear by Braintree Council to install a two-tiered structure on top of the existing car park at Witham Station.

Sam Mott said: “Me and other residents are appalled. We thought they had taken on board our comments but it seems they don’t care what we have to say.

“We were totally against this from the beginning and I am disgusted it has been approved.”

A COUPLE who claim to have one of the biggest Doctor Who collections in Essex had to slow down after the collection began outgrowing their home.

Gary and Jen Brignell have signatures from every Doctor, every episode and a life-size Dalek in the collection at their Witham home.

Gary said: “We have had to slow down recently because we are running out of space for everything.”

The collection also features rare pieces such as a letter from Roger Delgado, which is only one of only two in the world.

HEALTH bosses revealed that the exact cause of the deadly Strep A outbreak may never be known.

Provide, which runs health services across East Anglia, issued the warning after they revealed the most likely cause of the bacterial infection, which led to 15 deaths was district nurses.

The outbreak started in Braintree in February and later spread across mid and west Essex.

November

A COUPLE prepared to hang up their dancing shoes after running a dance school in Witham for nearly 50 years.

Janet and Bernard Philips ran Philips Dance School, where they taught more than 2,000 pupils, before calling their time on their careers when they hosted one final social at the British Legion Hall in Newland Street.

Janet said: “Sadly, we just can’t dance and teach how we used to, so we’ve decided to take this step and give it up.

“We’ve done a hell of a lot in the 50 years we have been doing this and are proud of what we have achieved.”

BRAINTREE Village marked a milestone birthday as it celebrated 20 years since opening.

To celebrate, Braintree Village made small donations to community groups and charities in Braintree as part of its 20 Acts of Kindness drive.

The shopping centre still has ongoing works as part of its revamp. Amy Degroot, of owner Landsecs, said: “We are still planning on expanding the car park but that will be done when footfall grows.

“The feedback we have had so far from shoppers on the changes has been overwhelmingly positive.”

CAMPAIGNERS faced a race against time to save a historic clock tower.

The structure remained in one piece after it was removed from the top of the William Julien Courtauld Pavilion, which was demolished at Braintree and Bocking Recreation Ground.

It was initially thought the clock tower would be saved by the demolition team, however contractors wanted to sell the clock to recoup the cost of the labour.

Volunteers aimed to raise £3,000 as soon as possible in order to save the clock tower.

December

COUNCIL bosses looked set to press ahead with pedestrianising Braintree High Street.

Braintree Council said a survey showed there was strong support among businesses and shoppers for a ban on traffic in the town centre.

Council bosses said it could be introduced in 2020.

CONSERVATIVE MPs James Cleverly and Priti Patel were returned to their Braintree and Witham seats with even bigger majorities after a landslide General Election victory.

The duo retained their positions in Boris Johnson's cabinet.

FIREBUGS sparked fury after torching a children's slide at Great Notley Country Park.

The arsonists were branded “mindless idiots” by council leaders after the attack.