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The Colchester Times

LIVE COVERAGE: Essex in meltdown as First Bus unleashes yet another route restructure

Local man thinks he’s spotted King Charles in Aldi, turns out to be Greg from Layer Road

The encounter will be the talk of the family for decades, Derek says

New AI cameras installed in busy Essex city to deter pigeons loitering

The system activates a range of deterrents when pigeons are detected

Giant seagull kidnaps dog in Castle Park, Council blames Brexit

The dog is still missing

Concern as major news outlet falls off

Residents have been left clueless

Essex city unveils tallest building in UK, immediately falls over

Nobody was seriously injured

Southend Pier accidentally extended to France in ‘minor’ engineering miscalculation

French authorities initally thought it was a prank

Colchester Council accidentally sells city on eBay in 'admin error'

Bidding reached an eye-watering £12.4 million

Commuters excited as major train station in Essex to get new fish and chips vending machine

Greater Anglia say the technology is a 'game-changer'

Colchester Castle relocated to Kent to make way for new housing

Residents were caught off guard by the sudden disappearance of the castle

Passenger FURIOUS after being charged an eye-watering £3,500 for bus ticket

Gareth wanted to buy a day ticket, not the entire bus

Colchester Zoo to replace lions with chihuahuas due to budget cuts

Officials insist the change is only temporary

Council spends thousands on new 'Welcome to Colchester' sign... only to install it the wrong way round

The council blamed the error on a 'minor miscommunication'

Woman arrested after attempting to pay for meal deal with ROMAN COINS

She insisted the Tesco staff were 'rejecting the history of the British Empire'

Emergency services respond to major incident after bus turns up on time

Three air ambulances were sent to the scene

Live Updates: Essex grinds to a halt as major road is shut down

Traffic is building

Colchester High Street to close for six months as Netflix films new drama

The new series will follow the lives of Colchester residents, an insider says.

Live updates as Musk's Twitter falls over

Man gets stuck trying to post himself through postbox to 'save on train fares'

Firefighters were called to the scene to rescue the man

Library undergoes £75,000 ‘digital transformation’ — now has one extra plug socket

The council is celebrating a ‘major milestone’ in local digital infrastructure

Colchester's first cashless supermarket requires DNA sample to enter

The cashless and cashierless supermarket has divided shoppers

Live updates as fire service attend emergency in Colchester city centre

The fire service are on scene at a possible emergency

The Great Snail Migration of Colchester: is it an attempt to flee?

Hundreds of snails have been spotted heading towards the A12

Police called to suspicious man in Castle Park — turns out he was just thinking

The 'lunatic' was found to be completely harmless

"No entry!" - Council spends £500,000 on public toilet, forget to install a door

The new facilities have one small problem: you can't get inside

Citywide emergency declared after Colchester man’s tap repair triggers catastrophic flood

A major flood engulfed the city after a DIY repair went wrong

Essex man stumbles upon ancient treasure in back garden, turns out to be lost garden gnome

Mr Trowell initially thought it was an ancient Roman coin

Anger after council accidentally orders fake trees in plan to improve air quality

The plastic trees come in an assortment of sizes

Colchester couple ‘can’t believe their luck’ after finding free parking space... three miles from city centre

Mr & Mrs Parker said it felt like they'd "won the lottery"

Misery for local as ‘free wifi’ turns out to be signal from neighbour’s router

Frank Signal thought the network was a 'community resource'

Residents argue over tree in Wivenhoe

Locals are furious with the council, sources say

UK set to be battered by horror storm as 'threat to life' warnings issued

Winds could reach up to 900mph, according to the latest forecast.

Villagers furious after new ‘eco-friendly’ lighting plunges them into darkness

Residents and local businesses are not happy

Colchester Zoo scramble to hide animals ahead of landlord visit

The zoo was closed to the public during the inspection

All we know as fire service reportedly attend fire in busy Essex town

Locals are being advised not to touch the fire

City grinds to a halt after power cut leaves MILLIONS in darkness

A fallen pylon is believed to be responsible for the powercut.

Essex man declares he’s never seen a seagull, refuses to believe they exist

Robin Wren claims seagulls 'just don't exist'

Colchester descends into gridlock as single bus breakdown brings entire 'bus station' to its knees

The broken down First bus caused mass chaos this evening

First Essex announces another major bus route shake-up, because why not

Residents have been left baffled yet again

Chaos as bus driver gets lost after being told by boss to ‘go the extra mile’

The bus is currently lodged between two trees

First Essex achieves 'environmental milestone' after entire fleet breaks down

Commuters are debating whether this is incompetence or innovation

First Essex announce new 'Bring Your Own Bus' scheme

The scheme aims to reduce strain on First's existing fleet

Home Office steps in as First Essex bus declared lost at sea

The X30 service was last seen somewhere in international waters

Essex Highways accidentally orders 10,000 traffic cones, doesn't know what to do with them

The blunder has sparked reactions ranging from amusement to frustration

First Essex stuck in the wrong time zone as BST change catches them off guard

All services were delayed by another hour

First Bus introduce new premium subscription in Essex with exclusive app features

New features have been introduced to help 'move the everyday in Essex'

First Bus CEO admits he hasn’t travelled by bus in over 30 years

He defended his statement by claiming that his schedule made public transport impractical

Major road in Colchester to shut for 12 months for charity snail race

The winning snail will receive a lifetime supply of lettuce

Charity steps in to support First Essex passengers stranded at stops

Free sleeping bags, tents, and ration packs provided as long waits continue

Motoring misery as A12 SHUT DOWN after goose takes over carriageway

Queues stretched for hundreds of miles, some say.

Council announces ambitious plan to finish roadworks by 2087

The Rapid Transit System should be completed "within the century"

CHAOS as new self-driving buses immediately crash into each other

One commuter said his experience was 'no worse than usual'

Opinion: Colchester's e-scooters aren’t a transport revolution — they’re a public nuisance

Basildon Council has scrapped the scheme, why won't Colchester?

Parking warden awarded for writing 4,000 tickets in a single afternoon

Motorists have been left outraged after receiving multiple fines

Disaster at Essex Highways after repair vehicle destroyed by pothole

Pothole inspections and repairs have been put on hold due to the incident

Colchester bus services revealed to be ‘fastest in the world’ amid new study

Buses in Colchester offer a 'unique experience' according to experts

Misery as 'fire alert' sees London Underground SHUT DOWN

Rail passengers are facing major disruption

Traffic misery as abandoned 'bus' causes chaos in busy Essex city

The bus caused hours of delays

UK braces for impact amid tornado alerts as Storm Eowyn HURLS towards country

Wain and Rind are set to put residents at risk

City grinds to a halt after MAJOR flood causes CHAOS in city

Stranded residents were rescued by police cats

CHAOS as residents told to 'seek cover' as storm set to BATTER busy Essex city

Residents should prepare for chaos, authorities say

Shortest police chase ever after stolen First bus breaks down within 60 seconds

First claim the bus did not break down but activated its anti-theft system

Man steals car, realises it’s a Tesla, buys owner brand-new BMW

The thief destroyed the car after realising it was a Tesla

Burglar breaks into house, accidentally leaves wallet on kitchen table

The suspect has been making headlines recently... for all the wrong reasons

Police urge public to microchip goldfish amid rise in thefts across Essex

Goldfish thefts are up 300% compared to this time last month, police say

Police launch public appeal for dangerous fugitive, found 10 minutes later in Greggs

The suspect was found casually eating a sausage roll

Emergency services attend incident in Colchester - all we know

13 emergency vehicles were on scene at an "incident" last night

Police raid sees Essex’s most wanted arrested after thousands of cars stolen

Four men remain in custody following the raid, police say

Government approves new smart toothbrush that sends real-time data to dentists

The Health Secretary claims the new device will save the NHS billions

Man who said he was going for a ‘quick drink’ still at pub six hours later

Scott, 29, was in the pub for nearly seven hours

Colchester woman declares she’s ‘gone fully off the grid’ by turning her phone off for 20 minutes

Experts say her experience could "redefine modern survival skills"

Greggs suspected of ties to MI5 following patterns of ‘strategic’ shop locations

Customers have been speaking up about their experiences

TOP 10 innocent Google searches that could get you FLAGGED by the algorithm

Experts have issued a warning about certain search terms

Iconic London monument DEMOLISHED after 'miscommunication' between councils

A number of errors led to the historic building being knocked down

UK Government to introduce £100 fine for 'distracted walking' to target phone-obsessed pedestrians

Leaked Home Office documents outline the proposals

Outrage as MPs set to receive HUGE £50,000 pay rise

Parliament considering ban on long-haired cats to 'reduce allergies'

The proposed regulations would make new ownership of long-haired cats illegal

King Charles to take on second job as Uber driver to help with cost of living crisis

Queen Camilla is also said to be considering a role with Deliveroo

Fear as UK’s nuclear war system set to be ‘tested’ this year

The alarm sound is expected to be loud

Elon Musk confirmed as alien after product demo goes wrong

The revelation shocked nobody.

Shock as McDonald's offers burgers for money

Customers have been left furious following the new policy

Time-travellers declare 2025 a 'missed opportunity' after returning from the future

The group expressed their disappointment in their latest report