News in Maldon

Thousands of pounds – and a rather strange selection of items - have been raised for local good causes by Santa's sleigh rides through Maldon, Heybridge and the surrounding villages in the weeks before Christmas.

The cheering sight in the midst of a challenging year brought cheer to many children and adults as Maldon and Heybridge Blackwater Rotary Club and Maldon Rotary Club took to the streets to bring the community a socially-distanced but still spectacular version of the popular annual event.

The NHS Trust that runs Broomfield Hospital has put out an emergency plea to staff to abandon their holiday and return to work as Covid admissions spiral.

The Mid and South Essex Hospitals Trust, which runs Broomfield, Southend and Basildon hospitals has sent an urgent request to staff not at work, asking doctors and nurses on annual leave to return, due to an "increasingly difficult situation" that the hospitals are now facing.

There were some unusual stowaways in a shipping container that arrived in Essex just before Christmas.

Workers at a logistics company had a surprise when they discovered six geckos had stowed away in the storage container from overseas.

Firefighters had to save drivers from flood water in two separate rescues yesterday (Monday, 28 December) - one in Maldon district and another at Sandon.

Now they have re-issued safety advice for motorists with more wet weather on the way.

The new Chairman of Maldon District Council, Independent Councillor Mark Heard, is writing regular column pieces to keep in touch with residents. Here we have his latest message.

Amid all the turmoil reported with Covid-19, Tier 4 restrictions, flooding, Brexit and rumours over food shortages, etc., it could be very easy to form a negative view of life these days.

If you're already thinking about how to dispose of that Christmas tree, here's a reminder of how Maldon and Burnham residents can do so from their doorsteps - and raise cash for a local good cause.

Those living in the district can have their Christmas trees taken away and recycled from their doorsteps once the festivities are over for the cost of a donation to Farleigh Hospice.

A new weather warning for snow and ice across the Maldon district has been issued.

The yellow warning - which indicates a small chance of disruption to travel and power supplies, runs from 10am on Wednesday, 30 December until 6am on New Year's Eve.

The seven-day Covid-19 infection rate for Maldon district now stands at 694.5 cases per 100,000 population.

The figure has been calculated using Public Health England data for the seven days up to 23 December and shows 451 new cases were recorded. This has allowed five days for test results to come back in, though could increase further due to any delays caused by the Christmas holiday period.

Fans of the music of the seventies may be pleased to hear that Maldon's local radio station will be bringing listeners a Boxing Day special today.

You can tune in to Caroline Community Radio today to listen to the Radio Caroline Flashback at 12 noon and join Dave Foster for a special Christmas 1973 Retro Top 20.

Weather warnings issued by the Met Office for strong winds in the wake of Storm Bella indicate that the Maldon district will be most affected between 7pm today (Boxing Day, 26 December) and 6am tomorrow.

The yellow warning was issued a few days ago, with amber warnings since issued covering an area further south. The latest forecasts predict wind speeds of between 40 and 50mph for Maldon and the surrounding villages, mostly overnight.