Latest news with #Southend
BBC News
8 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Southend Hospital opens Jewish prayer space
A hospital has officially opened a new prayer space for Jewish patients and staff, offering them a place to observe Shabbat - the Jewish day of of the Orthodox synagogue in Westcliff, the charity Gezint, and representatives from the Haredi communities in both Westcliff and Canvey Island attended the opening event at Southend Hospital on Thursday to show their space is located within the hospital's chaplaincy suite and has been designed to "offer comfort, dignity and privacy". It includes a kosher microwave and freezer, washing facilities, a cupboard with kosher food and drink, a small food store for children, and a resting area. David Childs, lead chaplain at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Hospital can feel like a world away from daily life, so we wanted to create an area that feels personal, comforting and familiar – somewhere that offers a sense of calm in the middle of what can often be a stressful time."Everything in the space has been carefully thought through to meet practical needs, while showing real care for the community it serves." Shabbat is observed from Friday evening until Saturday night, and is a time for prayer, reflection and family, where many Jewish people step back from their everyday Isaac Kohn, director of Gezint, a charity supporting Jewish health and wellbeing, said: "For many Jewish patients and families, being in hospital especially over Shabbat can be really difficult."Having a dedicated space like this means you don't have to worry about kosher food and prayers – it's wonderful to see the hospital recognising and supporting our needs. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fan with cocaine banned from football games
John Millie is banned from football games after being found with cocaine at Southend's Roots Hall stadium [BBC] A man has been given a three-year football banning order after he was caught with cocaine at a match. John Millie, 39, of Kenley Gardens, in Hornchurch, east London, was stopped and searched by security staff at a match at Southend United's Roots Hall stadium on 1 February. Advertisement A packet of white powder was found in his possession, and he admitted possession of a Class A drug on 13 June at Chelmsford Magistrates Court. He was restricted from accessing matches and was fined £484, plus £85 costs and a £184 surcharge. Under new legislation, fans who commit Class A drug offences at matches could be banned from games for up to 10 years and also receive a criminal conviction. Southend was playing Kent-based Sittingbourne FC on 1 February. Millie had been spotted by staff going backwards and forwards to the toilets before he was stopped and searched. Essex Police were then called, and the powder was seized and later confirmed as cocaine. Advertisement Dedicated football officer, Keith Baker, said of the force's first match ban order: "Football is known as the 'beautiful game' with people coming week in and week out to support their local team. "We know that consumption of drugs fuels disorder at football matches and we are committed to kicking that type of behaviour out of the grounds in our county. "We are committed to ensuring football grounds across Essex are places where you can come and cheer on your team, focusing on the players' performance without worrying about the behaviour of other supporters." The football ban means Millie cannot attend any premises where games are held in the United Kingdom and abroad that are regulated by the Football Spectators Act 1989. Advertisement According to the Crown Prosecution Service, every police force should have one or more dedicated football officers (formerly football intelligence officers). Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Related internet stories Related internet links
BBC News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Southend: Future of iconic Kursaal building to be discussed
The leaseholder of an iconic seaside venue has confirmed it is working on plans "for a viable future" for it. The Kursaal in Southend-on-Sea opened in 1901 and has hosted acts such as Queen and AC/DC but last year it was added to Victorian Society's top 10 list of endangered buildings after being left to City Council owns the freehold of the land but London-based property group AEW has a 200-year lease on the of the Grade II-listed building. A spokesperson for AEW said it was "looking forward" to discussing the results of a public meeting on Thursday with organiser and MP Bayo Alaba. 'Exhilarating building' The Kursaal was thought to have been the world's first purpose-built amusement park with a circus, ballroom, arcade, dining hall, billiard room, an ice rink and even its own zoo. Comedian Griff Rhys-Jones, Essex-raised and president of the Victorian Society, told BBC Essex the Kursaal was "an exhilarating building" as it was placed on its endangered list in 2024. Bayo Alaba, the Labour MP for Southend East and Rochford, described the Kursaal as "one of the most iconic buildings in the south of England".The MP - who will chair the public meeting on Thursday 19 June at Belle Vue Baptist Church - told the BBC he had spoken with both the council and the leaseholder to "spark a conversation" about the Kursaal's future."They're keen," Mr Alaba said about AEW, adding : "They know they've got a symbolic building... they want to do something with it".Mr Alaba said he felt that the leaseholder was "serious about getting the building back into community use"."[The Kursaal] is central to the community, it's important to civic pride," he told the BBC."The fact that it's closed - it sends almost a subliminal message that Southend isn't open for business, and we need to fix that." How the Kursaal changed over time The venue has had many different leases of life, and was even the home of Southend United before the club moved to Roots it housed a casino, bowling alley, and hosted a number of major bands including Dr Feelgood, Black Sabbath and the Kursaal Victorian Society said the Kursaal's Wall of Death motorcycle rides were the first such spectacle in whole complex finally closed its doors in 1986 with its ballroom demolished that years of dereliction, and millions of pounds spent on restoration, it re-opened presently, only a Tesco Express occupies a small part of the building. Southend-on-Sea City Council leader Daniel Cowan will also be at Thursday's meeting, which starts at 19:00 Cowan said the council was "keen to bring the Kursaal back into public use and we will pull every lever at our disposal to see that happen"."This icon of Southend deserves a present and future that befits its glorious past, so we're delighted to have the backing of Bayo Alaba MP in making that happen."A spokesperson for AEW said the group was "looking forward to discussing the feedback at a meeting we have arranged with Mr Alaba later this month"."We continue to work on plans for a viable future for the Kursaal, but are not in a position to comment further at this stage," they added. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Sun
5 days ago
- The Sun
My brutal family shot rivals & blew up judges in Mafia's most infamous massacre…I'd be dead if I hadn't fled to UK at 12
HIS family tree is a rogues' gallery of hitmen, murderers and extortionists and were even behind the infamous bombings that killed two Sicilian judges and eight police officers in 1992. And at 12 years old, Riccardo di Cascia Burzotta was being lured into the dangerous underworld of the mafioso. 15 15 In his native Sicily, the Burzotta clan are woven into the fabric of the Mafia's most grisly crimes - and Riccardo was being groomed by older cousins into following their criminal way of life. But in a brave move which 'saved his life', his parents fled the Italian island for the UK - starting a new life in Southend on Sea in Essex. 'Before they were even in their teens my cousins were burning down shops to send messages to people who didn't pay their protection money," Riccardo tells The Sun. "If we stayed living in Sicily I would have joined them because I didn't really understand how dangerous it was and I didn't know any better. 'I was born into that life which meant I had little choice but to join the Mafia. 'When I was a kid it was normal for everyone to keep guns in the house for self protection. 'There wasn't much work around, most kids tended to drop out of school early and get caught up in crime. 'My parents feared I'd be drawn to the money and power." Riccardo's parents set up a restaurant business in Southend and he says coming to the UK was "a huge shock.' 'I didn't speak a word of English but suddenly I found myself in an all boys' school in Essex having to eat something disgusting called custard. I could not believe how bad the food was," he says. Italian police arrest Settimo Mineo, the mafia's new 'boss of bosses' in Sicily 'There was a lot of racism towards foreigners back then and I was called every name under the sun and beaten up in the playground almost daily. 'But if I had stayed in Sicily it would have been worse. I'm certain I would have ended up in prison - or dead. "The Mafia is an ugly cancer that destroys families. We needed to get well away before I ended up in prison myself. 'My parents' decision to start a new life in another country saved my life, without any doubt.' 15 15 Deadly family Riccardo has cousins serving time for murders, while other members of his close family have been involved in kidnapping and extortion. Some were also tangled up even the Capaci massacre - a violent terrorist attack in which mafiosi detonated a car bomb that killed the anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three police guards in 1992. It was one of the most terrifying attacks ever executed by the Mafia and the international outrage it sparked marked a crucial turning point in the fight against organised crime in Italy. But, two months later, it was followed by the Via D'Amelio massacre in Palermo, killing a second judge, Paulo Borsellino, and five bodyguards. The murdered prosecutors had been at the forefront of a crackdown in organised crime in Sicily which led to the notorious Maxi Trial, which ran for six years and saw 19 life sentences handed to crime bosses and a further 338 members of the mob sentenced to a total of 2,665 years. Salvatore 'Toto' Riina - known as 'the Boss of Bosses' - was sentenced to two life sentences in absentia and ordered the assassination of the judges in retribution. He was captured and jailed in 1993 after 23 years as a fugitive. 15 15 15 Riccardo's family also fell foul of Sicily's anti-Mafia crackdown. In 2016, authorities seized over €4 million in assets from Giuseppe Burzotta and his family, including a sitting councillor. But the murders continued. In 2017 Guiseppe Marciano, a known associate of Riccardo's family, was shot in the head. Killers ambushed him in a Fiat Uno and although the car was burnt to destroy any evidence, Marciano's father in law Pino Burzotta - Riccardo's second cousin - was later arrested. If I had stayed in Sicily it would have been worse. I'm certain I would have ended up in prison - or dead. Riccardo di Burzotta Pino's brother Diego Burzotta, a notorious hitman, was already serving a life sentence for the double murder of Giovanni Ingoglia and Salvatore Guccione, killed between 1982 and 1987. He was also sentenced to nine years for Mafia association and for attacking vice commissioner Rino Germanà, who escaped death after a daring chase by the clan's hitmen in 1992. Another cousin, Luca Burzotta, was convicted of Mafia association and Pietro, was acquitted of a similar charge due to contradictory testimony from witnesses. Now a father of four himself, Riccardo has no contact with his Sicilian clan but has revealed the truth about his family's dark past to his own children. 'They were shocked when I told them about my childhood," he says. 'We go back to Sicily for holidays but I never speak to my cousins. "I nod if I see them in the street but that's as far as it goes. 15 15 'We've all been warned to stay away from them - any contact could mean an automatic prison sentence. "Many of my cousins have been involved in gambling rackets and extortion, meaning any shops or business that didn't pay them protection money would go up in flames. 'It's too risky to associate with them. "I hear about more arrests every day - members of my family and old friends I went to school with, it is beyond me how far they were willing to go. 'I plan to keep my own kids well away from it but I don't hide anything from them. 'They understand their heritage and it's important to teach them the value of who they are but I want them to keep on a straight path and understand that not all Sicilians are mafioso.' 15 15 Food for thought Riccardo's move to the UK, at the age of 12, allowed him to forge his own path away from crime. Although he hated the British weather and could not stand the food, Riccardo kept his head down, stayed out of trouble and did well at school. He helped out in his parents' Italian restaurant in Southend, learnt to speak fluent English and Spanish, excelled at Maths and History, and landed a job in a City stockbroking firm. He said: 'That was like winning the lottery, a real eye opener. 'I was earning great money, travelling the world and loving the fast lifestyle.' Now 48, Riccardo remains on a mission to distance himself from the stigma of his surname. He has retired from finance and is focusing on encouraging entrepreneurial young Sicilians to choose a career in food. 15 He says: 'My family's name is a burden, but it's also a responsibility. I want to show that we can choose a different path. 'We can't let the mistakes of our fathers define our children's future. Sicily's youth deserve more than the shadow of the Mafia. 'Change starts at the table. If we can break bread together, we can break the cycle.' Although police are working to dismantle Mafia control in Sicily, investigators warn that intimidation and corruption persist. And the statistics are daunting. Mafia activity has cost Sicily billions in lost economic potential. Anti-Mafia organisations estimate that extortion and racketeering have siphoned off up to two per cent of Sicily's GDP each year. In just one 2018 crackdown, police arrested 58 people from 16 Mafia families, seizing €11 million in assets. The Mafia's stranglehold has deterred investors, stifled innovation, and driven away the island's brightest young minds. Youth unemployment in Sicily stands at a staggering 37 per cent, nearly double the Italian national average. Every year, tens of thousands of young Sicilians leave in search of opportunity, draining the island of talent and hope. A new generation Riccardo believes the antidote to this malaise is teaching entrepreneurial young Sicilians to cook, run businesses, and celebrate their heritage. He hopes to foster a new generation of entrepreneurs through his campaign, Mobster Munch, which aims to munch away Sicily's mobster past and dish out a future built on celebrating food and family. He was inspired to help Sicily's youth by his own grandmother who, amid the violence and secrecy, preserved traditional culinary skills. Although she was a matriarch to mobsters, Leone Malda Burzotta also taught Riccardo how to cook her original Sicilian recipes. 'Sicily's youth deserve to inherit the recipes, the laughter, and the hope my grandmother gave me," added Riccardo. 'Food brings people together. Family gives us strength. 'We can't let the mistakes of our fathers define our children's future.' As part of his campaign he will host pop-up feasts, cooking classes, and food festivals across Sicily and the UK. The message is simple but powerful - every bite is a step away from the Mafia's grip, and a step towards a future built on honest work where crime once ruled. 15
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Bowen named Forest Green director of football
Forest Green Rovers have appointed Mark Bowen as their new director of football. The former Wales full-back was most recently working at League One side Reading as sport director and head of football operations until last year. The 61-year-old, who also played for Norwich, West Ham and Charlton during his playing career, was assistant manager to Mark Hughes with Wales, Blackburn, Manchester City, Fulham, QPR and has previously been a head coach at Reading and also interim manager at AFC Wimbledon. Forest Green have been without a director of football since Allan Steele left in early Gloucestershire club finished third in the National League last season but were beaten by Southend on penalties in the play-offs to miss out on the Wembley final and a chance to return to League Two.
