30 AMBULANCE RUNNERS Two ambulance crew from Dunmow are gearing up to travel to the Big Apple for the New York Marathon later this year (June 22). John Cooper, 39, and Gary Kuppers, 32, have already come up with some fundraising ideas as they look to rais

30 AMBULANCE RUNNERS

Two ambulance crew from Dunmow are gearing up to travel to the Big Apple for the New York Marathon later this year (June 22). John Cooper, 39, and Gary Kuppers, 32, have already come up with some fundraising ideas as they look to raise in the region of £3000 for the Essex Air Ambulance and the charity Get Kids Going. The two medical technicians who work for Essex Ambulance Service are looking forward to pounding the streets of New York in November.

29 LONG LIFE

Uttlesford is one of the healthiest places to live in the country according to new research (June 22). Children born in Uttlesford or South Cambridgeshire in 2006 can expect to live to the age of 79 compared to Glasgow children who at 69.3 years have the lowest expectancy in the country.

28 STIFF TASK

A member of Dunmow Town Football Club celebrated winning a radio competition by giving half his winnings away (June 29). Chris Fox won £5000 in Ikea vouchers for carrying a life-size cut-out of an Essex FM DJ everywhere he went. He then decided to reward the runners-up out of his own winnings.

27 VOCAL AID

Dunmow's former town crier used his vocal chords to call for help after a car crash at the weekend (June 29). Ted Wilson, 88, of Toppesfield, was driving his Vauxhall Astra in Duck End, on the edge of Finchingfield, when the car left the road. Mr Wilson's son Christopher said: "Having been town crier for so long must have been helpful as he's really got quite a voice."

26 WINNERS

Four children from Felsted Primary school were among 1000 lucky winners invited to the Queen's birthday celebrations at Buckingham Palace (June 29). Oliver Clarke, Thomas Corbey, Georgina and Alex Tuckley won tickets to the Children's Part at the Palace. All the children were given a picnic pack and Oliver and Thomas were able to meet the Queen.

25 CHERNOBYL CHILDREN

More than 20 children from the area most affected by the Chernobyl disaster enjoyed games at Felsted School (July 6). Two of the school's Russian students, Soltan Tagiev, 15, and Denis Tsarev, 13, helped to organise the day.

24 TOP VILLAGE

Rayne beat villages from all over Essex to be named Calor Essex Village of the Year 2006 (July 13). The village fought off strong competition from Ashdon and impressed judges with the hard work done by volunteers to improve the children's playground last year and the villages text messaging initiatives.

23 BEST FOOT FORWARD

The Dunmow Majorettes were named best walking group in the Bishop's Stortford Carnival (July 13). Cllr Frank Silver, Mayor of Great Dunmow, and Cllr Ken Armstrong, Mayor of Bishop's Stortford, presented the group with a trophy.

22 NEW STATION

A turf-cutting ceremony got building work for a new police station in Dunmow started on Friday (July 20). The new station, next to Hoblong's Industrial Estate on Chelmsford Road, is due to be completed in a year, at a cost of around £5million.

21 IRELAND EXCHANGE

Dunmow Youth Centre youngsters were awarded £1000 by Essex County Council at the Hanningfield Awards (July 20). The money, picked up by Salaam Al-Rawi, will help 26 people from the youth centre get closer to conducting an exchange with Northern Ireland. A further £2000 was raised towards the trip when the youth centre raffled a genuine signed 1966 World Cup England shirt.