News in Brief

---

Delays for train travellers

Rail passengers faced delays on Tuesday afternoon after an incident near Colchester.

The rail company One said many services between London's Liverpool Street and Norwich were running up to an hour late.

Two rush-hour trains had to be cancelled.

---

Concern over school dinners

Concerns have been raised after it was revealed that 75 schools in Essex have stopped providing hot dinners for pupils.

Children at the schools receive only cold lunches since the county council scrapped its central school meals contract in April.

The Conservative councillor responsible for education, Iris Pummell, has said she is concerned by the figures.

And the chair of governors at North Primary school and nursery in Colchester, Jan Blackwell, said she was worried for her youngsters as the colder weather approached.

---

Teenager dies following crash

A teenager has died after a collision involving a car in Maldon on Friday.

The crash happened at the junction of the High Street and Wantz Road just before 1900 BST.

He had been on a moped at the time of the incident, Essex Police said.

A spokesman for the Essex Ambulance Service said the 16-year-old boy died on the way to hospital.

The driver of the car, a woman in her late teens or early 20s, was taken to Broomfield Hospital with a minor head injury and suffering from severe shock, the spokesman said.

---

Call to save otters

The Essex Wildlife Trust is calling for the better protection of otters in the area.

It says there could be as few as 30 of the mammals living in Essex waters.

However, that is an increase since the 1970s, when otters were extinct in the county.

Mark Iley from the Essex Wildlife Trust says more should be done to cut the number of otters being killed by motorists.