Stories of the week

Click on the links to read the full stories.

Here is our choice for this week:

Story one: 

A 14-year-old boy has raised £780 in a week in memory of his best friend’s sister.

Katy Short died on May 2 aged 16 after a long battle with Cystic Fibrosis.

Story two: 

Households and businesses were without water for most of the weekend after a water pipe burst.

Water was reportedly cut off to properties in Chigwell postcodes IG5, IG6, IG7 and IG8 after a leak in a Thames Water pipe in Vicarage Lane.

Story three: 

Two students with cerebral palsy have been given the life-changing ability to clearly communicate through speech for the first time in 50 years.

Epping Forest College’s Gavin King and and Susan Collins have spoken of their joy after funding was found for the £3,000 Allora 2 text-to-speech devices.

Story four: 

A proposal to axe lollipop people from outside schools across Essex has been ditched following strong public opposition.

Essex County Council hoped to make a £320,000 annual saving by axing crossing patrols.

Story five:

A revolutionary construction technique developed in Epping Forest has helped a primary school build a new arts and science block.

Coppice Primary School in Manford Way, Chigwell, used the AcerMetric building system to construct the two-storey, 460sqm block.