Brandon Penny

Whitbread plans to close Beefeater, Brewers Fayre and Table Table sites across Essex as part of a UK-wide restructuring expected to eliminate about 3,800 jobs. Queensway Inns has conditionally agreed to acquire 53 of 261 sites earmarked for closure and may relaunch them, potentially saving some Essex venues and transferring around 900 employees. The specific sites to be saved have not yet been confirmed, leaving the future of the remaining 208 locations uncertain.

A large fire broke out on Southend Road between East Hanningfield and Rettendon, prompting the declaration of a major incident and the attendance of more than 100 firefighters. Essex Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze had been surrounded but warned that significant smoke remained and urged the public to stay away. Main Road was closed, while the East of England Ambulance Service declared a critical incident and deployed its hazardous area response team. Any injuries had not yet been confirmed.

Reality TV personalities Pete Wicks and Olivia Attwood publicly confirmed their relationship on Instagram after months of speculation, sharing photos from a recent trip to Ibiza. Attwood and other celebrity friends reacted positively to the post, referencing her podcast remarks about not announcing relationships first. Both Wicks and Attwood continue to maintain active media careers, with Attwood having recently split from footballer Bradley Dack earlier in the year.