With the year's record breaking heatwave now firmly a thing of the past, cooler temperatures brought sobering news.

A bid by Theydon Bois development firm C.K. Properties Ltd to have Epping Forest District Council's Local Plan dubbed unsound failed in court.

The ruling meant the way had been cleared for 11,400 homes to be built across the district, including on Debden's much loved Jessel Green.

Neil Bartlett, a black cab driver and key campaigner to keep the green space development-free, said: “Loughton is no doubt the business hub of this district, but the council needs to remember this is our home too and we need to breathe, so please cut us some slack.

“It is also worth noting that back in 2012 residents overwhelmingly voted for protecting and enhancing green open spaces in the future, via the issues and options survey."

A murder that had shocked the country in 2015 produced another alarming twist later in October.

After Carl Langdell confessed to murdering 23-year-old Buckhurst Hill teacher Katie Locke at a Waltham Cross hotel on Christmas Eve, a scathing NHS England report found the 28-year-old had previously told hospital staff of a desire to "murder and rape a woman".

David Levy, regional medical director or NHS England, said: “I would like to offer my sincerest sympathies to the people affected by this tragic incident.

“Lack of information about Langdell’s previous care was considered to have been on of the critical factors hindering appropriate risk assessment and management."

In Clays Lane, Loughton a pile of fly-tipped rubbish turned ten.

Having moved to the town in 2008, retired pharmaceutical salesman Steve Ward noticed a mound of trash in a woodland.

Despite contacting the council the rubbish was not moved from the spot where it still stood ten years later.

To mark the occasion Mr Ward held the fly-tip a birthday party.