A campaign is being launched in an attempt to solve the reading and writing woes of Witham’s schoolchildren.

The most recent figures available show that Witham is rated 398th out of 442 areas in the UK for English at Key Stage Two level.

In response, the town’s MP, Priti Patel, is launching the Get Witham Reading campaign to encourage pupils.

Read more in this week's Witham and Braintree Times.