WARD councillors in Grays have demanded answers from Thurrock Council in the wake of this morning's (Sunday, 26 December) fire at a tower block in their Riverside ward.

Cllrs Martin Kerin, Tony Fish and Jane Pothecary says they have been kept in the dark about the council's response to the situation which saw five crews of firefighters attend the blaze in the bins area of Lionel Oxley House.

The alarm was raised just before lunchtime today and Essex Fire and Rescue Service has confirmed that the blaze impacted on a number of flats in the building as smoke rose from the fire, which was started by an electrical fault.

Residents have reported that they have been left without power in their homes because of the incident but there has been no word from Thurrock Council, which manages the flats, about what it planned to do to try and help residents.

The council has not responded to questions from Thurrock Nub News, nor has it contacted the ward councillors, who this evening issued the following statement: "The three of us are keenly aware of the six tower blocks in our patch, and any news of a fire is always one that fills us with dread.

"We place on the record our thanks and gratitude to the brave firefighters who attended the incident.

"We have been contacted by many of our residents who are reporting to us that the origin of the fire was in the bin chutes, and that the situation was exacerbated by a lack of maintainance of the chutes by Thurrock Council. If this is correct, then it is completely unacceptable.

"We have today demanded urgent answers from Thurrock Council regarding today's incident. We want our residents to rest assured that we will not stop until we receive the answers needed."

Residents of the block have taken to social media to say they too have had no official word from the council.

Last month fire crews also attended Lionel Oxley House following a fire in one of the flats