THE impact of a resident who is fighting back to try and stop the lorry blight in his neighbourhood has been recognised by police – though they do now appear to be making his job harder!

Thurrock Nub News has reported recently on the dangers posed by HGVs breaking weight restrictions on a stretch of London Road in West Thurrock that is heavily used by pedestrians.

In our initial story police called on residents to play their part and start making official reports with evidence.

One resident, known to Nub News but who has asked us not to reveal his identity, set up a one man action group and to date has gathered evidence that has led to dozens of fines being issued.

However, it appears he has been so successful, the weight of evidence police are being asked to follow up has prompted them to make more detailed specifications.

Previously the officer dealing with the HGV problem in the area has expressed his view that Thurrock Council might be able to do more to help enforce the regulations it imposes, but that prompted a more bland official response from the force which said: "We are aware of the concerns of the residents in the Thurrock area regarding breaches of the weight limits.

"Road safety matters are a priority for us and we will work with partners to address issues causing residents and other road users concern.

"We continue to maintain a presence on the roads and where there is a clear risk to people's safety or risk of damage to road structures, we will carry out enforcement action, which includes directing vehicles away from the area to the use of a more suitable road, issuing fines and may result in points on a driver's licence.

"We have received several reports from residents and they have been and will continue, to be investigated.

"To maximise the use of our resources, we encourage members of the public to report any breaches or concerns they may to us via this link

Anyone who captures dash cam footage of poor and dangerous driving can report this on-line and upload the footage via Extra Eyes - – link is here.

"In an emergency, if there is an immediate safety concern, they should call 999."

But that advice has now been tempered somewhat, with a message from the force's traffic HGV enforcement team to the local campaigner saying: "So far we have been accepting photographs along with a self-completed statement as evidence and have so far sent a total of 44 sets of notices of Intended prosecutions to registered keepers of the vehicle registration numbers you have witnessed breaching the weight limit in London Road, South Stifford requesting the driver details for respective offences to be served on them.

"We have been completing a review of some of the photographs you have submitted and although they have been accepted at present, it has been pointed out to us that as you may know, good evidence is always strong in court and just to remind you that should any of the drivers who were driving the vehicles at the time of the alleged offence committed decide to submit a not guilty plea, you will be required to attend court as the prosecution witness which I am sure you are prepared to do.

"To try to prevent the court appearances being difficult for you and to protect you with future submissions of offenders in these type of vehicles it has been decided that from Monday 6 September 2021 we are changing the way we will accept the photographs you have been submitting as stated to protect you should the matter go to court in the future.

"Therefore, we will only be prepared to prosecute drivers with a photograph taken by you that shows the front of the vehicle including an image of the driver and also capturing some of the houses/location in the photograph. Any other photographs of vehicles will no longer be accepted as evidence."

However, the efforts of local residents to dat have been acknowledged.

The officer adds: "I have identified some companies who have repeatedly had drivers breach the weight limit and I will be contacting them this week to instruct them to advise their drivers to stop breaching the weight limit, or I will consider action against the companies by reporting them to the Traffic Commissioner who will deal with the matter accordingly.

"Hopefully the actions taken so far by all parties will have an impact to the future."

Thurrock Council has taken a low profile on the issue and has declined to respond in any detail to questions about its role other than saying: "Enforcement activity in relation to weight limits on roads is undertaken by Essex Police."