POLICE officers and Thurrock Council's enforcement team visited a fly-tipping site highlighted on Thurrock Nub News yesterday - but responsibility for dealing with the problem being passed over to Highways England.

However, it has been announced that action to clear up the site will take place tomorrow (Thursday, 25 March) morning.

Last evening (Tuesday, 24 March) we produced a report about the scale of what appeared to be an almost commercial, and certainly well planned, dumping ground at a point where the A1089 meets the A13 near Orsett.

Senior Thurrock councillors Rob Gledhill and Aaron Watkins, council leader and portfolio holder for the environment respectively, took up the issue and told us a team from the council would visit the site this morning.

This afternoon we have received the following statement from the council: "Despite the fly tip being on Highways England land, council officers visited the site today with Essex Police in an attempt to identify the criminals who have dumped the waste.

"Unfortunately, no evidence was found and the fly-tip has been reported to Highways England for removal.

"The council will always work to identify perpetrators of anti-social behaviour and unacceptable criminality if at all possible in such circumstances."

We have asked Highways England for a comment and will update this story when it is received.

Residents who have contacted Nub News since publication of the story, advise us that the matter had previously been reported via the council's online reporting portal - according to one contact, several times, but nothing had been done about it.