THURROCK Council has acknowledged it was caught out by this week's large fire on the south bank of the Thames opposite Tilbury that caused considerable discomfort for a number of days to borough residents.

Despite the blaze, which began in the early hours of Monday (26 May) morning sending plumes of dense smoke thousands of feet into the air Thurrock Council didn't official acknowledge the danger to public health or issue warnings until Tuesday at 4pm.

At a meeting of Tilbury Community Forum on Tuesday evening, residents complained that Thurrock were dilatory and culpable for not bringing attention on the blaze and its impact through its official channels, including its social media platforms.

Questions were asked if Thurrock's emergency planning response team were aware of the incident and had any planned action.

In turn Nub News asked Thurrock Council: "Given the nature of this incident and its proximity to Thurrock, does the council think it is acceptable that its Emergency Planning Officer and his team were unaware of what was happening?

"And Does TBC have an emergency plan for incidents on the south bank of the Thames, as it presumably has on the north bank from Coryton to Purfleet.

The council responded today (Friday, 30 May, acknowledging it needs to review its procedures.

A statement says: "We understand that smoke from the scrapyard fire in Gravesend on Monday 26 May had a significant impact on residents, causing considerable distress and alarm.

"As the fire was located in the Gravesend area, incident management was led by Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS), who initiated a multi-agency approach involving partners of the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum, including alerting Essex County Fire and Rescue Service in line with their procedural protocols.

"However, no information was given to Thurrock Council as part of this process.

"Thurrock Council is actively working with partners to review and adapt processes so that communications are in the best place for future incidents."

Cllr Vikki Hartstean, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Education and Community Safety, said: "We are committed to learning from incidents to improve our response to emergencies and recognise when improvements need to be made.

"Kent County Council have acknowledged that there was a gap in their response to this incident in terms of communication with Thurrock. We have contacted partners at the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum and we will be reviewing procedures together for incidents of this nature to ensure this type of delay in information sharing does not happen again.

"In addition, we will make sure that accurate and useful information is known and shared with residents as soon as is practicable."