SEVERAL vehicles were damaged when debris, including large scaffolding planks, were blown from a high rise construction site in Grays this evening (Monday, 3 May). And late in the evening fire crews made another Thurrock Council construction site safe by using a ladder to secure a scaffold board three storeys up.

Davall House in Grays is currently being refurbished with replacement cladding and windows and the tower block has an array of scaffolding around it.

As winds lashed the building this evening several boards and other items became dislodged, some crashing down onto cars parked below and others hanging precariously.

Firefighters and police were alerted and arrived at the site but found workers from Axis, the construction company carrying out the work, already making the site safe. However, their work came too late to save the window and windscreens of vehicles – with residents saying it was lucky no people were underneath when the debris started to fly.

Axis had already come under some criticism for their lack of communication with residents about the work commissioned by Thurrock Council and some residents this evening were again bemoaning a lack of response and information from the company about any further possible danger as the storm continued late into the evening.

Elsewhere in the borough the storm caused some brief power cuts late this evening and at roadworks on the A13 signage and other materials were blown into the potential path of vehicles. Thurrock Nub News contacted Kier Construction about the fact that there appeared to be no monitoring or awareness of the danger to traffic from signage that was clearly vulnerable in the high winds. We await a response.

Thurrock Council has also been contacted about the dangers posed to residents in Grays.

A power cut that lasted several minutes and took out large swathes of homes in the east of the borough including houses in Stanford-le-Hope and Horndon on the Hill was preceded, report residents, by a large noise and the sky was lit up with flashes. Another short power cut followed but supply was quickly restored.

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The fire service has reported it is attending a number of incidents this evening and a very busy night is expected.

A crew from Grays were called to Calcutta Road, Tilbury, at 10.12pm. A scaffold board had come loose and was hanging in a precarious position from the third storey.

Firefighters use a ladder to reach the scaffold board and made it safe by 11.18pm.