THURROCK Mayor Cllr Sue Little and a select group of invited councillors, among them Thurrock Council leader Cllr Andrew Jefferies, attended an opening ceremony of a newly-created mosque in the centre of Stanford-le-Hope.

Also among guests at yesterday's (Thursday, 7 March) ceremony at the building on the High Street - formerly the town's Methodist church - was Mr Mark Tebbs, CEO of Thurrock Community Volunteer Service, and local police officers.

Mayor Cllr Sue Little, council leader Cllr Andrew Jefferies, Conservative councillors James Halden and Jimmy Thandi and event organiser Cllr Qaisar Abbas inside the mosque where an opening service took place. Also pictured are police representatives and Mark Tebbs, CEO of Thurrock Community Volunteer Service

The ceremony was organised and conducted by Thurrock Conservative Cllr Qaisar Abbas.

During it mosque chairman, Dr Siraj Ali, welcomed all guests and briefed them about the history of the building, refurbishment plans, and how the building will be used to benefit local Muslims and other communities.

Dr Siraj also said that he expected there would be a 'grand opening' involving a wider range of guests and representatives of local faiths and communities in the near future.