A WARD councillor has added his weight to calls for more action to be taken to try and restore the image of Grays High Street which has become blighted by drug-taking and trafficking, drunken behaviour and trading of illicit goods.

After several days of disorder which went unchecked in the build up to Christmas the chairman of the neighbourhood residents association, Richard Suttling blasted the authorities for their lack of consistent action.

He spoke up to say: "We can't believe Grays has got to this stage with open drug taking and drinking and violence in the town centre.

"The High Street is poorly policed and local people feel unsafe to enter after dark.

"It defies belief that Grays can be neglected in this way but the council can find £10 million to spend on new offices."

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Mr Suttling says is has been frustrating that the Seabrook Residents Association has effectively been ignored by the council's leadership.

And now Grays Riverside councillor Martin Kerin has added his comments, saying: ""I totally support the comments made by Mr Suttling on behalf of the Residents Association.

"Myself, Cllr Tony Fish and Cllr Jane Pothecary have campaigned for a more visible police presence on the high street, challenged the Essex Police Commissioner about residents' fears and petitioned for more CCTV in the surrounding neighbourhoods.

"What Grays could do with is a £10m cash injection to rejuvenate our high street and combat fears around crime and anti-social behaviour. When residents see the Tory leadership of Thurrock Council waste £10m on plush new offices, it rubs salt in the wounds of people who are too fearful to use their own high street."

Scores of people have taken to social media platforms to echo Mr Suttling's comment too.

Natalija Aleksandrovna is one of them. She says: "I feel Grays is not a safe place. It smells of drugs everywhere, drunk people sitting opposite train station, drugs being sold by yacht club etc. and council does nothing to prevent it."

The former manager of Grays Shopping Mall, Keith Evans, says the blame can be laid at the door of cost-cutting, saying: "It has always been the same except when the police had an adequate budget to police the town properly

"Simple as that."

And the lack of policing was highlighted by resident Danny Pealling who said: "The police are not a deterrent as there are so few of them on the streets."