UNHAPPY residents in Tilbury say Thurrock Council's 'dustline' to report environmental issues in the town is not working - and in fact has made it even harder to report problems.

The contentious issue of dust drifting from industrial sites in the town has been a long-running one and a key issue has been the inability to gather facts to mount a strong argument against the alleged polluting sites.

After several years of inaction, Thurrock Council announced last year it would create a dedicated phone line for residents to report dust issues - and it finally went live last month.

However, residents report they struggle to get through, aznd when they do are offered many options, rather than be connected to a dedicated officer.

At a meeting this evening (Tuesday, 28 April) of Tilbury Community forum chair Craig Austin said there have been issues with people being unable to make reports, with people waiting 40 minutes to get through

One resident told the meeting: "I got up to go to the train station and could see the dust coming over. I rang in. They gave me about ten options, then when I got through to someone she said she would try and find me someone connected with the dust.

"Eventually a lady called Anne Marie came on and said 'how's it affecting you' and I told them we're breathing it all in. 

"She said 'I need to come and see you to verify this' but obviously I was on the train by then. She messaged me to say she'd been round my house and looked at the site and the water was on (to mediate against the dust). But we checked the cameras, she hadn't been round."

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Several other residents reported issues with the phone line service.

Mr Austin summed up by saying: "It's not as straightforward as they say. It's not a dedicated line and needs to be brought up.

"We've shown that consistently. 

"This was supposed to make reporting easy but it appears to have made it more difficult. There are clearly issues with the new dustline."