THESE are busy days for the First Corringham Scouts who are pressing ahead with the building of their new hall, raising money and also looking for new members and leaders as the future looks bright.

In March Thurrock Nub News reported on the problems faced by the group as they were stunned to discover the projected cost of their new hall on Herd Lane, Corringham, had just about doubled because of unknown pollution on the site.

Acting Group Scout Leader Glenn Ford says: "It was a tremendous shock when we demolished the old building and began to dig up the foundations. It was clear why the building had started to subside because underneath a lot of contaminated waste material, including barrels of bitumen, had been dumped and the ground was slowly collapsing in on itself."

However, the group has pressed ahead with great support from the local community and companies like Tarmac which have donated materials.

Now the outside walls and the roof beams are in place and work continues to progress.

Today (Saturday, 12 June) Glenn welcomed a group of one time Corringham cubs and scouts to visit the site and received another donation.

More help is needed and if you want to contribute you can find out how to do so at the group's Facebook page.

The group is also hoping to recruit new members, from aged six onwards, and anyone wanting more information about membership should email [email protected]