A SECOND councillor has called on the borough council to reverse a littering ticket given to an elderly man who does not speak English and was unaware of local by-laws – and in the wake of publicity over the affair another story taking Thurrock Council to the lowest depts. Of compassion has emerged.

Yesterday (Thursday, 21 January) Thurrock Nub News reported on the £150 fine dished out to Aveley resident Raimund Voronovic who unknowingly fell foul of the council's privately-operated enforcement patrols when he dropped a cig butt.

His offence and punishment contrast markedly with the way the council opted to let a nearby multi-million company off without punishment for a whole raft of environmental offences that blighted the lives of local people.

Despite a call by Aveley & Uplands councillor David van Day for the littering ticket to be revoked in the circumstances, the council has refused to consider changing its mind and council leader Rob Gledhill has mounted a staunch defence of its policies - even though a second fellow Conservative has also called for clemency.

But that hard-heartedness pales alongside the latest story brought to the attention of Nub News.

In November last year a South Ockendon man rushed the bedside of his dying father and - after his dad passed away during the night - stayed by his mother's side at her home in Argyll Street in Grays.

In the aftermath of the death, during the following morning, he forgot his car was parked in a residents' permit zone.

After attending to the needs of his mother and other family affairs he emerged to his car and found he had been ticketed. There is no criticism of the officer who placed the ticket, he or she could not have known the circumstances but when he appealed the fine under the extenuating circumstances, he was told it had to stand.

A terse statement to him delivered yesterday says his appeal was rejected and adds: "First of all we are sorry to hear of your loss. The civil enforcement officer believed your vehicle was parked in a 'permit holder's only place without displaying a valid residents' permit or a visitor's voucher. There is a sign in place, it is clear and visible.

"Thank you for your explanation. We have taken everything into account you have said. However, there are not sufficient grounds to cancel the penalty charge which is now payable. The outstanding penalty charge is £35".

The grieving son, who has asked not to be named, told Thurrock Nub News: "It's not really about the money, it's the principle.

"I rushed to my dad's and after he passed away I looked after my mum. I have to say a parking permit wasn't really at the top of my priorities.

"After everything had settled down I thought I would explain about the ticket and ask for it to be lifted in the circumstances. I sent them an email initially but heard nothing then I rang them and explained what happened. It wasn't the officer's fault, the car was in the permit zone. When I parked it was OK to be there but then dad died and so I had to stay and it ran into the following day and into the time when the car shouldn't have been there.

"To be honest, I am really appalled by what has happened and the attitude of the council. You just wonder what makes them tick that they can't show a bit of sympathy for something like this."

Meanwhile, in Aveley, the penny-pinching way the council treats residents while grovelling to big businesses has angered Aveley and Uplands Tory councillor Colin Churchman.

He said: "I am very angry about what has happened at Sergo and I can assure residents that I am not going to let it drop. What went on there was wrong and they had to be punished otherwise what is the point of putting rules in place?

"There is no legitimate reason why the legal action that the council said they were going to take against Sergo was dropped. And we local councillors who bear the brunt of what local people go through have not even had the courtesy of an explanation.

"If you are going to ignore rules then you have to ignore them for everybody and it is clear in the case of Mr Voronovic that there are extenuating circumstances. It can't have been beyond the officer to realise this man didn't understand English and probably didn't know the rules.

"Why not show a bit of sense, compassion and humanity? This fine should be dropped and like Cllr van Day I ask the council to do just that."

However, that argument appears to cut little ice with Cllr Gledhill.

Today he told Thurrock Nub News: "These two issues are completely different. The action taken against Segro stopped the breach of planning conditions which was exactly the outcome officers were aiming for on behalf of residents.

"Thurrock Council spends a significant amount of taxpayers' money each year sweeping the streets and clearing fly-tipped waste so we will take any action that will deter anyone using our streets as an ashtray or dustbin. The council has taken a zero tolerance approach since December 2016 and will fine anyone who feels that it okay to use our streets as an ashtray or litter bin.

"Throughout 2020 we issued fixed penalty notices to more than 4,500 people, we will continue to take this type of action and make no apologies about it. There is one easy way for everyone to avoid a fine: dispose of your litter properly.

"Litter is a blight on our borough but taking this kind of action has been part of the reason that Keep Britain Tidy has marked our streets as some of the cleanest in country. Thurrock Council will continue to take action to stamp out this sort of anti-social behaviour."

In addition the council made a further statement about Sergo, where major work on the site had all but finished when the council received platitudes from the company's bosses.

Explaining why the council dropped its legal action, it reads: "Thurrock Council received written assurances from the developer that development would be continued in accordance with planning permission.

"Thurrock Council takes all reports of unauthorised activity very seriously and will continue to monitor the site to ensure no there are no further breaches. If residents experience further problems they should report them to the council by visiting thurrock.gov.uk/report so they can be fully investigated and quickly resolved."