VOLUNTEERS were out and about in an area of Grays this morning (Saturday, 9 July), once again cleaning up alleyways and removing fly-tipping which will be collected by Thurrock Council and disposed of properly on Monday.

Thurrock Nub News has regularly featured the work of the Orchards Community Forum and its volunteers, often marshalled by community clean-up stalwart Steve Catchpole.

Taking a short break from litter picking this morning he said: "We've been sorting out of some the alleyways, we have split the area up into quarters and we clean up each quarter once a month. Today we are in the area around Thameside School.

"When we started this the council would turn up with their van and we would load up, but now they don't work Saturdays but by moving it to an area where they can collect it, it still works but the shame is it takes double the effort, handling it all twice."

One of these working in this morning's sunshine was local councillor and Labour group leader Cllr John Kent, who praised the work of the forum and volunteers. He also praised the work of Thurrock Council in liaising with volunteers and collecting the rubbish but said more could be done.

And he responded to news of action by the council on Friday when its teams cleared an unregistered area of land in West Thurrock.

He hoped that it would be a new precedent, saying: "At the moment with unregistered land there has been no alternative but for us the community to get stuck in and get it cleared, which is what we have been doing this morning.

"Hopefully what happened in West Thurrock is a change in policy. But if this is just a one off, to make a Conservative councillor look good, it is just outrageous.

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"I will be getting in touch with senior officers to find out what is happening. If it is a change of policy, good ,and I will applaud it."

Cllr Kent also highlighted a lack of maintenance on an area which is under council control, a car park in the area which was littered with rubbish and had considerable weed growth. It was similar to an issue highlighted a few weeks ago in Tilbury by recently elected councillor John Allen.

As the morning's work concluded Cllr Kent had on final word, saying: "There are far far more good people out there than the bad ones. We will carry on and will not be beaten by those who dump."