A SEEMINGLY perennial problem in the west of the borough has raised its head once more with residents in the area around the Mar Dyke Valley once again criticising Thurrock Council for not enforcing the ban on horses grazing on flooded land.

It's an issue that has been going on for many years with local councillors and campaigners repeatedly having to go to the council to demand belated action after horsegrazers ignore the stipulations.

In 2019 Nub News reported on the problem and last year, with particularly bad weather yet again horses were left to graze on flooded pastures.

The ban is supposed to come into force from the beginning of November, but once more horses are being left in unpleasant conditions and local ward councillor Colin Churchman is the latest to take up the issue of their welfare with the council.

Local campaigner and community stalwart Teresa Webster is among those angry over the repeated lack of action and she says: "Each year we see the horses standing in water or huddled on the tiniest of space due to flooding. Sometime ago Thurrock Council advised there would be no grazing on this land which they own between the months of November and March.

"Sadly Thurrock Council are not automatically enforcing this even though it is a known problem.

"Having raised this with Cllr Churchman he has once again contacted Thurrock Council reminding them of the issue which he seems to be doing for us each year.

"Cllr Churchman has advised the response back from Thurrock Council is that they will contact the owner of the horses with a view of the owner removing them from this land.

"Cllr Churchman has advised he has wrote back to Thurrock Council asking that in future they exercise their rules before the need for residents to highlight the problem. Every year we have been seeing this, which appears to show that Thurrock Council's lack of enforcement endorses animal cruelty."