News in Thurrock

ALMOST 300 kilograms of cocaine, worth more than £10 million, has been discovered and recovered by police in Purfleet.

The biggest ever land-based seizure of drugs in the Eastern region was made by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) recovered around 280 kilos of cocaine at an industrial address in Purfleet on Sunday (24 May).

A PLEASANT surprise will await some unsuspecting person this afternoon (Wednesday, 27 May) thanks to the community champion at a local store.

Tarnya Bennett of Morrisons in Grays has arranged a simple Facebook competition asking people to nominate someone worthy of receiving a bouquet.

THERE was a sad ending to a mercy mission played out in East Tilbury yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, 26 May).

Emergency services including police, ambulance and the Essex & Herts Air Ambulance were called to an incident close to the Bata estate in the village.

TWO leading former independent councillors who led the opposition group on Thurrock Council before signing up for the Conservative party have rounded on the Labour group and backed the Tory administration as it defends itself against claims a one billion pound borrowing project was carried out in secret.

The Financial Times expose and a detailed investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism were published on Friday (22 May) and the council responded with an unattributed rebuttal on Sunday.

THE former leader of Thurrock Council's Labour group has refuted comments by the council that she was consulted and kept informed about the authority's billion pound borrowing programme for commercial investment.

A major investigation by the Financial Times, which followed an exclusive Thurrock Nub News story about the level of borrowing, has focused on huge concerns about the council's debt with fears expressed in the world of finance by many commentators that the borough is at risk because of the huge amount it owes.

A SECOND Thurrock MP has called on top government advisor Dominic Cummings to quit.

Following on from the statement issued earlier today (Tuesday, 26 May) by South Basildon and East Thurrock MP Stephen Metcalfe, Thurrock MP Jackie Doyle-Price has added her voice to the growing chorus of appeals for him to resign.

FRIENDS and residents of Tilbury gathered today (Tuesday, 25 May) to bid a final farewell to one of the town's most influential and popular figures of recent times.

Peter Hewitt MBE passed away recently and his funeral took place today. Prior to interment at Chadwell St Mary, his funeral cortege wound its way through Tilbury streets where residents turned out to pay their tribute. Because of social distancing guidelines only a handful of close family were able to be present at the committal.

A THURROCK man described as a 'real life Charlie Fairhead' after the character on TV drama Casualty has produced a book that not only charts the highs and lows of his 40 years a nurse, but also tells the story of Orsett Hospital.

Gary Jones CBE of Hogarth Road, Stifford Clays, was born in Grays in 1953 and trained as a nurse at Orsett and has gone on to accumulate more than 40 years of nursing experience in emergency care.

EAST Thurrock MP Stephen Metcalfe has called on government advisor Dominic Cummings to quit after failing to be won over by yesterday's (Monday, 25 May) TV broadcast when the beleaguered pal of Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced journalists over his perceived breach of social distancing guidelines.

Mr Cummings drove 260 miles to County Durham with his young son and wife to be near relatives when his wife developed coronavirus symptoms.

FOLLOWING the announcement yesterday by PM Boris Johnson that non essential shops will be allowed to open from 15 of June – the region's biggest shopping centre, intu Lakeside, has announced what its stores will be doing to meet safety demands.

It includes placing limits on the number of people and cars allowed into the centre at a time, with some parking bays closed, and there will be a raft of other measures including one-way systems, floor stickers and staff training to ensure visitors stay socially distanced.