News in Thurrock

GRAYS Athletic improved their Isthmian North goals difference at the expense of visitors Great Wakering Rovers this afternoon, making it an unhappy return to Parkside for Rovers manager John Coventry who spent the past two seasons there as coach to Aveley.

The hero for Grays was Anointed Chukwu who completed a first half hat-trick to put the match to bed by half time.

A GRAYS youngster whose long hair is a key element in his life has nevertheless decided to get it cut off to raise funds for the charity helping look after his sick cousin.

Jayden Frost, 10, attends Stifford Clays Primary school and his proud mum Rachel Bibby-Frost is hoping the local community will rally round and support her son when he has his locks chopped next month.

THE leader of Thurrock Council – and one of his leading opponents – have joined forces to pay tribute to community-minded residents in Grays who have been cleaning up their area.

Council leader Cllr Rob Gledhill, who is also cabinet member for public protection and anti-social behaviour has highlighted the role of residents in an operation mounted by the council's street cleaning team and community safety officer, in collaboration with Essex Police.

EAST Thurrock United fans will be hoping a number of new signings and a morale-boosting cup victory will spark a revival in the club's fortunes in the Isthmian Premier.

Today (Saturday, 29 January) the Rocks will play host to midtable Haringey Borough at Rookery Hill, looking to carry on from where they finished in Wednesday's emphatic Velocity Trophy thumping of Romford.

WHILE the number of older people infected with coronavirus in Thurrock has dropped week on week, there has been a continued rise in the number of younger people who have been confirmed with Covid 19.

Latest figures published by Thurrock Council show a rise of 98 in the number of under 18s who have tested positive from the week before, with 569 cases confirmed.

COUNCILLORS in the Grays Riverside ward have welcomed the opening of a consultation into 'green space designation' of the park in Parker Road and have urged residents to take part, and put the much-loved site 'on the map'.

The consultation was announced last month and will be accessible via the council's website.

AN event has been planned for later this year in Thurrock to raise awareness about recent changes in the Highway Code with regards to safety for horses and cyclists.

The new guidelines are to overtake horses at a speed of under 10mph with a clearance of two meters.

BASILDON Hospital is leading the way in helping young people with learning disabilities or autism get on a career path.

Eligible students from South Essex College have been taking the next step into sustainable employment through internships at the regional hospital which serves Basildon and Thurrock.

REGIONAL MP Stephen Metcalfe is hoping Thurrock residents will go and look at the birds!

Mr Metcalfe, MP for South Basildon & East Thurrock, is promoting the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds' (RSPB) Big Garden Birdwatch, which begins today (Friday, 28 January) and runs until Sunday.

A TV personality has added his name to campaigning group dedicated to reopening and restoring Coalhouse Fort, the landmark historic building by the Thames that has been controversially mothballed by cash-strapped Thurrock Council.

The authority closed the doors on the Napoleonic fort and visitor attraction at East Tilbury in January 2020 after the folding of the voluntary preservation group Coalhouse Fort Project - which had run the site in collaboration with the council since 1985 - an event not without rancour and high emotions.