News in Thurrock

AN event that will take place at Thurrock Yacht Club on the banks of the Thames in Grays in March will boost local good causes.

It has been organised by the Orsett Masonic Lodge and will feature singer Marc Ansell.

THURROCK Police have highlighted their work in disrupting criminal activities on borough roads bu releasing details of two recent arrests, one of which involved a car chase and crash after a police vehicle was hit.

Police have codenamed their activities as 'Operation animal' and they targeted roads in the west of the borough, combining the resources of with Essex's Road Crime Team, its Operational Support Group, Traffic and Dogs and a joint venture with the Met Police Taskforce.

PLANNING officers have vetoed a plan to increase the size of a house of multiple occupancy in Tilbury, claiming it would have a significant negative impact on the local residential area.

The application was submitted to extend the property at 14 Raphael Avenue, where six people are currently housed to take ten people.

2022 has begun for the Rotary Club of Grays Thurrock with a new face and a notable accolade for one of its established members.

Following a successful membership information evening in late November, the first of its new members Steve Quigley was inducted last week with more expected to follow.

THERE were many fond memories of 50 years of events at the Thameside complex in Grays today (Saturday, 22 January) as the borough's centre for arts, culture and history celebrated its golden anniversary.

Though the future of the threatened complex, which houses Grays Library, the borough's museum and the much-loved Thameside Theatre, remains far from certain in the wake of Thurrock Council's cost cutting plans, its history was marked at today's event.

IT'S almost entirely 'as you were' in the Isthmian Leagues for the borough's four sides this evening (Saturday, 22 January).

There were wins for Aveley and Grays Athletic to sustain their North Division promotion challenges. In the same division Tilbury came away from fellow strugglers Great Wakering Rovers with a draw and East Thurrock United suffered another heavy Premier Division defeat.

QUAD bikers have been causing damage on a borough nature reserve and pose a threat to wildlife.

Angry residents in East Tilbury have highlighted the problems caused by riders who access a coastal path in the village and then ride along the Thames to the Thameside Nature Park.

ISTHMIAN North title-chasing Aveley, who lost top spot to Canvey Island in midweek when the Gulls beat AFC Sudbury 3-0, face another test of their promotion credentials against a former boss when Brentwood Town visit Parkside today.

Brentwood, managed by Rod Stringer, currently sit in the final play-off spot and arrive on the back of an unbeaten eight match run stretching back to November which includes five successive wins in their last outings.

YET another major road closure will bring disruption and additional traffic onto rural roads in the east of Thurrock as the long and overrunning A13 widening project continues into its fourth year.

The Orsett Cock roundabout will be fully closed through the whole weekend for major construction and surfacing works. The closures start at 9pm tonight (Friday, 21 January) and will remain in place until 5am on Monday, 24 January.

A VIETNAMESE man who was the ringleader of a gang involved in transporting some of the 39 migrants found dead in a lorry in West Thurrock in 2019 has been jailed by a Belgian court, following an investigation that was supported by the National Crime Agency.

A judge in Bruges ruled that Vietnamese national Vo Van Hong played a key role in moving at least 15 of those who would later be found dead in the refrigerated container lorry, transporting them from Germany across Europe into safe houses in Brussels and then onto the transport in Northern France.