WORK has finally begun to clear a fire damaged library.

Scaffolding has been put up in the East Tilbury Library, Princess Avenue, East Tilbury after it was destroyed and later broken into.

Workers and volunteers were given access to the building after essential works to support the roof took place.

The centre was shared by the library service and the Bata Heritage Group, which collected artefacts from the former Bata shoe company in Tilbury and the teams collected invaluable items.

The library was driven into and set on fire on Friday January 6, just days later it was broken into during the night between Friday January 13 and Saturday January 14.

Volunteers, along with Thurrock Council Officers, helped remove the remaining museum items which are kindly being stored by One Big Storage in East Tilbury.

Sue MacPherson, councillor for neighbourhoods said: “It is times like this when you realise what the word ‘community’ really means.

“I would like to thank One Big Storage in East Tilbury, along with the Post Office and HW Wilsons for their immense support and generosity during this difficult time.”

Mike Tarbard, Chair of Bata Heritage Centre, said: “We were pleasantly surprised to see the majority of the museum items in a recoverable condition and estimate 90 per cent of our collection has been salvaged.

“We were very fortunate that the fire was contained in the foyer area and that the fire doors restricted the potential damage that could have been caused.

"We are now working on the long job to restore the artefacts to their original state."