Thurrock Council and Essex Police have collected £5,700 during a joint-operation to tackle street drinking and waste problems in Grays Town Centre.

A joint operation was held on Friday July 28 which saw officers deal with people who were causing a nuisance in the town and businesses which were not meeting waste expectations.

A total of 15 businesses were fined £4,500 between them for not dealing with waste they were previously warned about, whilst a further 18 businesses were given two weeks to deal with theirs.

Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) were given out and two street drinkers had their alcohol taken away from them and were banished from Grays Town Centre for 48 hours.

A further 15 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) were given out for littering.

Cllr Aaron Watkins, Portfolio Holder for Environment, welcomed the action taken: “I want to send a clear message to those who are causing a nuisance to the public and businesses in the area – your selfish actions will not be tolerated.

“These joint operations, while important, are not all we are doing. In the 11 days before the operation, eight fines were issued to people breaching the PSPO.

“We have seen how fly-tipping can blight our borough and often hits the public purse. Businesses have been warned: get the right waste licenses in place or face a hefty fine.

“We will continue to use every power at our disposal to tackle anti-social behaviour and improve the environment.”