Robert Bayford of Stenning Avenue was arrested in July 2011 following a multi agency operation involving the England Illegal Money Lending Team, Essex Police and Thurrock Council. He was charged with illegal money lending, after his home and business premise was searched.

Offences in relation to money laundering and handling stolen goods were not proceeded with.

Dc Steve Cunningham from Essex Police said: “Robert Bayford has lined his own pockets whilst depriving many financially vulnerable individuals of their livelihoods through illegal money lending.

“Essex Police in conjunction with partner agencies worked tirelessly to bring Mr Bayford to justice.”

Now the fight is on to find funding to replace the equipment which had been bought through a Mardyke Veolia Trust grant in 2011.

An earlier attack, in April, saw the field’s PArkor – concrete – equipment targeted and although there was no structural damage, repairing the superficial and surface damage cost £12,000.

Thurrock Council is working with Essex Police to investigate the crimes. Crimestoppers is offering a reward of £1,000 for information leading to the arrest and charge of suspects. Crimestoppers can be reached anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Police Inspector Leigh Norris said: “This is the latest in a catalogue of criminal damage offences around the park.

“The latest offences have involved the use of an axe or something similar to cut down a mature tree within the park. What particularly concerns me is that someone has had it in a public place, so it’s likely to be an offence on its own regardless of the damage caused.”

He added: “Police are working hard with local people, the council and other agencies to detect, prevent and reduce these offences, but we really need some community help regarding the names of those who may be responsible.

“This is a community park – and a good one at that. The park is being damaged by a person or people with absolutely no respect for the time, effort and money that has gone into improving the area for residents and visitors.

“This cannot and will not be tolerated and I am determined to identify who is responsible.”

Cllr Victoria Holloway, the council’s portfolio holder for environment, said: “This is a terrible loss for the young people of Purfleet, and just down to the actions of a minority maybe just one or two.

“It is hard to believe some people can be so thoughtless and stupid that they make a major effort to destroy something people they know thoroughly enjoy.

“Essential play and recreational equipment has been destroyed and now the council has to try and find funding for it to be replaced.

“The devastating effect fires have on our environment is also of great concern to us and we intend to do everything we can to restore Spiderfields.”

Portfolio holder for public protection, Cllr Angie Gaywood, Added: “We will work with our partners to find out who did this. Arson is a very serious crime and the effect it has had in Purfleet is clear for all to see.

“I know that some great work is being done in the area by youth workers, the housing teams, and our partners from Oasis and the fire service.

“We intend to do all we can to support the efforts of the police in finding the culprits and bringing them to justice.”

The owners/drivers were prosecuted for the offences at Basildon Magistrates Court last month.

Total fines for the 11 came to over £8,000, with fines ranging from £140 to £1,640 plus costs and surcharges.

Trading Standards advise all drivers to ensure that they are aware the permitted weight limits for their vehicle and do not exceed them.

Overloaded vehicles may affect braking distances and cause accidents which could have been avoided.

Officers are investigating after hundreds of leaflets offering a cheap deal for home-hunters were distributed in the area.

The leaflets, which are headed ‘Your Deserved Accommodation Guaranteed’, promise to find homes for an administration fee of £155.

Other details on the leaflet claim that the project is available under a Government-sponsored Home For All scheme.

But enquiries so far have shown that there is no Government-sponsored scheme of that name.

Investigating officer DS Tina Hart said: “We have serious doubts about these leaflets which seem to be aimed at the homeless or people trying to move up to better accommodation.

“The leaflets have been distributed throughout Grays, Tilbury and Chadwell St Mary and we want to hear from anyone who has responded to the offer on the leaflets through the PO Box at Basildon supplied.”

Anyone with information should contact DS Hart at Grays police station on 101.

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of fraud and have been bailed pending further enquiries.

The five men, all from Albania, were discovered at around 1.15am at the Port of Coquelles on 28 May when Border Force officers, along with sniffer dog Louis, searched the Italian-registered lorry as it waited to board a ferry to the UK.

The truck was carrying a mixed load of goods bound for addresses in Long Lane, Stanwell; Main Street, Pymoor; and Stonehouse Lane, Purfleet.

The stowaways were handed over to the French border police and the vehicle was allowed to continue onto its destinations.

Paul Morgan, Border Force Director for South East & Europe, said:

“This incident shows why we base Border Force staff in France – to stop would-be illegal immigrants before they can reach the UK.

“Our strong presence in French ports like Coquelles and close collaboration with the French authorities helps protect the whole of the UK from people attempting to enter the country illegally.

“As well as using sniffer dogs, officers also use heartbeat detectors, carbon dioxide probes and physical searches to find people hiding in vehicles”.

A leaflet, issued by the Border Force, in partnership with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), gives information and advice to lorry drivers transporting freight to and from the UK on how to prevent illegal immigration and avoid becoming victims of crime.

The collision happened when a the driver of a BMW 328 appears to have lost control of the car while travelling along Daiglen Drive shortly after 1am on Saturday, April 20 and struck a lamp post.

Both male occupants of the car, who lived in South Ockendon, were arrested, with 19-year-old unemployed Alfie Wood from Moss Road later charged with one count of being in possession of Class A drugs. He appeared at Basildon Magistrates Court on Thursday, May 9.

On Friday, June 7, 23-year-old unemployed Craig Taylor from Humber Avenue was charged with one count of driving while disqualified, one count of dangerous driving, one count of failing to stop for police, one count of driving while unfit through drink and one count of driving without insurance.

He is currently on police bail prior to his appearance at Basildon Magistrates Court on Monday, June 24.

Operation Athena is a £32 million system that will enable a number of forces to share intelligence.

Chairman of Essex Police Federation, Mark Smith questioned the expense.

He told the Echo: “We need to get it working and up and running, but I do have concerns. You try to be optimistic and hope the money has not been wasted.

“But we have lost officers, staff, the mounted unit, police stations and if we have more cuts in the second comprehensive spending review due later this month, then it is a risk putting money in if it never works.”

Essex Police refused to confirm how much the force was paying for it – although it could be more than £5 million over ten years.

IT systems have become more and more important to policing ever since the search for the Yorkshire Ripper was seen as severely hampered by using a manual card system. A system called HOLMES was introduced after that and IT has becoming increasingly important after that.

An Essex Police spokesman said: “As with any large project, there are a number of stages before it can go live.

“Inevitably there are issues which can cause delays. However we are confident the project will be delivered.”

Essex Police also defended their decision to spend the money on the system. The spokesman added: “Project Athena is one of the largest ever joint police projects.

“The new system will help forces to manage criminal investigations better, reduce cost and, most importantly, create a safer environment for local people.

“Athena will allow police officers and staff to see the whole picture relating to incidents and the people involved.”

Brett Adams (24) from Burntmills Road, North Benfleet is charged with harassment, assault by beating, a public order offence and obstructing a police officer.

The suspect is described a white man, aged in his early 20s with short, dark brown hair and was carrying a large blue holdall which he concealed the items in, making no effort to pay.

Anyone who can name the man in the photo is asked to contact Pc Paul Lamb at Grays police station on 101.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Pc Adam Hall at Grays, on 101.

Desmond Gogarty, of Apollo Place, is accused of kicking a dog in Grays, Essex, on April 27 and is charged with causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, in violation of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Essex Police dispatched several police cars and mobilised the police helicopter to Park Road, Corringham at 10.20am today (Tues June 4th) after reports of armed people at a location in the area.

Officers attended and surrounded the property but it was later established the call was a hoax.

Police are continuing the investigate the circumstances.

There have been four committed in the area in the last month and officers are advising motorists to be vigilant.

These included the theft of a catalytic convertor from a white LDV Maxus panel van in Church Road, Corringham, between 6.30pm on Sunday May 5 and 10.50pm on Monday May 6.

Graham Anthony, Crime Prevention Tactical Advisor with Essex Police, said: “Thieves like to steal from vehicles parked in places where they run the least risk of being seen and caught. Try to ensure that you always park in areas of good lighting and natural surveillance opportunities. If you have a fleet of parked vehicles, block those with high clearance using vehicles with low clearance. This will help to obstruct access underneath the vehicle.

“There are special products designed to frustrate the theft of catalytic converters. These include special clamps and security marking systems. Think about starting a Neighbourhood Watch or Business Watch scheme, a good way to get everyone working together to discourage crime and make the place in which you live and work better and safer for everyone.”

Anyone with information should call Grays police station on 101.

Stanford and Corringham residents have raised concerns at the apparent rapid increase in thefts in the area. From burglaries, to thefts from sheds, to thefts from cars, there was a clear sense that acquisitive crime was on the increase.

But with the recession now in its fifth year, was there really an increase over the past twelve months?

YT submitted a Freedom of Information request to Essex Police and asked the following question.

Q. Could you tell me how many burglaries there were in the Stanford/Corringham area between Jan 1st-March 31st in 2012 and the same period in 2013?

Essex Police replied:

Stanford Le Hope West: 2012:16 2013:38

The Homestead: 2012:11 2013:12

Stanford Le Hope East: 2012:11 2013:22

Corringham and Fobbing 2012:16 2013:20

This makes a total of 92 in 2013 compared to 54 in 2012. Close onto a 100% increase.

The increase begs a number of questions. With the recession, now in its fifth year, why has there been such a rapid rise over the last twelve months?

Some may question whether the £43 million pounds worth of cuts to Essex Police have had an impact?

One resident believed that a comment by a group of local youths may hold the key.

The resident (who did not wish to be named) said: “A group of youths were causing annoyance near my shop. I came out to remonstrate and warned them that I would call the police. They just laughed at me and said, “There are no police….”

Next week, YT will be putting these figures to the Essex Police and Crime Commissioner, Nick Alston.

Stanford East councillor, Phil Smith (Lab) sees the spike as a consequence of political actions.

Cllr Smith said: “For me it would seem reasonable to draw the conclusion that the cuts imposed by this Tory lead coalition on the police have had a direct result on the increase in number of burglaries. A police presence reassures residents that they are safe plus it deters criminal activities.

“When you look at the numbers they are not massive but for each one of these people it will feels like they have been violated, you do not feel safe in your own home and in a lot of cases it is items of sentimental value that have been taken and they can never be replaced.

“I would call on the Local Police Commissioner to fight the cuts and to increase the numbers of police back to at least the numbers we had before the Tory lead coalition started on its failed program of cuts.”

Stanford West councillor, Terry Hipsey said: “This is what happens when investment into police services, (numbers and stations being closed) or people who do not have access to money through lose of their income happen.

“Thanks to our two local MP’s and their condoning councillor supporters of this rotten coalition government are the ones who should be held to account and need to answer why they have allowed what seems to me to be a real travesty for those poor people who have found their properties broken into and personal items removed.”

Conservative Homesteads councillor, Sue MacPherson has also pledged to look into the figures.