A UKIP councillor was the victim of a sickening attack which his party is claiming was politically motivated.
East Tilbury councillor James Baker was assaulted on his way to a meeting in his ward Tilbury to hear about a controversial housing development.
A gang of four individuals spotted the councillor walking through the village and hurled abuse at him before throwing stones and bricks. The councillor’s head was cut open and police have been informed of the incident.
UKIP Cllr James Baker said: "It is deeply concerning that a Councillor is unable to safely walk through their ward to attend meetings to support their community without being attacked.
"I am sorry I was unable to visit the Cogent Land meeting yesterday or join local residents on the protest today, I am fully committed to stopping this unwanted development but need time to recover.
"I will continue to focus on my casework as a local councillor as supporting the interests of the residents of my community and the vulnerable people in our society is my number one priority, regardless of the action of fear and intimidation from any individuals.
UKIP Thurrock Group Leader, Cllr Graham Snell said: "The perpetrators of this attack should be ashamed of themselves, thankfully, aside from being a little rattled, Councillor Baker is OK.
"However, it is just this kind of incident that the Police have said they may not attend due to the severe reduction in officer numbers caused by the huge funding cuts imposed by the Tory Government.
"Issues of anti-social behaviour have been allowed to escalate in communities resulting in residents being put in danger.
"The government need to decide if they believe the safety of residents is important or not, because their continued political agenda of slashing police budgets is not acceptable."
