Over £1,000 worth of penalty charge notices were issued to HGV drivers in one night last month.

The council crackdown came after complaints were made by residents about lorries parking "illegally" all over the borough.

The council said two Civil Enforcement Officers issued 46 different penalty charges to HGV drivers in one night for parking illegally in the borough.

Over 268 penalty charge notices were also given out to HGV's parked illegally since June 27.

The extra enforcement came after angry residents complained to the council that heavy goods vehicles were parking in residential areas around the borough.

Chair of Thurrock Park Residents’ Association Tony Coughlin, alerted the council to 18 large trucks he saw parked up in a laybye, with six vehicles “overhanging” the A1089 dual carriageway.

In his email, Mr Coughlin, 57, of Sedge Court, said it was “not only illegal but dangerous.”

He said: “It simply isn't acceptable that Thurrock road users and residents have to endure such bad behaviour by these drivers.

“If I dare to park illegally in Grays High Street, I would soon have a parking ticket. Why is there no legal enforcement here?”

Following the crackdown, Councillor Brian Little, Portfolio Holder for Transport and Highways, said: “It is important that the council clamps down on vehicles parking where they shouldn’t.

“When large vehicles like this enter residential areas to park they can cause disruption to the community and pose a threat to local road users, especially if it is late at night.”

Thurrock Council also said it received £20,000 from old, unpaid fines in March from Euro Parking Collections (EPC), the company responsible for collecting fines from foreign vehicles that park illegally in the borough.

The council aims to continue this scheduled plan of enforcement late at night and overnight into the future.

For more information on parking enforcement in the borough, go to: thurrock.gov.uk/parking-enforcement