COUNCIL and police bosses raided a caravan site as part of work to crack down on tax fraud.

The joint partnership between Thurrock Council and Essex Police to tackle council tax fraud has seen success following tough action.

The raid was deployed at 10:30am on Tuesday to a Buckles Lane site in order to establish if residents were paying council tax.

In total, 13 caravans were inspected during the 2-hour operation that also saw a vehicle seized for not having insurance.

Rob Gledhill, leader of the council, said: “It is grossly unfair on the residents who pay for the services they receive from the council, police and fire service to allow properties at Buckles Lane and other locations across the borough to think they can receive those services for free.

“This is another example of cross-partnership working, our Environment Enforcement and Council Tax teams were able to join forces with Essex Police to identify the households not paying their fair share, unlike most of our considerate and law abiding residents.”