Hauliers angered by conditions at Tilbury
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• Facilities at Tilbury docks have become so bad that drivers are being treated like animals, say some hauliers using the port.
Drivers say they cannot get proper meals at the docks since they were banned from using the canteen; there are no shower or washing facilities and few toilets. These problems are made worse by long waiting times for loading and unloading, they claim.
A driver for Melton Mowbray general haulier Ritchie Transport ran out of driving time after waiting seven hours to collect a load from Tilbury.
Managing director Ricky Morris says: "My driver was not allowed to wait in the docks and refused to move his vehicle until the police sanctioned him to do so. After loading he was black as the ace of spades but he had to wait all night without a wash or food before he could move."
A driver for Kings Lynnba:.ed Starr Roadways was nei.rly arrested after suffering the same problem.
A spokeswoman for Tilbury docks says it had to ban drivers from its canteen because it was causing congestion with lorries parking outside. She adds that there are food and drink vending machines in the reception area.
Drivers are allowed to wash and use the toilets in the main reception and outer port areas but the spokeswoman admits that these are often shut because of vandalism.