'Dust from lorries has damaged my eyesight'

Dave Brown said he had been suffering eye irritation caused by the dust

An employee who has quit his job has blamed health problems caused by an ongoing issue of lorries kicking up dust and debris.

Dave Brown, who was described as "part of the furniture" at New Again Auto Reconditioning in Chelmsford, said his eyesight was "gradually going".

Gary Wray, owner of the car repair firm in New Street, uploaded a YouTube video to his website, Dusty Chelmsford, pinning the blame on Aggregate Industries, whose lorries are "regularly overloaded with no covers".

The construction supplies company, which pledged to address the problem last year, said: "[We have] invested in extensive improvements at our Chelmsford site."

Gary Wray, owner of New Again Auto Reconditioning, said the smaller stones were causing damage to shopfronts

It added that Chelmsford City Council’s environmental health team had visited the site and welcomed the changes that had been made.

But it acknowledged there was "still room for improvement".

With regards to claims of speeding, it said Brook Street, where it is based, had a designated 40mph limit but "we instruct drivers to adhere to a 15mph limit".

'Racing through the city'

Mr Wray told BBC Essex: "I think it's affecting a lot more people than they realise, but they just don't know – and that's the problem.

"These lorries are in excess of 25 tonnes, and they're racing through the city."

Last year, another employee at New Again Auto Reconditioning, James Dyas, took a week off and needed hospital treatment because of abrasions to his left eye.

At the time, Aggregate Industries said it was receiving hundreds of thousands of tonnes of aggregates every year that it was delivering to the nearby Beulieu Park housing and railway station developments, but it pledged that measures would be taken to reduce debris on the roads.

The boss of New Again Auto Reconditioning said this damage was caused by a stone flicked up by a passing car

Chelmsford City Council said it first received a complaint in May 2022, and that was closed in September 2023 "following extensive investigation".

It added: "In May 2024, further concerns were reported. Environmental health visited Aggregate Industries again and our officer gave advice to the operators of the site, which was undertaken. No further complaints have been received.

"If anyone has concerns about environmental or public health, we urge them to contact Chelmsford City Council or submit a report via our website."