BREAKING NEWS: In the early hours of 6 January 2017, a car was driven in to the entrance lobby of the East Tilbury library which houses the Bata Heritage Centre and our archive collection. The car was then deliberately set alight. There has been serious damage to the library. The impact on our collection is still to be assessed. As a result, the library has been temporarily closed.
As yet we are unable to get into the East Tilbury library to assess the damage to our collection. News reports suggest there has been much damage to the books in the library, so we are really worried about our own unique and irreplaceable items of historic interest.
This is terrible for the local community. The library was so well used by many groups, residents of East Tilbury and the local school children.
The Chairman of the Bata Heritage Centre, Mike Tarbard, gave an excellent report live on BBC Essex on 6 January. There were further updates on BBC Essex during the day.
