A CAMPAIGN has been launched to “Stop the Shelling” which is said to be damaging houses on the Tendring Coast.

Vibrations caused by the shelling undertaken by agents for the Ministry of Defence at the Shoeburyness firing range near Southend are blamed for cracks appearing on walls.

Problems have worsened in recent years as the detonation of old explosives has to be done on land, rather than them be dumped at sea.

Holland-on-Sea councillor Colin Sergeant has launched the campaign saying many residents have contacted him about the problem.

He said: "Unfortunately this has been going on for years – and despite people’s best intentions nothing has been achieved towards stopping this unnecessary disturbance on people’s lives. The passing of the buck has to stop."

The campaign plans to petition the petitioning of bthe Secretary of State for Defence, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Essex County Council, Kent County Council, district councils and the MPs of the two counties.

Joining him in the fight is Fred Sole, neighbour of Alan Seward of Madeira Road, whose house is said to have been damaged by the shelling.

Despite the MOD and its agent QinetiQ saying its shelling has not damaged property, Mr Sargeant believes some householders along the Essex coast have received compensation.

Rather than such shelling taking place 30 miles from London, they should occur somewhere remote like Scotland, or even the Falkland Islands.

A QinetiQ spokesperson said: “MOD Shoeburyness is a live firing range used by the UK Ministry of Defence for over 150 years to test the safety and effectiveness of equipment and skills required by our Armed Forces.

“Information about the range and its activities is published on our website and updates about expected noise are posted daily on Twitter.

“Independent studies have found no evidence linking activity at the Range with damage to property. Residents with specific concerns are invited to call our Careline free on 0800 0560108.”