The number of individuals and families waiting for council housing is decreasing, but frustration is rising for many of those who feel their needs are being ignored.

Braintree Council’s housing register currently contains 2,529 names, the majority of which are in Band E - the lowest priority.

At present there are 1,014 people in Bands A to C, those whose needs are given highest priority.

The current size of the list shows a significant drop from last July, when it contained 3,310 names.

But the thousands of househunters still have only a handful of options at a time to fight for.

Full report in this week's newspaper