Teachers are shunning Castle Point schools because they get paid less there than elsewhere in Essex.

Castle Point MP Bob Spink blamed the borough's teacher recruitment problems on the cash shortfall, and is fighting to win them extra benefits.

Staff in nearby Basildon get an extra £792 a year thanks to the outer London fringe allowance, which is also paid to colleagues in Epping Forest, Harlow and Brentwood.

Published Friday August 16, 2002

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