COMMUTERS fed up with poor facilities at the busiest station on the c2c line have had their views presented in Parliament.

A petition started by Canvey resident Lisa Gilliham has been signed by hundreds of travellers, raising worries about bicycle security, thefts and vandalism at Benfleet station.

The petition says its signatories "lament the reluctance of local councils to accept responsibility to deal with these matters".

The document has now been mentioned in a Parliamentary debate by Castle Point MP Bob Spink.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Dr Spink said: "We all know how important it is to encourage people to use public transport and to cycle, for health and environmental reasons and how important it is to tackle crime prevention by all possible means."

The station does have bicycle racks, but Mrs Gilliham's son Jason, 17, has had three bikes stolen or vandalised there in a year. He now rides a tatty old bike which he hopes thieves will overlook Rail firm c2c has said measures were being looked at to improve bike security at the station.