Thurrock. A very strange place

We have a client who recruits HGV drivers for tankers all over the UK, the only major problem area is Thurrock, we've advertised widely on both sides of the river: No takers.
When Asda opened in Thurrock, recruiting was so difficult that Managers, Office Staff and coachloads of northern staff had to be shipped in to open the store.
A place as barren, uninhabited and pipe laden as the Wirral....aren't there more hospitable places to get an MOT!