THUGS smashed the windows of a flat in Westcliff and tried to break down a door.

The incident happened at about 12.30pm yesterday, in Burdett Avenue, near the back of the St Alban the Martyr Church.

One man, who didn’t want to be named, said: “It looked like there was a guy trying to smash the door down with a wrench or something.”

Another, aged 22, said: “There was a lot of shouting and screaming. It sounded like threats were being made.”

Another passer-by said she saw two men, in their thirties, and a teenage girl at the scene.

A 29-year-old man who lives in the flat that was targeted, said: “I was sitting in my lounge relaxing when people started throwing bricks, smashing glass with their fists and shouting ‘We run Southend’. It was very scary.

“They must have thought I was a drug dealer.I don’t have anything to do with that kind of thing, but in the yard near the flat there are always people dealing drugs.”

A police spokeswoman said: “Officers attended and will be seeking to take a statement.

Anyone with information should call police at Southend on 101.”