Southend: Gang 'tried to murder man by setting him on fire'

Basildon Crown Court heard that four people allegedly tried to murder the man in Southchurch Avenue, Southend on October 30, 2019.

Shocking police body cam footage showed PC Rebecca Halifax attending an emergency call and finding the man with severe burns across his body sat in a bedroom.

Alan Archer, 33, of Fairmead Avenue, Westcliff, Paul Bruns, 53, of York Road, Southend, Ben Ince, 41, of no fixed address, and Jane Reilly, 53, of Trowbridge Road, Harold Hill, deny attempted murder.

A jury was told the attack was carried out in the early hours of the morning, with the alleged victim returning to his home at 1.34am.

The footage played to the jury showed PC Halifax being let into the home by a woman, a friend of the alleged victim, who said “they set him on fire”.

The video then shows the man sitting on the bed in just his underwear, with visible burn injuries to various parts of his body.

As more police arrive, PC Halifax had the victim’s phone in her hand, and a number rings with the name “Alan”.

When radioing senior officers, PC Halifax said: “I’ve currently got the victim’s phone, ‘Alan’ has called it twice now, what does he want us to do?”.

The footage then moves outside the building where a large emergency services presence can be seen, with at least five or six police and ambulance vehicles present.

The man can then be seen to be wheeled out of the house and into an ambulance.

Reading out the agreed facts to the jury, Hannah Llewellyn-Waters, prosecuting, told the jury the man had been taken to Southend Hospital and then transferred to the burns unit in Broomfield Hospital.

She said: “He had burn injuries to 60 per cent of his body, this included his face, his right arm, neck, back, buttocks and left lower leg.

“The burns were full thickness, or first degree burns. They required immediate surgical treatment. Despite maximum reconstruction he will require further rehabilitation.”

The trial continues.