A TERRIFIED teenage boy was beaten to the ground by a masked gang in a “traumatic” daylight attack at a Basildon park.

Police have now launched a probe into the assault, in Gloucester Park, at about 4.15pm on Tuesday.

The force believes a teenage boy was attacked by a group of other teenagers near the skate park.

Witnesses spotted the victim having been beaten to the ground.

Scott Donnan, a Basildon resident, immediately thought the worst after hearing the commotion unfold just by his home.

Mr Donnan, 23, said: “I was standing at the window and heard a loud of shouting, which turned into a bit of a scream.

“I looked out onto the balcony and saw the young guy just crouching into a ball on the ground and the three guys were running away. They all had some sort of mask or face covering on, whether they were balaclavas I don’t know.

“He stayed on the ground for a while and a few people ran over to him, I think they’d seen or heard what happened too.

“I’m not sure how badly he was injured, but the first thing I thought was oh no has he been stabbed. I was honestly shocked. I phoned 101 right after it happened and gave them a description of what the guys were wearing.”

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Councillor Kerry Smith, who is on the communities and wellbeing committee, fears the attack will have been “traumatic” for the victim.

He said: “This is really distressing, I’m sure it will unnerve a lot of residents.

“Now these lockdowns are being eased off and the summer months are here the troublemakers are coming out and trying to cause as many problems as possible.

“It is concerning as a councillor to even hear about. If you feel worried at all about using the parks take a friend with you and go out in pairs if you can.

“Please also try and get yourself a personal alarm.”

Anyone with information on the incident should contact Essex Police by calling 101 and quoting crime reference number 42/137568/21.

If you would prefer to remain anonymous you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.