TWO teenagers were stabbed during a night of chaos on Southend seafront last night.

The two boys were stabbed on Marine Parade shortly after 7.40pm, in what police believe to be a targeted attack. One boy remains in a serious condition.

Officers worked quickly to search 12 teenagers and recover knives from the scene.

Police put in place a huge dispersal order across Southend last night after the targeted assaults.

The order covered Station Road in Westcliff up to Southchurch.

Read more: All we know as Southend sees yet another dispersal order after night of chaos

It also covered Marine Parade and Western Esplanade to the south, the entirety of Southchurch Park to the east, Queensway to the north, and Hamlet Court Road and part of Station Road to the west, while also incorporating Chalkwell, Southend Central, Southend Victoria and Southend East Railway Stations.

Police were granted extra stop and search powers which ran until midnight.

The dispersal order remained in place until 4am this morning which meant police could move people out from the area.

Police have thanked those who stepped in to give first aid.

Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: “At this time, we believe these were targeted attacks and we worked quickly to take weapons off of the street.

“My officers have been processing CCTV throughout the night and we’re continuing to work hard to identify those responsible for last night’s disorder. The two victims are being supported in hospital, where one remains in a serious condition.

“I understand that these incidents will have been very concerning for the community, and I’d like to say thank you to them. Thank you those who stepped in to give first aid, to anyone who phoned us with information, and anyone who has shared their CCTV with us.

“In Southend, we’re a community, and we’re working hard to keep our community safe. We have the second largest increase in footfall of any coastal town in the UK at the moment – second only to Blackpool – and with that can come criminal and anti-social behaviour, but we’re continuing to disrupt these incidents where we can, seize weapons to prevent them from being used in further crime, and bringing perpetrators to justice.”

“We’ll be putting extra patrols in place and I’d continue to urge people to come forward if they have any further information. You can submit it as a report through our website or by using the ‘Live Chat’ function on there. Of course, if you’d prefer to remain anonymous you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”