Southend Eastern Esplanade assault sees police officer hurt

Operation Union officers were called to a fracas in Eastern Esplanade shortly after 9pm on Saturday night.

One of the constables suffered several injuries after he was struck to the side of his head while tackling the incident.

A teenage girl from London was arrested on suspicion of assault on an emergency worker and she remains in police custody.

Assault - Eastern Esplanade in Southend (Image: Google)

Supt Philip Stinger, of Essex Police’s Operation Support Group, said: “We are supporting our officer who sustained several injuries after he was struck a blow to the side of his head.

“Our officers often deal with difficult or dangerous situations to keep people safe, prevent crime or detaining suspects, but we won’t tolerate assaults on our officers.”

He added: “I’d like to thank our partners who work alongside us as part of Op Union and to the council’s CCTV team who alerted us to this incident allowing our officers to respond immediately.

“It really helps when we are all working together.

Attack - a police patrol (Image: Submitted)

“We want people to visit Southend and have a great time but I want to be clear, those who come to Southend intent on trouble will not be welcome.”

Operation Union is now in its third year and aims to combat high-harm crime in the busiest areas of Southend during the summer as it sees record numbers of visitors.

Essex Police’s officers are deployed on daily Op Union patrols the force said are dedicated to keeping residents safe.

High visibility patrols were ramped up in the seaside city on Sunday in response to the incident.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said: “It will allow officers to identify anyone who may be intent on causing issues to be spoken to in advance.

“If you have concerns, please approach our officers to tell them and they will help you. If it’s an emergency, call 999.”