Southend: man charged with assault in Southchurch Road incident

Essex Police has continued its investigation into the Southchurch Road incident.

Officers were called to the road at around 1.40am on October 6 after reports of an incident involving a group of people.

Residents claimed to have seen one man "running around with a huge knife".

Area - an image of Southchurch Road (Image: Google Maps) Video footage recorded by a member of the public showed a group of around 10 young men dressed in all-black, fighting another young man, and stamping on him.

During the incident, a number of arrests were made with one man, Claude Balaguette, 28, of Dorchester Way, Harrow, Middlesex,  admitted possession of a blade or pointed article and affray.

He will be sentenced at Basildon Crown Court on November 11.

Now, the force has charged Alfie Palmer, of no fixed address, with assault in relation to the Southchurch Road incident.

An image taken from the residents' video footage of the violent incident (Image: Public) The 19-year-old is also charged with breaching an electronic monitoring tag and five breaches of a previously-issued community protection notice.

He will appear in Southend Magistrates’ Court tomorrow, October 14.

A second man, aged 18, was arrested in relation to this incident and in connection with a separate incident in the city on September 15 has been released whilst our investigation continues.

That individual is also the subject of a community protection notice, with strict conditions attached to it.

Live facial recognition was deployed in Southend following a shocking machete attack on September 15.

Detective chief inspector (DCI) Rachel Jeffery said: “Our investigations into these contained incidents in Southend continue, with a number of really targeted enquiries being progressed.

Another image of a police officer (Image: Archive)“Where the evidence allows us, we are working determinedly to put those we believe to be involved in those incidents before the court.

“But we’re also seeking to ensure that those who are not yet charged are aware that we know who they are – and that we’re putting measures in place to monitor their behaviour to ensure our communities are protected.”

DCI Jeffery added: “This work won’t stop until we identify and charge everyone we believe to be involved and put them before the courts.”