Police car overturns while responding to incident

Essex Police said its vehicle was responding to an incident at the time

A busy road junction has been closed after a police car was involved in a crash and overturned.

Essex Police said it was told at 12:55 BST that one of its marked cars collided in Southend-on-Sea while responding to an incident.

The junction of Victoria Avenue and Great Eastern Avenue, which is close to the city's police station, was shut.

"We expect this incident to cause disruption to the surrounding road network. Drivers should check before they travel and plan accordingly," a police spokesperson said.

Essex Police warned of congestion near the junction in Southend-on-Sea

Pictures and video shared on social media showed the police car overturned, with its blue lights flashing and its windows smashed.

There were ambulance units parked at the scene.

Police described the crash as a single-vehicle collision.

A man who told the BBC he witnessed the incident said the car drove round a corner before it "mounted the curb and just flipped".