Teen arrested and weapons seized after disturbance

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested and charged following a disturbance at Southend, Essex, on Friday

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested following a disturbance where two weapons were seized, police said.

On Friday at about 20:50 BST, Essex Police was called to an incident involving a group of young people in Warrior Square Park, Southend, after receiving reports of knives being seen.

Police officers recovered a baseball bat and a flick knife.

The teenager from Southend, who cannot be named because of his age, was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and has since been charged with breaching a Community Protection Notice.

'Concern'

The 17-year-old is due to appear at Southend Magistrates' Court on 24 September.

Essex Police said a Community Protection Notice was a useful tools for preventing and addressing persistent offending.

The notices can prohibit defendants from entering certain areas or else prohibit specific anti-social activities.

Sgt Carly Boitoult, from the Southend Community Policing Team, said: “We are investigating several reports of anti-social behaviour linked to this disturbance and will be progressing our inquiries this weekend.

“This behaviour causes understandable concern to the community and our fast response to this incident, including making an important arrest and seizing weapons, shows we are taking this issue seriously.

“Throughout the summer, the busiest areas of Southend are patrolled by dedicated teams of officers under Operation Union.

“This weekend will be covered by this operation and you can expect to see officers out on high-visibility patrols.

“We’re confident, and the figures show, incidents of disorder and violence remain rare. But one incident is too many and we’re always alert to such reports.

“Where incidents such as this arise, we will act and we will use powers available to us to protect the public.”