Six arrested after officers assaulted during brawl

LONDON: Six people have been arrested after a man and two police officers were assaulted during a brawl at a seaside theme park.

The owners of Adventure Island, in Southend, Essex, have expressed dismay that “an otherwise trouble-free summer holidays” were marred by the incident on Friday.

Essex Police were called to the resort at about 4.40pm following reports of an assault. The 20-year-old security guard, who was the victim of the assault, did not need medical treatment but two officers were also attacked during the incident.

The force said one officer was kicked while the other was hit on the head and had her hair pulled. Neither officer sustained any injuries. Six people have been arrested in connection with the incident and all remained in custody on Saturday.

Officers are reviewing Adventure Island’s CCTV footage of the incident.

Chief Inspector David Miles said: “This incident understandably caused some alarm locally yesterday, but I can assure the public that despite a number of reports online, no weapons of any kind were used against anyone.

“A security guard at Adventure Island was assaulted but is thankfully recovering well.

“As a result of the policing plans we have in place in Southend, we were able to respond to this incident within two minutes of it being reported to us. “Sadly, as our officers responded to the incident, two were injured as they did their job.

“Thankfully, however, they were not seriously hurt. This again serves to highlight the risks police officers take each day as they go about their role.”

Philip Miller, whose company, the Stockvale Group, runs Adventure Island, said: “It is a shame that an otherwise trouble-free summer holidays was marred by this incident.

“I would like to thank Essex Police, who arrived promptly and took a no-nonsense approach in dealing with this incident. I must also pay tribute to my own team of guards and staff who all held the line.”