A WOMAN was cautioned and two men arrested following a group's attempt to run an illegal rave in Southend.

Essex Police despatched multiple officers to the seafront as the large group of people - reportedly in the hundreds - arrived by bus to the Sea Life Centre car park.

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A generator seized in Southend

The dispersal order was issued by police after coaches initially destined for Bradwell-on-Sea arrived in Southend when police blocked their entrance to the beach.

The group did not have access to any music equipment after it was seized earlier in the day, and police stopped vehicles that looked to attend to cause a nuisance.

Some members of the group threw objects at officers trying to move them on.

The dispersal order was put in place from Wednesday night until yesterday morning, running 4.5 miles from Shoebury at Uncle Toms Café to Chalkwell Beach.

Two men from London, aged 23, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance and have been released under investigation.

A 20-year-old woman from London was arrested in Southend on suspicion of using threatening behaviour to cause harassment. She has since accepted an adult conditional caution.

Joan Tiney, chairman of Southend Seafront Traders Association, blasted the revellers, saying they were spoiling the seafront for other people.

She said: "We want families down there, we don't want this herd there.

"Some of them are good as gold, but when we get big groups together they think they can do what they like."

Chief Superintendent Glen Pavelin said: "Our operations continue to remain in place and I want to reassure people that this event will not take place.

“We would like to thank the communities in Bradwell-on-Sea and Southend for their support on Wednesday.

“We took robust action, we seized a second generator ahead of its arrival and we made another arrest.

“A small section of the group threw objects at my officers. This will not be tolerated and we will carry out our enquiries to locate those individuals."

Call 101 with information.

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All scene pictures by Aaron Chesham