A MOTHER was left “shaken up” after a brawl at Southend’s Adventure Island saw families flee the popular seafront attraction.

Speaking to the Echo, she told how she had planned an exciting evening at the theme park alongside her husband and two-year-old child.

Arriving at the attraction at 4.30pm on Friday, the family’s fun-filled evening was quickly scuppered as trouble ensued.

Essex Police has now confirmed six people have been arrested as a result of the incident, including a 15-year-old girl and a boy of the same age.

The mother, an annual pass holder at the attraction, said what happened was “really worrying” and that she is unsure whether the family will return to the theme park again.

Read more >> Adventure Island boss thanks police for ‘no-nonsense’ approach dealing with ‘bunch of baddies’

She said: “Me, my husband and our two-year-old were walking towards the ticket office when we saw maintenance staff rushing past followed by security - I thought a ride had broken down.

“I was buying a wristband for my daughter when I heard lots of screaming. There appeared to be people fighting and climbing over barriers.

“Suddenly there was a massive surge of people.

“A father was screaming he’d lost his daughter and I saw a little boy pushed into a gate.

“It was like a stampede.

“From this, there appeared to be more people from the other side of the theme park who had come to join in the fight.

“No one knew what was going on, I ran inside with my daughter because it was absolute mayhem.

“The staff were desperately trying to get people to safety while the security attempted to get a hold of what was going on.

“Everyone was told to evacuate or stay inside. We were held inside the amusement section.

“I felt so sorry for the staff, some of them were in tears and others were in complete shock, I’ve never seen anything like it.

“I was really shaken up, I didn’t know how we were going to get out.

“There were kids screaming and crying and there were a lot of panicked parents. It was really scary.

“I and a number of other people called 999 as we needed help fast.”

Essex Police confirmed officers were at the scene within two minutes.

The force revealed two of its officers were also assaulted during the incident, but neither sustained any injuries.