THREE man have been arrested following a robbery in south Essex.

The incident happened in Benfleet yesterday and officers from several policing teams made the arrests after stopping a van.

Detectives believed the vehicle was linked to the robbery and tracked it down after it was spotted by the police dog team.

Firearms units and the Essex Roads Policing team worked together to stop the van.

They found two knives inside during a search and arrested the man inside the vehicle.

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The roads policing unit tweeted: “A robbery was reported in Benfleet this afternoon and this van was suspected to be involved.

“Van sighted a short while later by Essex Police Dogs and stopped by ourselves and Essex Police Firearms.

“Two knives found during a search resulting in the three occupants being arrested.”