Residents may have seen a large police presence in Southend today with high-visibility and plain-clothed officers in the city.

Essex Police have completed a Project Servator deployment in Southend today with high-visibilty and plain-clothed officers patrolling specific parts of the city centre.

Today we have completed a Project Servator deployment in Southend City Centre.

Echo: Officers pictured in the city centreOfficers pictured in the city centre (Image: Essex Police)

An Essex Police spokesman for Southend said: "Using both high-visibility and plain-clothed officers, we have deployed to specific parts of the town, and we would like to thank everyone with whom we have engaged today, whether you had a nice chat with us or we had our hands in your pockets…

"We thank you for your cooperation."

The force's Project Servator deployments are always unpredictable and can pop up anywhere in the area.

This aims to deter, detect and disrupt a range of criminal activity, including terrorism, while providing a reassuring presence for the public. 

The officers deployed are specially trained to spot the tell-tale signs that someone is planning or preparing to commit an act of crime.