Police are gearing up for the 25th air show in Southend at the end of the month.

The two-day show, now known as the Festival of the Air, is expected to attract hundreds of visitors and Inspector Steve Kilcoyne has been given the task of making sure they are able to enjoy the event in safety.

Insp Kilcoyne, lead planner for Festival of the air, has been working with Southend on Sea Borough Council, Essex Fire and Rescue Service and Essex Ambulance Service to make sure the event runs smoothly.

Extra uniformed and non-uniformed officers will be on patrol in and around the town throughout the event, which is being held on May 30 and 31, and Essex Police’s mounted, marine and air support units will also have a part to play.

Insp Kilcoyne said: “We work very closely with the council as well as with the fire brigade and ambulance service. We’ve come together to form some real in depth plans to make sure people are safe and we can respond to any criminality.

“A lot of the specialist units of Essex Police are used. We will have officers that are specifically trained to deal with the tomfoolery that comes with drunken behaviour and officers out on the water to make sure the area the aeroplanes fly over is clear. We’ll also have the horses down of an evening which are an excellent way of engaging with the public and getting eyes high up, and we’ll have the helicopter available to us if we need it as an eye in the sky. As always, we will have plain clothed officers out and about keeping an eye on things to make sure we know what’s going on out there and can respond quickly.”

We've come together to form some real in depth plans to make sure people are safe and we can respond to criminality.

Insp KilcoyneOfficers will also be on hand to deal with any drunken or anti-social behaviour in the seaside town.

“You can’t dispute the fact that it’s not necessarily a good combination to have lots of people in a town with lots of pubs particularly when the sun is shining,” Insp Kilcoyne added.

“If a small minority decide to act in a way that’s stupid that can ruin the day for other people so we make sure we’ve got people around who can monitor what’s happening so if anything is starting to get out of hand we can quickly deal with it.

“If the sun shines and we can fill the town out with people who enjoy themselves, there is no stupidity and nothing happens that is dangerous or harms anyone then that’s a job well done.”