CCTV footage of witnesses to a rape has been released by police.

Officers investigating the rape of a woman near Southend East train station have issued the CCTV image to appeal to the witnesses to come forward.

The group of young people are aged approximately 16 to 18 and assisted the woman at around 5.30am to 6am on Sunday, January 2,6 in the area of Southend East railway station and Ambleside Drive.

The group consisted of around five people, four male and one female, who were wearing casual clothing and hooded tops.

They called a taxi for the woman, aged 21, who was blonde and wore a peach coloured dress.

If you were part of this group you are asked to contact Det Con Carol Sartain at the Rayleigh Sexual Offences Investigation Team on 101.

A 23-year-old man from Southend is currently on police bail having been arrested on suspicion of rape until March 31.