A council officer has been left with a broken leg, just one incident amongst a spate of attacks on council staff and contractors.

The incident, which took place on Southend High Street yesterday (March 26), happened when a cyclist rode straight at a community safety patrol officer. The incident was captured on CCTV and police are investigating.

This is the latest in a line of incidents where council officer’s including park groundskeepers, civil enforcement officers and community safety patrol officers, have also received verbal abuse, been spat at and pushed, by members of the public.

Southend Council are reviewing the work of these teams daily, with an announcement on changes to parks maintenance expected soon.

Councillor Martin Terry, cabinet member for community safety and customer care, said: “This is unacceptable behaviour from certain individuals within our community. I hope the police are quick to catch the offending cyclist and any other perpetrators using the full force of the law to protect our workers. 

“I understand that people staying home feel like other workers should not be on the streets, but our staff are simply doing their job as per the national guidance issued. They have been keeping the streets and parks safe and in good order, so our residents can continue to use them, whilst following the Government’s social distancing guidelines."

If you witness an attack on anyone please report this to the police, online at essex.police.uk or call 101.

If the attack is ongoing and an emergency, dial 999.