EIGHTY-years-ago these were the devastating scenes blighting south Essex.

Homes, buildings and lives were being decimated by German bombs this time in 1940.

Second World War bombing raids over south Essex began in earnest in May 1940 when two German bombers attacked Southend, scoring direct hits on the Nore Yacht club and destroying a billet bordering the nearby airfield, killing ten soldiers.

Air raids then just kept coming. This was the eve of the Blitz, which would officially begin in September 1940 and last until May 1941 and would eventually claim the lives of 43,000 civilian men, women and children.

In June 1940, Southend High School for Boys was hit but escaped serious damage. One of the photos in our gallery shows a teacher at the school looking at a burnt patch of grass caused by an incendiary bomb.

Other photos in our gallery which have been collated from our archives, show some of the devastation of air raids on building and homes across the estuary, including in Southend and Rayleigh.

Pinpointing exactly where they were is not easy as great secrecy surrounded the aftermath of bombing raids. For security reasons newspapers were allowed to report what had happened but could not disclose the exact locations of bomb hits

A number of photos show the aftermath of a daylight bombing raid which targeted Westcliff on Thursday October 10 1940. The Fleetwood Avenue area was particularly hit and homes were destroyed, though thankfully there were no casualties.

An air raid warden on duty at the time told the Southend and County Pictorial “I heard the whistle of the bombs and and flung myself to the ground. There was a terrible bang and the earth, bits of tiles and wood came flying through the air.”

Other images show the devastation after Shoebury was hit and at least four homes destroyed on Sunday August 18.

Also, on Thursday September 19, 1940, Southend was bombed and seven houses were flattened.

A lot worse was to come for south Essex residents, with air raids set to claim more lives and demolish more buildings as the war years lingered on.

On a lighter note, some of the photos show residents making their most of their lifesaving Anderson shelters.

One Southend woman turned the roof of hers into a flower garden while another decorative mum from Leigh transformed her shelter into a Snow White-themed cottage.