Southend: Large gathering decends into knife violence

[thetapeworm]

A large event that was planned online descended into violent knife battles in Southend last night, 1 person was stabbed and others injured, 8 arrests have been made and a dispersal order is now in place.

BBC News said:

A man was stabbed, eight people were arrested and serious injuries reported after violent disorder erupted on a city seafront and High Street.

Essex Police said a Section 60 dispersal order would remain in place in Southend-on-Sea until 20:00 BST on Wednesday after the disorder on Tuesday night.

The force said seven weapons were also seized, and a video shared on social media appeared to show at least four people dressed in black brandishing large knives near the resort's Adventure Island theme park.

The local MP Bayo Alaba said there was "a pattern now" of people posting on social media about planned meet-ups on the beach, which needed to be "looked at differently".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce4q8eepj8po

A similar thing happened around this time last year:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-664560...

And it's happened in previous years:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-618520...

Presumably this isn't just limited to Southend.

[Pincher]

Drove through that area at about 7:15pm last night - lots of people around, many of them not particularly dressed for the beach. Mostly down from London from what I've heard.

[Scrump]

Existing thread here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...