THREE men have been arrested after officers seized an imitation firearm, a knife and a large amount of cash when they became suspicious of a vehicle close to Lakeside, in West Thurrock.

Shortly after 7.30pm on Monday, 13 May, officers carrying out patrols to tackle local antisocial behaviour came across a minor collision at Arterial Road roundabout between two vehicles, one of which was a van.

They saw a man holding a large amount of cash. When officers asked for the man to provide identification, he attempted to distract the officers from going near to his van.

When the officers got close to the vehicle, they saw a baseball bat and two other men in the vehicle.

Once all three were detained safely, a search on the van uncovered a lock knife hidden under the driver's seat as well as an imitation firearm and between £3,000 and £4,000 in cash.

During a further search, officers found three vehicle registration plates and a number of sets of vehicle keys which did not relate to the van.

All three men were arrested on suspicion of possession of an imitation firearm, theft of motor vehicle and possession of an offensive weapon.

They have been bailed with conditions until July while theinvestigation continues.

CI Tony Atkin.

Thurrock district commander Chief Inspector Tony Atkin said: "The officers who were quickly at the scene of this incident knew something wasn't right and persevered even when the driver attempted to distract them from doing their duty.

"And thankfully they did.

"The severity of these items which have been seized speak for themselves – but it is very important to note that they are now off the streets of Essex and cannot cause harm to our Thurrock community."