A SERIES of incidents in the early hours of this morning in Tilbury has prompted an appeal by police for information.

Detectives are appealing for witnesses and dash cam footage after three events in the vicinity of St Chads Road and Calcutta Road between 4 and 4.45am today (Saturday, 7 November) when it was reported that three men in a large white car, SUV style, were involved with one man wearing a Hi Vis jacket and the others wearing dark tracksuits.

During the first incident a taxi was approached by a white car flashing its lights before pulling in in front of it in St Chads Road. One of the white car's three occupants unsuccessfully tried to open the taxi door before it drove off.

In a second incident a man reported being stopped by two men from a white car near Tesco Express in Calcutta Road: a third man remained in the car. The victim had his wallet and keys taken but was uninjured.

In the last incident a man reported he was stopped in the area and the suspects from a white car tried to take his wallet and phone.

No one was harmed.

During each incident, the suspects claimed that they were police officers, despite not wearing a uniform or identifying themselves.

Grays CID is investigating the incidents that they believe are linked.

PC Jack Osborne said: "We know this will be concerning for the community, but we are carrying out enquiries locally to quickly identify those men suspected of impersonating police officers.

"It means our officers will be in the area today.

"We're asking the public to contact us if they saw anything that could help us.

"We'd also ask anyone who was driving in the area at the time to check their dash cam footage to see if they have captured anything that could help our investigation."

A statement from the police adds: "A genuine police officer will understand if you want to verify their identity. Ask to see their warrant card.

"If someone is claiming to be a police officer and you are concerned for your immediate safety, call 999.

"If you have any information that can help our investigation, you can let us know by submitting a report on our website or by using our online Live Chat service which is available 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week. Please quote crime reference 42/177576/26.

"You can let us know by submitting a report on our website where you can use our online Live Chat service available Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) between 10am-9pm.

"Visit https://www.essex.police.uk/digital101to find out more about our website reporting services. Alternatively, you can call us on 101.

"If you would like to make an anonymous report, you can contact independent charity Crimestoppers on Twitter at @CrimestoppersUK, by visiting their website or by calling 0800 555 111."