ONE person was arrested after someone was injured during a car cruising event near to the Lakeside shopping centre on Sunday evening (30 April).

A statement from Essex Police says: "We were called to reports of vehicles racing in the West Thurrock Way area with a large number of spectating at around 10.55pm.

"It was reported a spectator was in collision with of the vehicles and injured.

"Fortunately they were not seriously hurt.

"A 24 year-old man from Colchester has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of a collision. He is currently in custody."

Temporary Chief Inspector Tony Atkin, District Commander for Thurrock, said: "Car cruising events can be intimidating and cause disruption for residents, but they also pose a very real danger to those taking part.

"In this particular case, someone has sustained potentially serious injuries and we're investigating what led up to them being hurt.

"My officers are working hard with our partners to tackle these types of incidents and prevent them from taking place.

"There is a specific police and partnership operation that tackles car cruisers at Lakeside.

"The local partnership and police make use of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) and partnership patrols. "We have been working with local businesses at Lakeside to tackle this issue.

"We have already started proactively targeting event organisers before and after events. These organisers have been served with Community Protection Warning (CPWs) which prevent them from arranging further car meets anywhere in the country or run the risk of criminal prosecution;

"This pro-active approach saw a reduction in offences and calls in the summer. A reduction by 18%

"I am also working with Thurrock Council's highways team to look at long-term traffic calming measures."

A further statement from the force says: "If you have any information, CCTV, dash cam or other footage in relation to this incident, then please get in contact with us.

"Please quote incident 1581 of 30 April.

"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.