ADDITIONAL stop and search powers have been granted to police officers in Basildon to keep the area safe after they were called to an incident which included reports of weapons being seen.

A statement by Essex Police after it implemented the order in the Laindon area said: "To keep our communities safe, an extension of the stop and search powers officers already have has been authorised under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

This means officers will not need to have reasonable grounds to carry out a stop and search of persons in the area.

Temporary Inspector Michael Peterson said: "The additional stop-and-search powers have been authorised as a precaution. It follows an incident which was reported to us this afternoon.

"The use of these powers is not a decision we take lightly and are in place to keep the community of Basildon and its residents safe.

"You will see officers patrolling the area to identify anyone intent on committing crime and we encourage anyone who has concerns to speak to us directly or contact us on 101."

The order was authorised at 4.30pm today (Saturday, 5 February) and will be in place until 2am tomorrow morning, covering the area highlighted in the map.