Police have launched a crackdown on robbery and antisocial behaviour on trains stopping at a shopping centre.

Officers are on high-visibility patrol on trains running to and from the Freeport shopping outlet in Braintree as part of Operation Hammerhead - a collaboration between British Transport Police (BTP), Essex Police, Freeport security staff and railway operator One.

Det Con Alan Reed, of BTP, said the crackdown was in response to robberies in the past on trains between Freeport and Witham, although he stressed the number of incidents was rare.