Braintree town centre is a "safe place to be" at night-time, claims Braintree Police's district commander.

Chief Inspector Richard Melton said that violent crime at night and on Friday and Saturday evenings in Braintree has reduced following an "unusual blip" late last year.

Ch Insp Melton said he was encourage that a spate of nasty assaults seemed to have ended.

He said: "Generally it's a safe place to be here. There was a little blip a few months ago when we had four or five consecutive serious assaults.

"We have secured suspects for all but one of these and had successful prosecutions."

See this week's Braintree and Witham Times for the full story.