TAKE a look at these extraordinary pictures from April 1984.
They were taken in Wivenhoe and show police clashing with protestors during miners' strikes that flared up across the UK.
It was part of major industrial action to prevent colliery closures led by Arthur Scargill, president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).
North Essex became a focal point when miners started picketing the dock gates at Wivenhoe - one of five privately-owned ports along the River Colne estuary.
Freighters carrying coal had begun to unload and the aim of the pickets was to turn back lorries sent to collect it.
Wivenhoe became the focus of picketing because the port was co-operating with haulage companies employing lorry drivers prepared to cross picket lines.
Moira Abdel-Rahim wrote a book about the subject, called Strike Breaking in Essex.
She wrote: “The police response was immediate.
"Every morning before 5am from mid-April, a fleet of 18 white police transits could be seen travelling at high speed through north-east Essex.”
* Do you remember the protests? Were you part of them or part of the police operation?
Share your memories by emailing matt.plummer@newsquest.co.uk
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