Police have told women in Southend not to panic after a man was arrested on suspicion of raping a teenager in the town.
Officers arrested a 20-year-old man in connection with the attack - but emphasised that it was not an allegation of a random attack.
The man, who has not been named, has been released on police bail pending further inquiries as part of the investigation into the attack on an 18-year-old girl.
The rape took place on the circular ramp that leads from the Victoria Plaza shopping centre down to Southend High Street.
Today police moved to reassure the public over the incident, which is said to have left the victim "very shaken and very shocked".
A spokesman for Southend police said: "We don't want people to be unduly alarmed. This was not a random attack as such, but an incident that took place between people who had met each other earlier in the evening."
Police have launched an appeal for witnesses following the rape and are particularly interested in tracing an elderly couple who were walking past at the time of the incident.
Anyone with information about the incident, which took place on Friday night at around 10pm, is asked to contact Det Con Hussey at Southend CID on 01702 423110 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111
Published Tuesday August 27, 2002
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