FORENSICS teams were spotted leading a murder investigation following the death of a man who suffered 'serious injuries'.
Essex Police officers were called to Distillery Lane, in the Hythe, Colchester, shortly before 2am, on Monday following reports of a man being injured.
Despite the best efforts of the emergency services which attended the scene, the man was sadly declared dead.
Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate has since launched a murder investigation in relation to the incident, although no arrests have been made at this stage.
On Monday morning a large police prescence could be seen in the Hythe as forensics teams looked to establish exactly what happened.
Detective Chief Inspector Antony Alcock from the directorate said: "We are working hard to establish what has occurred in the early hours of this morning.
"So far, we have spoken to a number of residents who have been assisting us with our inquiries.
"We encourage anyone in the area, who may have witnessed anything suspicious last night into the early hours of this morning, to contact us.
“We also ask that anyone living in that proximity, who may have any CCTV or dashcam footage, to review it and contact us, to help us piece together what has happened.
"We will remain on scene and there is likely to be a high police presence in the area over the next couple of days."
READ MORE: Murder probe launched after man sustains 'serious injuries' in Colchester
Late on Monday evening a police boss moved to reassure the public following the murder, saying such incidents do not reflect the true spirit of the Colchester community.
Chief Inspector Rob Huddleston, who is the Colchester district commander, said: "We know incidents such as this will naturally cause concern within the community.
“Thankfully, these incidents are extremely rare and do not show the Colchester community spirit that I know as district commander.
“Over the weekend, we saw the community in Colchester coming together at various events to commemorate Her Majesty The Queen and to celebrate the King.
“These events showed the true spirit of Colchester.”
Chief Inspector Huddleston, who has now urged anyone with information to contact the police, has reassured residents in Hythe they are in safe hands.
“We work along with all our partners to ensure Colchester is a safe place to live, work and visit,” he added.
“We will have policing presence in the Hythe area and indeed throughout the community in the coming days in order to reassure our residents.
“Those officers are there for you, so if anyone has concerns, please speak to them and they will be happy to help you.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who has information on the incident but has not yet spoken to us to please get in touch."
To submit any information to Essex Police call 101 citing incident number 82 or 12 September or visit essex.police.uk.
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