A TEENAGER was arrested after shocked officers found he was carrying a six-inch combat knife.

The 16-year-old boy was spotted acting suspiciously in Station Road, Clacton, on Wednesday night.

Officers working with Clacton's community policing team stopped the youngster and carried out a search.

He was found to be armed with the blade and arrested.

The teenager remains in custody.

Sergeant Alex Southgate, of the community policing team, said: "It's both shocking and sad that a child of this age feels the need to arm himself with a knife.

"We are seeing the result of people carrying these items on a weekly basis in the national news and will do everything within our power to identify and prosecute people in our district carrying these weapons."

Anyone with information about somebody carrying a knife can contact Essex Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.