A senior police officer has praised his team who responded to the "horrendous" shooting in Southend last night.

Police flooded Sutton Road, Southend, from about 7.30pm last night, after reports two people had suffered life-threatening gunshot wounds.

Supt Jonathan Baldwin took to Twitter and said: "Courage and resilience shown by eight officers at the horrendous scene of the Southend shooting last night - dealing with the incident and the aftermath including giving first aid to the victim."

An air ambulance landed in nearby Victory sports ground and both patients were rushed to hospital in a critical condition.

The man was arrested in connection with the incident.

Sutton Road was closed for a number of hours last night while a forensic examination of the scene took place and police remained on guard outside a property this morning.

An update on their condition is expected this afternoon.

We will bring you more information as soon as it becomes available.