SHOCKING scenes broke out across Basildon as demonstrators took matters into their own hands and called for an end to Covid restrictions.

The demonstrators joined in large groups across the town in Sparrows Hearn, Broadmayne, The Gore, and Great Oaks on Saturday afternoon.

Police also shut down an illegal event in Audley Way, Basildon, while videos show officers speaking to a group of men as one person is put into a police van.

In Sparrows Herne, angry crowds shut the road screaming for the right to “defend their human rights”.

Several videos went viral on Facebook and one protester could be heard accusing force of acting “unnecessarily” and was “hard to watch”.

The protesters marched through lines of police with megaphones and boards to fight Government Covid legislation.

During fiery confrontations, individual demonstrators were pinned to the road by groups of five or more officers. A woman, who narrated the videos, said: “It’s kicking off in Basildon. See how quickly our rights have been eroded? It took nine months. They are slowing taking away your rights, nine months on and you can’t wake up and see it’s wrong.

“This is like 1930s Germany. I guess you are just following orders.”

But Kerry Smith, Independent leader of Basildon Council, appeared to sympathise with the protesters.

He said: “The root cause of this is social media and mainstream media only putting out one side of the story. Protests should be done in a different manner and I do not support anyone causing disturbance.

“People feel gagged and this should not have happened but what do people expect when people are gagged by the establishment?”

Police say attempts to engage with people at the gathering and encourage them to do the right thing were, sadly, unsuccessful.

Speaking of the illegal event, Chief Superintendent Glen Pavelin said: “This unauthorised gathering is a clear and blatant breach of the Government’s Covid-19 regulations and poses a very real health risk through the spread of the virus.

“Our officers have tried to engage with those at the gathering to explain the regulations and encourage them to do the right thing.”