Two men arrested on suspicion of murdering a man in Little Burstead have been released without charge due to insufficient evidence.

The 54-year-old man from Basildon and 60-year-old man from the Billericay area were arrested on suspicion of murdering 46-year-old Ricci Gallagher. 

They were due to answer bail on May 11, which has now been cancelled in advance due to insufficient evidence. An inquest will be held in due course.

Mr Gallagher died at the Royal London Hospital on Thursday, August 6, a week after he was injured at a house in Sudburys Farm Road.

Police then launched a murder investigation into his death and are piecing together his movements before he was airlifted to hospital.

The investigation by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate is examining a fire at Mr Gallagher’s home in Blind Lane, Little Burstead, which was reported by him minutes prior to police being called about an injured man in the farmhouse in adjacent Sudburys Farm Road.