Seven men appeared in court today for alleged drugs offences following a series of dawn raids across Essex.

The raids were carried out across Braintree, Colchester, Clacton and London on Thursday.

The warrants were the culmination of a seven-month-long operations to target criminals involved in county lines drug gangs.

It was part of Essex Police's ongoing work under Operation Sceptre to tackle serious violent crime in public places, particularly knife crime.

A total of 14 people were arrested, eight of who have been charged with offences relating to the supply of class A drugs.

The others have been released on bail or remain under investigation while enquiries are ongoing.