Essex police executed a dawn raid on a brothel on Arthur Street yesterday morning.

The business was apparently being run in a terraced house on the residential Arthur Street – only one street away from a popular children's nursery.

Police served out the warrant to search the building following an investigation by a Community Policing Team unit.

Inspector Lee Argent, Local Policing and Partnership Inspector for Thurrock. who heads up the unit, tweeted news of the successful bust yesterday evening.

Using the twitter handle @InspLeeArgent, he wrote: "My #CPT have been out today and executed a warrant on a brothel house in Grays. Disrupting criminal behaviour and safeguarding vulnerable."

He was joined in sharing details of the raid by PC Paul Glensman, who using ‏@PCPaulGlensman, wrote: "@InspLeeArgent successful warrant executed and brothel now closed down. Great work from #CPT and all involved."

Essex Police said investigations were continuing into the property as at the time of the bust, but evidence was currently insufficient to make any arrests.

A spokesman for police said: "Police executed a search warrant at an address in Arthur Street in Grays on Tuesday May 10 after receiving information from the public that a house was believed to be being used as a brothel.

"Officers spoke to the sole occupant of the address, a woman in her 40s, and carried out a search but no immediate offences were disclosed. When we attended, no-one at the property was committing an offence."

"The owners of the property were notified of the warrant and the woman at the property, who was a tenant occupant, was advised to leave by the owners when we told them we had a executed a warrant because of our suspicions."

"At this time there is insufficient evidence to arrest anyone.

"Further investigation will be carried out to establish if there is any evidence of offences and any identifiable suspects."