DETECTIVES are investigating the rape of a young woman in an alleyway near Southend High Street.

A 20-year-old woman told police officers how she was attacked in Market Place, Southend, at about 2.30am yesterday.

The forensics team remained at the scene for most of yesterday searching for evidence.

The High Street end of the alleyway - between Mr Simms sweet shop and the Sunglasses Shop - was sealed off.

A 32-year-old man has now been arrested on suspicion of rape.

He remained in police custody where he was being questioned by officers at the time the Echo going to press.

A nearby worker, who asked not to be named, said: “It looked like whatever happened was very serious because they were there for hours. It does make you feel uneasy.”

An Essex Police spokesman confirmed the woman reported the attack to police shortly after it happened. He refused to comment on whether the man and the victim were known to each other.

He said: “Police are investigating reports a woman was raped in Market Place, Southend, shortly before 2.40am.

“A 32-year-old man from Southend has been arrested on suspicion of rape and is currently in custody for questioning.”

The spokesman did confirm detectives are not linking the incident to a serious sexual assault which took place nearby on Friday morning.

The Echo told yesterday how a teenage girl was knocked unconscious and sexually assaulted by a man who lured her into his car and attacked her in an underground car park close to Woodgrange Drive at about 2.30am on Friday.

The 18-year-old woman, from Southend, was approached by a group of men close to a roundabout near to the Kursaal along the seafront.

She then walked to a black car. The pair got into the car where he tried kissing her and was pushed away. The teenager was then assaulted, knocked unconscious and attacked. When she woke up, she made her way home and the incident was reported to police.

Jonathan Garston, Conservative councillor for Milton ward, said both incidents were “concerning”.

He said: “Part of my job as a ward councillor is to liaise with police and to see if there is anything that the police feel we could do in terms of more lighting or cameras.”

Anyone with information on either incident should call the Adult Sexual Assault Investigation Team on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.