COLCHESTER’S community safety boss says not enough is being done to keep late night revellers safe in the town.

His comments come after a man aged in his early 20s suffered a serious head injury after he was assaulted outside Subway, in St Botolph's Street, at 3.40am on Sunday morning. 

Two ambulance crews were called to the incident and found the man unconscious with a head and nose injury.

He was initially taken to Colchester General Hospital but is now being treated at Queen's Hospital, in Romford, which specialises in head injuries.

Tim Young, borough councillor responsible for community safety, said: “I’m not satisfied we are doing enough in Colchester to keep it safe.

“We have some wonderful people doing some wonderful things such as the SOS Bus volunteers and street pastors and that is really helping but I think it’s fair to say that will not stop people drinking too much into the early hours and incidents such as that which sadly occurred in the early hours of Sunday.”

He added: “Publicly, police will say they have enough officers on patrol on weekend evenings, but privately, the situation is different, which is very worrying and it’s something which needs to be addressed.

“I would like to send my best wishes to the young man and his family at this terrible time.”

Chief Insp Richard Phillibrown, Colchester’s district commander, said: “Policing the streets of Colchester at night poses many challenges just as any other Essex town does on a Friday or Saturday evening.

“As a result, we run specific operations to tackle crime and disorder while also relying on our partners from Essex Special Constabulary, Royal Military Police and British Transport Police to help identify any perpetrators of theft, assault or robbery.

“Officers from all three support agencies are fantastic in their response and this joined-up approach to keeping Colchester a safe place to work and socialise is ongoing."