Three men who were interviewed voluntarily after an accusation of a serious sexual assault in Colchester have been told they will face no further action.

Officers with Essex Police were called to an incident in a lane off Head Street, shortly after 11.55pm on Saturday, January 29.

A man, aged in his 20s, reported being seriously sexually assaulted.

Three men were quickly identified by detectives and were interviewed voluntarily in the days after the incident.

A police spokesman said after reviewing the "complex case", senior detectives have decided the three men will face no further action.

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Senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Scott Egerton, said: “This has been a complex investigation which required many hours of work by the major crime team, including trawling hours of CCTV around Colchester in order to ascertain the circumstances around this report.

“As a result of this work, we were able to identify three men who agreed to be interviewed voluntarily.

“Having reviewed all accounts obtained, the three men have now been told they will face no further action.

“We have remained in consistent dialogue with the man who reported this incident, and he is aware of this decision and continues to be supported by specialist officers.”

Chief Inspector Rob Huddleston, Colchester District Commander, said: “I am fully aware this incident will have caused a great deal of concern around our town.

“Please be assured no stone was left unturned in this investigation and we are satisfied that there is no wider threat to any member of the public and Colchester is a safe place to enjoy a night out.

“We take all reports of sexual assault very seriously and each report is investigated fully by a team of specialist detectives before a decision is made on how to proceed.”