A couple and a youngster narrowly escaped serious injury after children as young as 11 hurled a concrete block at them.

The man and woman, along with a child they were minding, were walking through an underpass in Takely Ride, Basildon, when the block crashed down beside them.

They saw three youths, believed to be aged around 11, standing above them and called the police.

But when officers arrived at the scene, they could find no trace of the hooligans.

Sgt Matt Savvides, of Basildon police, said: "A police unit arrived and the area was searched but nothing was found.

"The incident could have been a lot worse. The block just missed the people walking underneath.

"It had the potential to be something very serious."

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