Police arrested eight people during a day-long operation to find wanted domestic abuse suspects.

Officers from across the county took part in a day of action on Friday, April 29 to track down the most wanted suspects who are thought to have carried out domestic abuse or violence.

The operation formed part of Essex Police’s ongoing work to tackle domestic abuse, which remains one of the force’s top priorities.

Detective Superintendent Mark Wheeler, of the Crime and Public Protection Command, said: "We are committed to bringing offenders to justice and protecting victims and their children.

"This operation will be ongoing throughout the year and bolsters the work we are already doing every day to investigate reports of domestic abuse and protect vulnerable people in our county.”

Every day, Essex Police receives 80 reports of domestic abuse and deals with more than 26,000 incidents every year.

The force arrests and charges more people for domestic abuse than many other police forces and has used protection orders to keep almost 500 victims safe.

It also pioneered the use of body-worn video cameras to help capture evidence of abuse and used Clare’s Law to tell people about partners who could put them at risk.

Friday’s arrests were made in Basildon, Tilbury, Brentwood, Westcliff and Clacton.

Five were released on bail, pending further enquiries.

Three were released without charge following questioning and face no further action.

If you are a victim of domestic abuse, Essex Police's domestic abuse officers are always available to help.

You can contact the Domestic Abuse Central Referral Unit (CRU) by calling us on 101 extension 180340.

You can also call our dedicated domestic abuse non-emergency number 0800 358 0351, our non-emergency number 101 or 999 in an emergency.