Southend: Appeal for witness after man charged with attempted rape

We’re appealing for a witness to an incident in Southend to contact Essex Police.

We were notified of an incident within the grounds of All Saints Church, Sutton Road, Southend at 9.15pm on Thursday 11 July by a man who called from a nearby telephone kiosk.

Officers responded immediately and located a 49-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of rape.

Now, 49-year-old Wayne Byfield of Southchurch Rectory Road, Southend, has been charged with attempted rape and appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court this morning, Saturday 13 July.

He has been remanded in custody and is next due to appear at Basildon Combined Court on Monday 12 August.

Detective Chief Inspector Nicholas Hampson said:

“We’d like to thank the member of public who called us to alert us to this incident.
“However, he left the location before officers arrived, so we don’t have all his details.
“We’d ask him to please contact us as he may have vital information that could help our enquiries.”

The victim, a woman in her 40s, is being supported by specialist officers and our investigation continues.

If you contacted us, please call 101 and ask to be put through to the Southend ASAIT Team or report via our online portal.

Also, if you were in the vicinity and have any information or footage in relation to this incident, then please get in contact with us.

Please quote incident 1281 of 11 July when providing any information to make sure it gets to the right person as quickly as possible.

Do you want to report non-emergency crime, anti-social behaviour or tell us about suspicious behaviour in your community?

You can report it online or use our Live Chat service.

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Remember if a crime is happening now and someone is in immediate danger, call 999.

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