Five children have been taken to hospital, including two with serious injuries, after a tree fell in a seaside park in Essex on Saturday.Essex police said they were called to Chalkwell park in Southend-on-Sea shortly before 3pm, where they found “a number of casualties”.An East of England ambulance service spokesperson said: “Two children were transported by road to Southend University hospital.“A further three children were later transported by road to the same hospital with minor injuries.”Police advised the public to avoid the area.Adam Hutchins, 47, told the EssexLive website: “I heard there were kids playing on the tree. They heard a big crack.
“It must have [been] pretty loud. They went running over and there were kids underneath the tree.“All the cricket guys ran over and tried to loft the tree up. I think it’s one of the oldest trees. It had metal stands propping it up.”David Burton-Sampson, Labour MP for Southend West and Leigh, described it as a “worrying incident”, adding: “My thoughts are with those affected.”
Daniel Cowan, the leader of Southend’s city council, said on Saturday: “I’m aware of this very serious incident. We’re working with Essex police, the ambulance service and fire service, who are still at the scene.“I do understand that a tree has fallen, there’s a number of casualties and we’re just asking the public to avoid the area while those services carry out their work, and my thoughts are with those affected.”