Three men who were interviewed voluntarily after an accusation of a serious sexual assault in Colchester will face no further action, police have said.

Officers were called to an incident in a lane of Head Street in the town, shortly after 11.55pm on Saturday, January 29.

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

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

A spokesman for Essex Police said: "Senior detectives have now reviewed this complex case and determined the three men who were interviewed will face no further action."

The force's major crime team has trawled hours of CCTV from around Colchester with leading officers assuring "no stone will be left unturned" in the investigation.

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."

The detective inspector said following reviews of all accounts the men will face no further action.

The man who reported the incident is aware of the decision and continues to be supported by specialist officers.

Chief inspector Rob Huddleston, Colchester district commander, added: “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.”