A 22-year-old man has been charged with murder.

Emergency services were called to Distillery Lane in Colchester just before 2am on Monday following reports that a man had suffered serious injuries.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

An investigation by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate was launched in the early hours of Monday morning and on Tuesday night, a 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Yesterday afternoon, September 15, Rakar Rahimi, of no fixed abode, was charged with murder.

He appeared at Colchester Magistrates' Court today (September 16).

Detective Chief Inspector Antony Alcock said: “Following the formal identification process being completed, I am now in the position to confirm that the victim in this case is 22-year-old Bako Azad Sheikha, who sadly passed away at the scene on Monday morning.

“His family have been informed and are receiving support.

"Our team will continue to work on this case and we’re continuing to appeal to anyone who may have any information to contact us.

"Today’s charge is a significant development in this investigation and I would like to give credit to the investigative team who have been working around the clock on this as well as the number of witnesses who have assisted with our enquiries.

“As we have previously mentioned Bako was from the Kurdish community, and we believe he had connections across areas in Essex and Suffolk including Ipswich.

"We are aware that Bako’s death has had an impact on the Kurdish community and beyond. We need anyone who may want to talk to us to get in contact, no matter how small the information may seem."

Rahimi was remanded in custody and is due to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday, September 29.

Anyone who has any information is asked to contact Essex Police, quoting incident 82 of September 12.