A murder investigation has been launched after a man was found with serious injuries in Colchester.

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

A spokesman for Essex Police said despite the efforts of emergency services, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate has launched a murder investigation in relation to this incident and no arrests have been made at this stage.

Distillery Lane is partially shut as officers remain at the scene.

Detective Chief Inspector Antony Alcock, from Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said "We are working hard to establish what has occurred in the early hours of this morning.

"So far, we have spoken to a number of residents who have been assisting us with our enquiries.

"We encourage anyone in the area, who may have witnessed anything suspicious last night into the early hours of this morning, to contact us.

“We also ask that anyone living in that proximity, who may have any CCTV or dashcam footage, to review it and contact us, to help us piece together what has happened.

"We will remain on scene and there is likely to be a high police presence in the area over the next couple of days."

Chief Inspector Rob Huddleston, Colchester District Commander, said: “We know incidents such as this will naturally cause concern within the community.

“Thankfully, these incidents are extremely rare and do not show the Colchester community spirit that I know as district commander.

“Over the weekend, we saw the community in Colchester coming together at various events to commemorate Her Majesty The Queen and to celebrate the King. These events showed the true spirit of Colchester.

“We work along with all our partners to ensure that Colchester is a safe place to live, work and visit.

"We will have a police presence in the Hythe area and indeed throughout the community in the coming days in order to reassure our residents.

“Those officers are there for you, so if anyone has concerns, please speak to them and they will be happy to help you.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who has information on the incident but has not yet spoken to us to please get in touch.”

Anyone with any information is being asked to contact Essex Police, quoting incident number 82 of September 12.