Councillor charged with imprisonment and neglect

A town councillor has been charged with false imprisonment and wilfully neglecting a person without capacity.

Essex Police started an investigation in May 2025 after reports that a woman was being neglected at an address in Leigh-on-Sea.

Bernard Arscott, 43, who was previously the chairman of Leigh-on-Sea Town Council and served for four years as a Conservative on Southend-on-Sea City Council, is due in court in April.

Southend Conservatives said Arscott, of Glenbervie Drive in Leigh, quit the party in March 2025.

Police said he was arrested in 2025 as part of their investigation and released on bail.

"We have continued to build this case and, following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, have now charged Arscott with false imprisonment and wilfully neglecting a person without capacity," the force said.

The town council and the accused have been contacted for comment.

On the town council website, Arscott's profile says he represents Highlands ward "as one of their Conservative councillors", however the Southend Tories said he was no longer a member.

Arscott is on bail and due to appear at Basildon Magistrates' Court on 2 April.

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.