A “VILE” flasher accused of exposing himself to schoolgirls on Southend High Street has been arrested.

Horrified witnesses called police on Monday evening claiming a man had exposed himself in the high street, close to McDonalds, shortly after 6pm.

Essex Police confirmed a 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure and common assault just 45 minutes after the reports.

He remains in custody for questioning.

Sophie Ann-Burd, 21, saw the incident play out while she was walking back from her job in the high street, calling it “vile and disgusting”, and revealing she comforting two girls who witnessed the incident.

Ms Ann-Burd said: “It is absolutely vile and horrible, I haven’t seen anything like this happen before, but it was so uncomfortable to see something like this, just walking down the street as a woman.

“It happened at the top of the high street, he was just sitting on the benches near the McDonalds, he made eye contact with me and two girls, you could just see how shocked they were.

“I comforted the two girls he exposed himself to, they looked to be school age, one was in a school uniform.

“They were so shocked that they ran to a security guard, and he radioed police quickly.

“It is shockingly disgusting, and I am glad police moved quickly to arrest him.”

Essex Police has stated officers arrived at the scene just three minutes after the call and the suspect was located in less than an hour.

The 44-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of two counts of indecent exposure and one count of common assault.

Detective Sergeant Iain White said: “This arrest was the result of quick reactions from our local officers in Southend and the support of the public reporting this incident as soon as possible.

“Our detectives are now working hard to identify what offences have been committed and are building this case for the crown prosecution service.”