The two men who tragically died after hitting a tree in St Osyth have been named locally as Ricky Batchelor and Daniel Rowland.

Both men were in a BMW driving along Point Clear Road in the early hours of Sunday (August 11) morning when the car left the road and collided into a tree near the junction of Cow Lane.

Police believe the crash happened at around 1.30am but officers were not called until around 6.15am.


A cordon was put in place around the scene and the road was completely shut in both directions from 7.30am. It was eventually reopened several hours later at 2.45pm.

Police confirmed later that day that two men in their 30s, one from Benfleet and one from East London, died as a result of the crash.

"Two clean hearted friends taken way to soon"

A number of messages and photographs were attached to the tree

Just days after the fatal crash, The Only Way is Essex star Tommy Mallet shared his own tribute online along with pictures of Ricky and Daniel.

The Instagram post, which has been liked over 6,600 times by Tommy's followers, reads: "Speechless! Two clean hearted friends taken way to soon.. Life’s crazy. Will never forget the time and effort you gave my Mum & Dad over the years!!"

Other tributes were also left in the comments, with Daniel being described as "probably the nicest fella" while some of Ricky's family also shared their devastation at the news.

In St Osyth, cards, candles and flowers have been placed by the tree where the crash took place in Point Clear Road.

Two bottles of Jack Daniels were left at the tree

Colourful bunches have been laid on the ground and plaques with heartwarming quotes have been hung from the branches.

There are so many that some have been placed in boxes to ensure they stand upright, next to two bottles of Jack Daniels. 


"I heard a bang"

Steven Read who lives on Point Clear Road said: "I was in bed when I heard a bang, I looked out the front window and couldn't see anything at first.

"I didn't think much of it because the night before I heard a similar noise. A recycling bin had been blown by the wind into the road and a car ran over it.

"They moved the car into my drive out the road and had to put stuff down to soak up the fluids leaking out of it. The front of it looked really stoved in.

This is the tree the car collided into

"You do hear people speeding up and down especially at night.

"About 15 years ago a crash happened in the exact same spot. The car took our neighbours and our fence out and ended up in the front garden next door upside-down.

A police helicopter hovering over St Osyth following a serious crash

"Cameras might deter people from speeding especially if they're locals who keep getting caught. It's so tragic, it's a waste of two lives. There are lots of flowers and people always visiting to pay their respects."

Jane Whittle, 61, who lives on the same road said:" I had just finished watching a horror film and at about 1.30am I heard a noise. I have security cameras all around my house so I was looking at them to see if I could see anything because it sounded like someone was trying to break in next door.


"Then my neighbour went out with a torch, walked up and down their drive and then went back inside. So I thought nothing of it.

"It didn't sound like a car crashed at all. I was too scared to go outside and up the road to find out what happened. I didn't call the police because all I heard was a noise. It could have been anything especially because it was windy.

Police rushed to the scene on Point Clear Road, St Osyth,

"The next day I saw the police here. I also saw the car. It had been almost cut in half by the tree. It was a mess. At first I thought the fire crews had to cut the car but they hadn't the tree had done it.

"I couldn't believe it. I think this road definitely needs speed cameras. We need something to stop this happening again."