Three people have been convicted after a man was chased in a car and attacked with machetes.

Two men from Upminster and South Ockendon were found guilty of attempted murder, while another from Dagenham was convicted for his involvement in the “vicious and prolonged” attack.

The court heard the victim, aged in his 20s, was driving towards Arisdale Close, South Ockendon around 12.35am on July 1 last year when he was followed and then chased by a grey BMW X5.

When he got out of the car and tried to run away, he was chased and attacked by a man in a mask and armed with a machete who had got out of the BMW.

Another man then got out and they both attacked the victim with machetes before they got back into the car and drove off.

The victim was treated in hospital for serious injuries which were considered life-changing.

A witness provided police with a partial registration for the BMW and around 1.15am the car was seen by officers in Brentwood.

The car failed to stop and, during a pursuit that followed, it was driven the wrong way on the A127 at speeds of between 80mph and 85mph, Essex Police say.

Officers used a tactical stop to bring the BMW to a halt in Rosebury Gardens, Upminster.

The driver, Bradley Dulieu, 22, was arrested in the car and one of the passengers, Talliq Mwalim, 20, was collared after a foot chase.

The other passenger, 23-year-old Jay Hursham, was found covered in blood attempting to hide in the hot tub of a nearby house a short time later.

Mwalim, of Rosebury Gardens in Upminster and Hursham, of Anton Road in South Ockendon, were convicted of attempted murder today (December 20) following a trial at Basildon Crown Court.

Dulieu, of Heathway in Dagenham was found not guilty of attempted murder but convicted of GBH with intent.

Senior investigating officer Det Supt Natalia Ross, said: “This was vicious and prolonged attack where there was a clear intent to kill the victim.

“His attackers had armed themselves, hunted him down, and used extreme violence to cause him significant injuries.

“The victim’s wounds were so serious, at one stage it looked as if he could have died.”

The three men are due to be sentenced at the same court on March 28 next year.