Former Gillingham striker Macauley Bonne has joined a National League side.

Bonne, 28, has joined Southend United on a one-year contract, with the club having an option to extend the deal for another season.

Striker Bonne made 25 league appearances for the Gills during the 2023/24 season but it was a car smash on the way to training which overshadowed his time at the club.

He crashed his BMW into a wall on Woodlands Road, with team-mates George Lapslie and Tim Dieng in the vehicle at the time as they travelled the short distance from Priestfield to the Beechings Cross training ground.

On the pitch, Bonne scored four times for the Gills in the league, including a run of three goals in four games.

He also scored against his former team Charlton in the FA Cup and netted the winner at Accrington but spent the second half of the season at Cambridge United, joining the League 1 side on loan under Neil Harris, who had signed him previously at Gillingham.

He was a free agent this summer after being released by the Gills.

The former Ipswich striker is determined to get playing again and said: “I’m really happy to be here (at Southend) and crack on.

“It’s been me my whole career, scoring goals. The last couple of years haven’t really gone to plan but I spoke with the manager and hopefully, I can get back in the swing of things and back to scoring goals in a league I know really well.”