Police have ramped up efforts to catch the sex attacker who abducted and raped two women by releasing a CCTV grab of the suspect.
The thickset man, believed to be in his 20s or 30s and described as having the name ‘Bobbie’ tattooed on his stomach, has been pictured attempting to book a hotel.
This latest appeal for information comes as a 33-year-old man is arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to rape and held in custody at a west London police station.
And yesterday officers released pictures of the silver Ford S-Max which was used to snatch the 20-year-olds from streets in Chingford and Edgware on Thursday.
The suspect, who remains at large, is also said to be either bald or have shaved blond hair and a light-coloured short beard.
The thickset man, believed to be in his 20s or 30s and described as having the name ‘Bobbie’ tattooed on his stomach, is pictured attempting to book a hotel
The suspect, who remains at large, is also said to be either bald or have shaved blond hair and a light-coloured short beard
They were abducted 12 hours apart from locations 15 miles from each other before they broke free on Thursday afternoon after reportedly smacking their kidnapper over the head with a glass bottle and receiving help from two Romanian builders.
The rapist’s first victim was abducted from a street in Chingford, north East London in the early hours at around 12.30am.
The second victim was grabbed 12 hours later from a street several miles away in Edgware, North London at 12.15pm on Thursday.
Both women managed to escape from their kidnapper in Osborn Road, Watford at around 2.30pm.
The vehicle appears to be a silver Ford S-Max people carrier which is believed to have been used to kidnap the rape victims
Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin, who is leading the investigation, said: ‘Our investigation into these appalling crimes is making good process and my team continue to work extremely hard but we urgently need the help of the public to identify and trace this man.
‘I would ask everyone to take a good look at his image – does this man look familiar? Do you know anyone with the name ‘bobbie’ tattooed on his stomach?
‘Did you see a man matching this description in and around the Chingford or Edgware areas on Thursday, 25 April?
Metropolitan Police tweeted: ‘Detectives investigating the abduction and rape of two women have released an image of the suspect vehicle, and a fuller description of the suspect, and a fuller description of the suspect
‘We believe he travelled around north London and Hertfordshire in his car from the early hours of Thursday and he may have come into contact with other members of the public.
‘Equally he may have abandoned his car somewhere – if an unfamiliar car of this description is now parked on your street, call police straight away.
‘We would ask anyone with any information to contact us immediately – if you see the suspect do not approach him but call 999 immediately. If you wish to remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers.
‘It is vitally important we catch this man, and while stranger attacks of this nature are thankfully rare, we would urge people to remain vigilant.’
Alex Kovac, boss of Green Contractors Ltd in Watford praised his employees Ion, 21, and Marcel, 40, for their quick response after they heard the women screaming
Widening their search, the Metropolitan police released an image of the car they were hunting yesterday and tweeted: ‘Detectives investigating the abduction and rape of two women have released an image of the suspect vehicle, and a fuller description of the suspect, and a fuller description of the suspect.’
The sex was also reportedly chased off by two heroic builders , called Ion, 21, and Marcel, 40, who came running when they heard screams while working in Watford.
Ion told The Sun: ‘One woman was on her feet, but he was pulling her by the hair. I ran and said, ‘Leave her alone!’
Marcel said: ‘The girls got out of the car. They were in the back. The girls looked very, very scared. One girl hit him with a bottle on the head. The guy got scared a bit by the girls and our reaction.’
Their boss Alex Kovac, 38, praised his men for their heroic actions.
Both women, who are aged in their 20s, managed to escape from the suspect following a struggle in Osborn Road, Watford