A sex attacker who raped two women and imprisoned them in his car was chased off by two heroic builders.
The Romanian workers, called Ion, 21, and Marcel, 40, came running when they heard screams while working in Watford.
Police ramped up efforts in their search earlier today by releasing pictures of the silver Ford S-Max which was used to snatch the 20 year olds from London’s streets on Thursday.
The suspect, who remains at large, has been described as a tattooed and muscular man in his late 20s or early 30s.
He is also thought to be either bald or have shaved blond hair and a light-coloured short beard.
The vehicle appears to be a silver Ford S-Max people carrier which is believed to have been used to kidnap the rape victims
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.
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.’
After being snatched from the streets of London the two women escaped their attacker when they smashed a glass bottle over his head and the builders came to help.
They were abducted 12 hours apart from locations 15 miles from each other before they broke free in broad daylight in Watford on Thursday afternoon.
A witness said they saw a glass bottle break over the attacker’s head in the dramatic struggle and there was blood and glass strewn across Osborn Road.
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
Officers are now urgently appealing for information and witnesses to come forward (stock)
The witness told The Sun: ‘There was glass and blood all over the floor, one of the girls ran over into Top Build for help.
‘The man must have fled in his car, he had blood all over him, my colleagues were saying. My friend saw them talking to the police outside Top Build, one of them had blood on them.’
The first victim was abducted from a street in Chingford, north East London in the early hours of Thursday, 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 the suspect following the builders heroic actions in Osborn Road, Watford around 2.30pm.
They are now receiving support from specialist officers. The police are now urgently appealing for information and witnesses to come forward.
Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin who leads the investigation said: ‘My team has been working extremely hard to identify the suspect behind these appalling crimes, and our reviews of CCTV and forensic evidence are ongoing.
‘We are continuing to speak to both women to obtain a complete picture of what happened after they were abducted.
‘At this stage we believe that the suspect travelled around north London and Hertfordshire in his car from the early hours of Thursday, 25 April and he may have come into contact with other members of the public.
Both women, who are aged in their 20s, managed to escape from the suspect following a struggle in Osborn Road, Watford
‘If you were in these areas on Thursday and were approached by a stranger in similar circumstances, or saw anything that roused your suspicion or made you feel uncomfortable, get in touch now.
‘We have now released details of the car the suspect was driving. It may be that he is still driving around in this car, or he has parked somewhere.
‘If an unfamiliar car like the one pictured is now parked on your street, call police straight away.
‘The two victims have been left traumatised by the attacks. This person is clearly a danger to women, but I want to assure people that we are following up on every piece of information received and will not let up in our efforts to identify the man behind these attacks.
‘Stranger attacks like this are extremely rare. That being said, I would urge everyone in these areas to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious to police immediately via 999.’