FRIENDS and family of anybody who has recently got rid of a 4x4 car or changed their appearance are being urged to contact detectives hunting a rapist who abducted a woman from a supermarket car park nearly two weeks ago.

Laurence Cawley

FRIENDS and family of anybody who has recently got rid of a 4x4 car or changed their appearance are being urged to contact detectives hunting a rapist who abducted a woman from a supermarket car park nearly two weeks ago.

More than 1,000 people have visited the special police pod set up in the car park at Tesco in Brandon after a 21-year-old was abducted from there on June 14.

She was at the car park on London Road at around 2.15pm that day when she was called over by a man asking for help with heavy bags. After helping him load a blue holdall into a 4x4 vehicle he threatened her with a knife and pushed her inside and told her to lie down.

He took her to a remote location - a journey that took about 20 minutes - and raped her. After the attack he returned her to Wimbledon Avenue in Brandon later in the afternoon.

Det Insp Martin Wright, of Suffolk police, said: “The man must have gone about his daily business somewhere before this incident took place, and he must have carried on since or has changed his routine. If someone has suddenly changed their appearance or their usual activities, or has unexpectedly got a new car or a vehicle usually seen in a certain place has now vanished, please let us know.”

“It may be that someone saw the man, or the car, or the man in the car, somewhere else in the area before the incident took place, but because they were not at Tesco on the afternoon of June 14 they haven't called in. Any piece of information, however small and unrelated it may seem, could assist the investigation.”

The offender is described as white, in his late 50s or early 60s, around 5 foot 3 inches tall, of medium build with a pot belly. He has bushy white/grey sideburns, with heavy grey facial hair and a ruddy complexion. He was wearing a red woolly hat, a red fleece, black tracksuit bottoms, trainers and glasses. He was generally dirty and smoked roll ups.

The car is described as an older style dark coloured 4x4 with front seats only, a row of four blue spotlights on a bull bar at the front, and a rear door rather than a boot.

The incident room can be contacted on 01473 613824 or by e-mail at incident.room@suffolk.pnn.police.uk . Calls can also be made to Suffolk Police on 01473 613500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.