Urgent appeal after women attacked near Luton park

One woman had a knife held to her throat before she managed to escape.

Police are appealing for witnesses afte the women were approached and grabbed by a man in two separate incidents in Luton on Friday.

The first incident occurred at around 11.35am when a woman was walking through Popes Meadow. A man came up behind her, grabbed her and covered her mouth with his hand. She managed to bite him and he ran off towards nearby woodland.

The offender was described as Asian, between 20 and 30-years-old, around 5’6’’ or 5’7’’, skinny and was wearing a dark green jacket with fur around the hood.

The second incident happened at around 1.50pm, when a woman was approached whilst walking along the footpath towards Popes Meadow by a man who grabbed her from behind and held a knife to her throat. When she screamed, he ran off towards an alleyway leading to Wardown Park.

The offender was described as wearing a green khaki parka jacket.

Detective Constable Martin Hart, investigating, said: “These were two nasty incidents that happened in broad daylight and have left both victims feeling shaken.

“We have now received reports of three similar incidents that have happened in and around Popes Meadow within the last week, and officers are working hard to establish links between them. We are urging anyone with information about either incident to come forward as this could help with our investigations.

“We would also like to urge people to be aware of these incidents, stay vigilant and be assured that we are taking them incredibly seriously.”

Anyone with any information about either of the incidents is asked to call 101 quoting 133 of 23 November for the first incident and 196 of 23 November for the second incident.

You can also report information by visiting www.bedfordshire.police.uk/report or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

If you have been affected by crime the Signpost Hub offers free and confidential support to victims in Bedfordshire, whether it has been reported to police or not and irrespective of where and when the crime occurred.

Contact 0800 0282887 or visit www.signpostforbedfordshire.com for further information.