RAF Marham Attacker Headbutted By Victim

A man being hunted for trying to abduct an RAF serviceman may have a black eye after his intended victim headbutted him.

The serviceman was approached by two men with a knife at RAF Marham, near King's Lynn in Norfolk, at about 3pm on Wednesday.

Police have said the main suspect grabbed the serviceman, aged in his late 20s, while he was jogging and tried to pull him into a dark-coloured Ford Galaxy.

In an ensuing scuffle the intended victim headbutted his attacker before punching him to the ground.

The second attacker went to the aid of his accomplice, giving the serviceman time to escape and seek help.

Detective Superintendent Paul Durham said: "The victim managed to fight off his attacker and headbutted him, we believe around the eye-socket, so it is possible he suffered swelling and bruising in this area.

"He was then punched which caused him to fall to the ground.

"Clearly the extent of his injuries is unknown, however we do not believe either attack caused the suspect to bleed, contrary to reports circulating in the media."

The serviceman, who was not in uniform, was not injured.

Marham is home to four squadrons of Tornado bombers which have been flying raids against Islamic State in Syria from Cyprus.

Police have been carrying out enquiries in the area during the weekend and reviewing CCTV in an effort to trace the suspects and the vehicle involved.

The suspects have been described as aged between 20 and 30 years old and of Middle Eastern appearance.

One had a well-groomed beard and was of stocky build, while the other was clean shaven and slimmer.

DS Durham added: "Tracing the vehicle remains a priority and one point I would like to re-emphasise is that we do believe it may have contained more than the two suspects seen by the victim.

"This is important because I do not want to deter any potential witnesses from coming forward - it is the vehicle we are interested in, regardless of the number of people seen inside.

"If you know someone who matches the description of our suspect, who has a similar injury, then I would urge you to contact my officers."

:: Anyone with information is asked to call the dedicated hotlines on either 0800 056 0154 or 0207 158 0011 or dial 101.