Sussex Police are appealing for witnesses after an insidious robbery on the A27. The victim thought that he was helping a young distressed woman, but he was tricked.
The victim, who is in his 30’s, was driving down the A27 when he noticed a distressed woman in the lay-by who was trying to flag down drivers. He pulled over into the lay-by to help the woman, and then was suddenly grabbed by a man from behind. According to Sussex Police, the perpetrator proceeded to search the victim’s pockets and then slash his face with a Stanley knife.
It appears as though the only reason that the victim managed to avoid further damage was to punch the man in the face, which made him retreat into his vehicle with the woman who was parked in the lay-by. The pair then drove eastbound in a vehicle which has been described as a small black Toyota, which could be an Aygo or a Yaris with an 07 registration.
The victim had to be treated by an ambulance crew.
Detective Sergeant Amanda Hover said:
This was a frightening ordeal for the victim who stopped to help a woman who he believed was in distress.
We are appealing for witnesses to this incident or information that may help identify the suspects or the vehicle they were driving. This happened at a busy time of day on the A27 and we believe there must be drivers who saw it. We would also like to hear from any motorists who may have dash cam footage of the incident.
The man who slashed the victim has been described as being 5′ 11″ in height, in his mid-30’s with short scruffy brown hair, and wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans. The woman has been described as being 5’6″ in her 20’s, with brown hair in a bun and wearing a red round neck jumper and skinny blue jeans.
The incident took place on the left hand side of the road, just before the Barley Mow Pub near Polegate, at 4.30pm on Sunday the 5th of May.
Please report online or ring 101 quoting serial 846 of 05/05 if you can help with the investigation.
Original police report: Michelle Tugwell
