Mother And Child Held At Knife Point

Police have released further details in relation to what they have described as a "horrific" break-in which took place in Bridgwater last month.

The incident happened on Wednesday 21 January. Between 7.50am and 8.15am, a man entered a house in the Dunwear Lane area of Sydenham. Inside the property, he tied up a woman and her young child, threatening them both with a knife.

A sexual assault took place, but Avon and Somerset Constabulary refused to confirm which of the victims had been assaulted.

The offender is described as white, aged between 25 and 60, wearing a yellow high-vis fluorescent jacket, a black or dark grey mask, dark coloured tracksuit trousers and white trainers. He is said to have been wearing a balaclava-type mask over his face, and demanded money and jewellery. He is thought to have left the property empty-handed, however.

There are said to be a number of potential sightings of the offender at Dunwear Lane, Westonzoyland Road and later on CCTV by St John and St Francis Primary School. A fence was also broken in St David's Court and a knife was found in a garden in Somerville Way.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Williams is the senior investigating officer on the case and said: "We're treating this as an horrific incident in which a mother and her child were tied up and threatened at knifepoint by an unknown man.

"An offence of this gravity will naturally cause concern in the local community and I'd like to reassure people that we've got a team of experienced detectives and officers working on the case.

"We're looking after the victims who've been through an horrendous ordeal and are giving them all the help and support they need."

He continued: "The offender had his face covered but I'm urging people to look at the following description and think about whether they saw someone matching it on the morning of Wednesday 21 January, or at any point during the day of the incident or the days before.

"Equally if you know someone who wears clothing similar to those worn by the offender was wearing, we'd like to speak to you."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

(JP/CD)