Joseph McCann arrested in Congleton after new abductions - BBC News
Joseph McCann - who police wanted in connection with three rapes and two abductions - is arrested.
Joseph McCann was wanted over attacks in London and Watford

Police hunting a fugitive over the abduction and rapes of three women in and around London have arrested a man after two others were abducted in Cheshire.

In the latest attack on Sunday, two women were forced into a black Fiat Punto in Congleton town centre.

Joseph McCann was found in a tree on a rural lane following a car chase.

The 34-year-old was spoken to by police negotiators and arrested, Cheshire Constabulary confirmed.

Suspect Joseph McCann was seen in the back of a police car following his arrest

The Punto was seen in Congleton on Sunday evening by officers. Following a short chase, the car stopped on Obelisk Way having been in a crash with another car.

The women were left behind as the driver ran off. They were uninjured but have been left "extremely shaken", the force said.

Officers revealed they had found a suspect shortly after 23:00 BST.

Andrew Kidd, who has a farm on Smithy Lane, said he was earlier told by police to stay inside his property.

"There were three or four police officers in my yard and they were looking up and down, looking in the trees," he said.

"I saw police running along the fence in a neighbouring field and the lane was full of police cars.

"The helicopter was round and my cows were stampeding because they were upset by the noise of it."

The car carrying the two abducted women crashed with another vehicle near Obelisk Way

Resident Robert Burns, 45, said he spoke to police who checked his outbuildings and wheelie bins in search of the suspect.

"We watched it all from upstairs. It was a long time, it went on for about three hours," he said.

"It was significant police presence, there were a lot of cars, all of the roads were closed."

Mr McCann was also wanted for questioning over the abduction and rape of a 21-year-old woman at knifepoint in Watford, Hertfordshire, in the early hours of 21 April.

During that attack, the victim was approached by a man holding a knife in Hagden Lane at about 03:30 BST.

She was forced into a Ford Mondeo and driven around the town for six hours before being raped.

The Met Police released a CCTV image of the suspect

The Met Police launched an appeal to find Mr McCann after two women in their 20s were snatched off streets in London on 25 April.

A woman was abducted in Chingford at about 00:30, and another at 12:15 in Edgware.

Both women, aged in their 20s, were raped before being driven to a hotel in Watford, where the attacker attempted to book a room but left when one was unavailable.

The women escaped following a struggle in Osborne Road at about 14:30.

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