28 February 2023 , 13:14
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An aristocrat's daughter begged cops to release her boyfriend as they pinned him to the ground, pleading: "He's not well."
Eyewitnesses told how officers searching for Constance Marten, 35, and her newborn baby swooped on her lover Mark Gordon, 48, and kneeled on him for up to 40 minutes.
The couple were found after spending 54 days on the run but are reportedly refusing to reveal where the baby, which was born in their broken down car near Bolton, Greater Manchester, on January 5, is.
Allotment owner Cyril Holis, 29, said he was sleeping in his van when he witnessed the dramatic moment police arrived on the scene.
Police have launched a huge search for the baby (Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)He said Constance sat next to Gordon on the floor as he was arrested.
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He told the Mirror: “I was in the van - they got him at around 9pm. A couple of police were struggling to take him down and then a second car arrived.
“I looked out and saw them shouting and struggling.”
The couple were found after spending 54 days on the run (PA)
They are reportedly refusing to reveal the baby's whereabouts (PA)He added: “He was trying to fight. He didn’t look happy. They kneeled on him for like 40 minutes. I was quite scared for him actually.
He claimed: “She was there and she was saying they should let him go because he has a mental health issue.
“She was arrested as well but later on. She didn’t do anything she just kneeled next to him trying to calm the situation down. It was just stressful. She was saying, 'Let him go'.”
A pair of pink child's earmuffs collected by a police officer in the search (PA)Within half an hour, ten police cars arrived at the allotment near Stanmer Villas, Brighton.
“There was a helicopter searching all night,” he added. “They had bags of food with them. Big blue plastic bags like they had been to the foodbank.”
Local Lee Wright, 29, claims he spotted Gordon with a suitcase walking past Stanmer Villas on Monday morning - hours before he was arrested by police.
Police searching the allotment site today (Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)He told the Mirror: “I saw him with a little suitcase in his hand and paperwork in his other hand. I was standing outside having a cigarette.
“He looked like someone who might have been in and out of jail.
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“He was wearing a Barbour jacket, black jeans and had a suitcase - like a hard suitcase.
“It was between 10 and 12 yesterday. I told my mum this morning and looked at pictures online - it was definitely him.”