Hackney Marshes heroes save ‘rape attack’ woman
A group of amateur footballers told today how they rescued a woman from a savage attack after police took "too long" to arrive.
Up to 60 players on Hackney Marshes heard the woman's screams and raced after the attacker, who had allegedly threatened her with rape.
Players wrestled him to the ground as others made emergency calls. They pinned down the suspect for 20 minutes until police arrived — eight minutes after their target time.
It happened as the final whistle blew at about noon for Sunday league teams playing on some of the Marshes' 88 pitches.
Drazen Jorgic, 23, who plays for a local side, said: "Everyone was shaking hands and I just saw out of the corner of my eye 30 to 40 blokes sprinting towards the woodland.
"I heard a female voice screaming: Help! Help me!' Then I saw another 20-odd blokes go in there, some of them grabbing poles from the corner of the pitch.
"The players chased the man and found him in bushes. They kept him pinned down for at least 20 minutes until the police arrived." Mr Jorgic, a journalist from Euston, added:
"Everyone couldn't believe they took so long and were quite angry."
The woman, in her thirties, was treated in hospital for facial cuts.
The Met admitted it missed its target response time of 12 minutes and said officers were at the Marshes in 16 minutes. A site manager directed them to the woods, which took another four minutes.
Adelani Akamo, 22, a student from Haggerston, appeared in court charged with attempted rape and GBH and was remanded in custody.
