An individual believed to be Joseph McCann, the suspect wanted in connection to three rapes in south-east England, has been taken into custody after reports of a lengthy stand-off with police.
In the early hours of yesterday morning, the suspect was surrounded by police, who had tracked McCann down to an isolated rural area in the town of Congleton.
According to the BBC and Sky News, McCann was hiding in a tree on a country lane as the National Police Air Service (NPAS) monitored the situation.
A reporter for Sky News said police had taken a man believed to be McCann into custody just before 03:00 hours.
Cheshire police had earlier confirmed that trained negotiators talked to McCann during the stand-off.
The BBC reported that McCann was in a tree on Smithy Lane just outside the town.
It later emerged that McCann was also a suspect in the abduction and rape of a third woman who was attacked at knifepoint in Watford, Hertfordshire, on 2nd April.
A reward of £20,000 had been offered by the police for McCann’s capture, but it is not yet known if police found McCann following a tip-off or whether they tracked him down utilising other means.
News of the appalling crimes shocked the nation and it was only going to be a matter of time before the chief suspect in the case was finally tracked down by officers who have been working around the clock to secure his arrest.
The victims in all three cases continue to receive support from specialist officers and will be being kept fully up-to-date with developments by their liaison officers.
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories & videos which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services & NHS by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' back in 2018 was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services & NHS which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of you, our readers.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.