Man robbed and pushed in river

POLICE are today hunting a pair of would-be robbers who ripped an ileostomy bag off a man and threw it into a river.

Colin Bissett, 46, was left shocked, shaken and angry by the attack which caused him lots of pain and distress.

The Felixstowe docks worker had been walking by the River Gipping near Boss Hall Road, Ipswich, at about 8.45pm on Monday, January 12, when two men with an Alsatian dog approached him.

Mr Bissett, of Riverside Road, Ipswich, said: “One of them said to me 'have you got anything?'

“I was wearing a fleece jacket and they pulled that up to see what I had.

“Then they saw the ileostomy bag. One of the men grabbed hold of my bag and ripped it off me. He threw it into the river then I got pushed in the river too.

“It really hurt and I had to scramble out of the river.”

Mr Bissett has suffered from idiopathic megarectum since he was four-years-old, which means he can not tell when to go to the toilet and instead has the bag attached to his lower body, which he changes every couple of days.

When it was ripped off dirt got inside his bowel and he needed to be taken to Ipswich Hospital where he was treated and cleaned.

Police are now hunting for the two men who tried to rob Mr Bissett. Officers are examining CCTV evidence and looking at forensic clues in the hunt for the pair.

The first man is described as white, aged early to mid 20s, 5ft 11inc, of medium build and was wearing a gold-coloured signet ring on his right hand, a dark-coloured waist length bomber style jacket and dark-coloured trousers.

The second man is described as white, aged early to mid 20s, 5ft 11inc and of slim to medium build.

Anyone with information about the attempted robbery should call Dc Hannah Martin at Ipswich CID on 01473 613500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Have you been the victim of a crime? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk