A man was dragged from his car and beaten by two men who then drove off in his vehicle in a carjacking incident at Wicken Bonhunt on Tuesday morning (January 19).

The man stopped his black Ford Mondeo at 5.20am in Wicken Road, near the M11 bridge, after seeing an elderly man stood by a grey Vauxhall Astra which appeared to be on fire.

After stopping, one of the robbers got into the passenger seat and punched the driver in the face, before he was dragged from the vehicle and struck with a hard object in the face by the other assailant, believed to be the elderly man.

The two men then drove off in the Mondeo towards Newport and are described as white and spoke with Irish accents.

Firefighters provided first aid to the victim, who suffered cuts and bruising to his face, and extinguished the Vauxhall Astra by 6am.

The incident is the second carjacking to have taken place in Uttlesford in the past two months, along with many other reports of attempts in the areas of Sible Hedingham, Finchingfield and Steeple Bumpstead.

On December 6, the Reporter covered the story of a white Fiat Abarth 500 being stolen after a man was flagged down along the B1057 in Great Bardfield by a woman standing in the middle of the road at around 8.45pm. Two men approached the vehicle and shouted at the driver and his male passenger to get out, before driving the car away with the woman towards Finchingfield.

The vehicle was found burnt out in Wethersfield Road in the village.

On December 24, Rachel Wilson told the Reporter she was the victim in an attempted carjack, which took place on the B1053 between Finchingfield and Wethersfield at around 4.45pm.

On December 29, Mark Brown posted on Facebook that his parents had been subjected to a carjacking attempt in Sible Hedingham.

On January 7, Pat Taylor said two men in a white van followed her along the A1307 bypass when she was travelling on the B1057 towards Helion Bumpstead in a bid to get away from the van, which was tailgating and hooting her.

Essex Police said they have received reports of suspicious activity in the Finchingfield area, which are being investigated alongside the vehicle thefts, but as yet, no offences have been identified.

A spokesman said: “There is currently nothing to suggest there is a link to any other incident. However, officers will keep an open mind and if any other evidence comes to light suggesting a link, then it will be investigated.”