Blood found in beauty spot linked to criminal damage in Bognor Regis

At 8.30am on Sunday (March 18), a member of the public reported that there was a pool of blood in Hotham Park.

The area was cordoned off and samples were taken, which are now being compared to blood left in Harfield Court in the High Street where a shop door window was smashed at 2.57am.

Police are waiting to talk to a 24-year-old local man who was taken to hospital by ambulance with a severe hand injury.

Inspector Nick Bowman from Bognor Regis police said: “I should like to thank the public for their patience while this investigation was carried out.

“I am aware that the park was closed at a time when people may well have had plans to enjoy the fine weather on Mothering Sunday, but there had been a number of incidents during the night and until we could be sure they were not linked and a serious crime had not taken place, we had to secure the area for forensic investigation to take place.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident in Harfield Court or who saw an injured man between the High Street and Hotham Park around 3am on Sunday is asked to call Sussex Police on 101 quoting serial 388 of 18/03.