Footage shows moment police raid Forest Hall takeaway where suspect Abdul Ezedi worked

Watch the moment police raid a takeaway where Clapham chemical attack suspect Abdul Ezedi from Newcastle is believed to have worked Credit: @graememorl on X

Footage seen by ITV Tyne Tees shows the moment a takeaway on North Tyneside was raided by police in connection with the manhunt for Abdul Ezedi.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that armed officers searched a property and Ezedi's place of work in Newcastle in the early hours of Thursday 8 February.

Best Bite Pizza and Grill House, in Forest Hall, is understood to be where Ezedi worked while living in Newcastle.

The fugitive is the main suspect being hunted by officers in connection with a chemical attack on a mother and her two children in London.

One eyewitness who wished to protect his identity, told ITV Tyne Tees he was "pretty shocked" by the raid.He added: "I was expecting them to come at some point, but I didn't think they'd come armed and that, I thought they'd just come to check it out, check this place out."

Asked why he believed the police had raided the address, he said: "Well with him working there."The eyewitness also described Ezedi as "quiet".

Meanwhile a local resident, who did not wish to be named, told the Press Association that police activity at the takeaway continued for around two hours.

She described seeing officers hold up perspex shields as they entered and said some officers appeared to drill into an outside door to gain access to a storeroom.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "In the early hours of this morning, Thursday, February 8, armed police executed two warrants at addresses associated with Ezedi, including his place of work.

"This was a joint operation between Northumbria Police and the Met. No arrests were made, enquiries and searches continue."

Ezedi, 35, is wanted for attempted murder following a suspected chemical attack in Clapham, London, on Wednesday 31 January.

A toddler and her mother had an alkaline substance thrown at them in what is understood to have been a “targeted” attack.

On Wednesday the Metropolitan Police's Commander Jon Savell confirmed Ezedi is understood to have been in a relationship with the mother who was injured.

The 31-year-old woman who was attacked, understood to be known to Afghan refugee Ezedi, remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition.

It is now being reported that she may lose the sight in her right eye and - as of Wednesday afternoon - she remains sedated in hospital, too ill to speak, according to police.

Her daughters, aged three and eight, were also hurt in the incident, but they have been discharged from hospital.

Police say anyone found to have harboured or helped Ezedi will be arrested. A £20,000 reward for information leading to his capture has been offered by the Metropolitan Police.

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