‘Can you put your arms around my neck and hold it? I need to use my arm to leverage myself to standing.’

Fingernails dug into his skin. He could feel that she was using everything she had to hold on and probably wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long, so he pushed himself up before quickly making sure both of his arms were securely around her. He heard the gasps of the women as he emerged from the bushes with the woman lying against him.

‘Oh my God!’ one of the women cried.

‘Is she alive?’ another shouted.

‘Could you get some blankets or something to warm her up quickly while we wait for the medics?’

In situations like this, it was instinct and training that carried Adrian through, but at some point, there is a moment where you get to think about what is actually going on and that’s when the reality of the situation hits home. Who was this girl? How had she got here? Who had done this to her? She was petite and her injuries were not the result of an accident. He could see fingermarks on her neck and he clenched his jaw to suppress the rage that threatened.

Adrian lay her on the grass and stroked her forehead. She began to tremble and Adrian hoped the medics would appear before she got hypothermia.

‘Thank you,’ she said, her voice breaking as she spoke, and a guttural moan followed soon after as she began to cry.

The ladies from the houses opposite the wall appeared holding blankets. He noticed one of them was filming with their mobile phone, which ignited the anger that he was fighting so hard to suppress.

‘I’ll be back in a moment. I’m just going to grab those blankets, see if we can warm you up a bit.’

She tried to grab at his shirt, to stop him from leaving. She mouthed as if to speak but nothing came out.

‘I won’t be a second. I’m coming back, I promise.’

He stood and walked over to the woman holding the phone.

‘Can I ask you not to share that video until we have had a chance to identify the woman and inform her family. It would be horrible to find out something like this from a video on the internet, wouldn’t it?’

‘Oh, I wasn’t going to share it,’ she said, her cheeks flushing.

‘My colleagues will be here any second to take all of your names. Please just wait here.’

‘I got you these blankets; they are my kids’ blankets; it’s all I had. Sorry.’

‘Thank you.’