Moment police swoop to arrest aristocrat Constance Marten’s boyfriend Mark Gordon [VIDEO]

This is the moment police swooped in to arrest aristocrat Constance Marten‘s boyfriend, Mark Gordon, as detectives continue to quiz the couple and hundreds of desperate officers search for their newborn baby. 

Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48, were spotted withdrawing cash in Stanmer Villas, Brighton, on Monday evening before they were arrested following a tip-off from a member of the public. 

They have refused to reveal the location of their two-month old baby, as senior police officers now suspect them of gross negligence manslaughter. 

The footage obtained by The Mirror shows officers together with Gordon as they swoop in to arrest him. 

Witnesses said officers apparently pinned Gordon down for around 40 minutes as Marten became tearful and begged them to let him go.  

A man who watched the arrest of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon said: ‘It was very dramatic.

‘I was sitting in my van at the time, about 9.30pm last night. There was a couple in front of me. Two police officers, one male and one female, and they approached the couple.

‘They went for the man first, he was struggling and resisting arrest. The woman he was with was shouting at the officers and telling them to be careful as he had issues with mental health.

‘A second police car arrived and the back-up officers helped subdue the man. They were kneeling on his back. He was groaning in pain.

‘The woman was handcuffed but she was treated much more gently. The man must have resisted arrest for about 40-minutes. I was worried because there was about three or four officers trying to subdue him. They were on top of him to stop him from running off.’

Marten had a heavy winter coat on and was carrying a bag of shopping moments before the arrest. Gordon was following close behind her holding two shopping bags and a large stick that appears to have been taken from woods nearby.  

The couple have refused to release the gender of their baby or its whereabouts to the police. 

Hundreds of officers are carrying out a desperate search across the South Downs to find the infant. 

Police are offering a £10,000 reward for any information that leads to its safe discovery as Marten and Gordon are still being quizzed by detectives in separate police stations across Sussex. 

The couple have been travelling around the UK by taxi since their car was found burning on the M61 in Bolton, Greater Manchester, on January 5. 

The baby is believed to have been born in the back seat of a car on around January 5. 

Authorities previously believed the couple had been sleeping rough in a blue tent, and had avoided being traced by the police by moving around frequently and keeping their faces covered in CCTV images.

The couple travelled from Bolton to Liverpool, then to Harwich in Essex, then to east London and then to Newhaven in East Sussex, where they were seen near the ferry port on January 8.

Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, the senior investigating officer in the search, insisted his team still remained hopeful. 

But in a press conference yesterday afternoon he ‘this may not end in the way that we would like’ because the couple had refused to reveal its location despite being quizzed for a ‘significant period of time’. 

The detective superintendent said the odds of finding the infant alive were dwindling by the hour, adding: ‘If you know where this baby is, talk to us.’ 

‘The interview process is continuing,’ he told a press conference. 

The couple have not given the location of the baby – nor its gender – and are said to be still refusing to cooperate with police.

However, Supt Basford appealed to the public to come forward with any information as to the baby’s whereabouts and said police were still offering a £10,000 reward for information that leads to its safe discovery.

The officer said police could not rule out the fact the couple, who had a large amount of cash on them, may have come across someone who was sympathetic to their plight.

He said: ‘Whilst we still have hope the baby can be found safe and well we must maintain that hope.

‘In terms of the coldness and the impact that would have on a baby then clearly the risk is getting higher and we have to be open to the fact this may not end in the way we would like.’

He said: ‘We always have to keep an open mind in he investigation. It is a reason why we offered the £10,000 reward and that reward remains open.’

Today the father of the runaway aristocrat said he was ‘very alarmed’ the baby had still not been found in the area where the family are believed to have been camping in temperatures as low as -1C.

Napier Marten, who was a page to the late Queen, said: ‘It is an immense relief to know my beloved daughter Constance has been found, tempered by the very alarming news her baby has yet to be found.

‘For whatever reasons she and her partner went on the run, the consequences of their actions have increased manyfold. It would have been far better if they had handed themselves in earlier.’

Police finally caught up with them when a member of the public reported hearing them rowing in a shopping street in Brighton just before 9.30pm last night.

Exclusive footage obtained by MailOnline shows the pair weighed down with shopping, strolling along a street just four minutes before police arrived to arrest them on suspicion of child neglect.

Witnesses described the aristocrat as tearful, yelling at officers to ‘get off’ Gordon when he was restrained. She said she was worried about his mental health.

One witness claimed Gordon struggled and took 40 minutes to be subdued.

Supt Basford said police had to consider the possibility that the child had ‘come to harm’.

Police have also revealed: 

• They hold hope the baby is still alive but admit risk to the child is ‘extremely high’ and gets worse with every hour;
• The couple have not given the location of the baby – or its gender. Forensics are testing a placenta found on January 5 to find out;
• No tents or other items of significance have been found since the search began last night;
• Main line of inquiry is that the couple had the baby – but detectives cannot rule out that they have found someone like minded and offered them cash to look after the child;
• The child has never been seen on TV but two taxi drivers have said they saw the baby moving and crying;
• Monday was the first sighting of the couple since January 8, in Newhaven, and they were arrested six minutes after a 999 call from someone who recognised them from public appeals; 

Meanwhile, Mr Marten also told The Independent: ‘It would have been far better if they handed themselves in earlier and whatever the weather, I love her dearly. It is an immense relief to know my beloved daughter Constance has been found, tempered by the very alarming news her baby has yet to be found.

‘For whatever reasons she and her partner went on the run, the consequences of their actions have increased many fold. It would have been far better if they had handed themselves in earlier.’

He continued: ‘The police to whom I am profoundly grateful, committed great resources to try to find Constance, all of which, it was always hoped, could have been avoided.

‘I would like to thank Det. Sup. Bashford and his team for their dogged investigation to bring her disappearance to a close. I would also like to thank the person or persons who called the Police when they saw the couple.

‘When the time comes, I am longing to see Constance to reassure her that, whatever the weather, I love her dearly and will support her as best I can through the difficult weeks and months here on in.’

Officers have been going from house to house in the area, searching gardens, bushes and alleyways for the infant. Specialist search teams have also been working through the night in an area of woods at the end of the street where the couple were found. Police are also scouring Hollingbury Golf Club, seen as the gateway to the Sussex Downs. 

A blue forensic tent has been erected in the street, where a car and caravan can also be seen in an area backing on to woods and allotments, and the Metropolitan Police is helping with the search of open land and outbuildings. The public has been urged to search their sheds and garages for the newborn.

The couple were arrested in the street after two police cars rushed to the scene. Anna Drake, 34, said: ‘The couple were seen around Hollingbury Place – a parade of shops. They had shopping and supplies and they were heading back towards the allotments.

‘They were recognised and followed and that person called the police. Officers in a police car then attempted to arrest them and then back-up arrived.

‘There was quite a commotion. I don’t think there was a struggle but they had to wait for a van to arrive.’