DETECTIVES are searching for the "good samaritan" who drove a man to hospital after he was shot in an underpass. 

The victim was was walking in the underpass near the BP garage in Nethermayne, Basildon, at about 9.50pm on Saturday, March 21.

Temporary Dc Clive Hammond, of Basildon CID, said: "He was approached by another man, who had entered the underpass from the direction of the railway station and appeared to have an object hidden up his sleeve.

"The suspect said something that appeared to be in a foreign language before a popping noise was heard and the victim realised he had been injured in the chest.

"The suspect fled the scene, running back the way he had entered the underpass.”

A young woman came to the aid of the victim, who is aged in his 40s and from Basildon.

She helped him out of the underpass and flagged down a passing driver in a 4x4 vehicle, who drove the man to Basildon Hospital.

The victim remains in hospital undergoing treatment and is currently in a stable condition.

Enquiries are continuing to establish the weapon involved in the incident.

The suspect was described as white, aged in his mid-30s and about 5ft 6ins tall.

He wore a dark navy blue hooded top with double fronted pockets, black jeans and black trainers with a white trim around the soles.

Police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward and are particularly keen to speak to the driver who took the victim to hospital.

Contact Temporary Dc Hammond at Basildon CID on 101, or alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org