Gloucestershire girl's attack a 'surreal nightmare'

A 14-year-old girl has described the moment of being attacked and pulled into woodland in a failed kidnap attempt as a "surreal nightmare".

Emma, not her real name, was out running when she was grabbed by Robert Hall wearing plastic gloves who covered her mouth and told her to "shut up".

"I thought I was sleeping and I'd wake up and it would all stop," she said.

Hall had visited the woods the day before too and had been waiting for a "random victim", the court heard.

Sentencing judge, Mr Recorder Waddington QC, told Gloucester Crown Court earlier he was sure that Hall's motive was to commit a serious sexual offence or inflict violence on the girl.

In September the 37-year-old of Leonard Stanley, in Gloucestershire was judged fit to plead and admitted trying to kidnap the girl in the Cotswolds.

Emma, who was 13 at the time of the attack, said she was returning from a run at about 17:50 BST on 2 June, when she saw a man "who didn't look dressed, how everyone else was dressed" for the hot weather.

"I had music playing so I couldn't hear anything and I kept running and when I looked back to check if he was still there, he was right behind me," she said.

"He was wearing these plastic gloves. I started to scream. He grabbed my mouth and held me below him and tried to take me up this hill."

She said Hall told her to "shut up" because she was "pulling away and screaming".

"I was worried I wasn't going to see my friends and family again, I thought that was going to be it," she said.

Emma said she eventually managed to fight him off and ran to a nearby house from where the police were called.

She said: "It's obviously going to stay with me for a very long time, but I can't let him win."

Emma's mother described the attempted kidnap as "every parent's worst nightmare".

"She was just building up that confidence to go out by herself for the first time and now somebody has always got to be with her," she said.

"But I couldn't be more proud of the way she acted. She instinctively fought and ran as fast as she could and screamed."

CCTV shows that Hall visited the same location in the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire the day before the attack and police believe he was looking for a "random victim".

Det Insp Adam Stacey, from Gloucestershire Police, said it had been an "absolutely terrifying" attack by a "very dangerous, predatory offender".

"This sort of incident is so, so rare and Emma has been absolutely amazing," he continued.

"Her courage and bravery have blown people away."

Hall told Gloucester Crown Court that he had not planned the attack and was acting on voices in his head. He also denied that he had intended to hurt Emma.

The sentencing judge said Hall was lying. He classed him as dangerous and said that he "posed a significant risk of serious harm to others".

Hall was sentenced earlier to five years and nine months in prison with an extended licence period of four years.