Man jailed for snatching young woman off street

A man has been jailed after trying to snatch a young woman off a Hove street while she screamed for her life.

Cameron Boxall, 22, bought rubber gloves and a balaclava before approaching a 20-year-old woman in a stolen Mini Cooper in Selbourne Road on August 5, 2024.

Boxall, formerly of Carden Hill in Brighton, was jailed for five years in a hearing at Hove Crown Court on Friday after admitting kidnapping the woman, stealing a vehicle and possession of cannabis.

In a statement, Boxall's victim said that she felt that she had "lost her freedom", adding: "I struggle to understand the level of violence he used against me and I feel lucky to be alive."

She added: "I had bruises and scratches on back, arms and legs from where he threw me out of the car and a massive lump on my head.

"What happened has changed the way I view the world. I've not done anything wrong and did not deserve what happened to me."

A court was told that Boxall, who was 21 at the time of the kidnapping, was driving around Hove in the early hours of 5 August having stolen the Mini Cooper and switching its number plates.

Boxall asked the woman for directions as she walked home from work before trying to drag her into the car.

A doorbell camera captured her fighting to escape the car, hanging out of the passenger door screaming "no, no, no".

Gareth Burrows, prosecuting, said the woman was later found nearby "in a state of shock" having been pushed out of the car.

Boxall tried to claim he wanted to rob the young woman to pay a drugs debt, the court heard.

He also admitted theft from a vehicle, driving without a licence or insurance and making off without payment.

Recorder Lucy Beaumont sentenced Boxall to five years in jail with a further two years to be spent on licence, as well as giving him an indefinite restraining order against his victim.

Det Sgt Jack Sagar, from the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said Boxall was a "dangerous violent offender".

"Boxall is a dangerous predator who preyed on a young woman innocently walking home, putting her through a horrific distressing ordeal where she feared for her life," he said.

"We commend her for the immense strength and bravery she has shown throughout the incident and during our subsequent investigation."

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