Men sentenced for kidnap after woman found injured on dual carriageway

Angel Lynn suffered severe injuries that she has still not recovered from

A man bundled his then girlfriend into a van before she suffered "devastating injuries" after falling from the vehicle as it travelled along a dual carriageway, a court has heard.

Angel Lynn was found with severe head injuries on the A6 near Loughborough on 17 September 2020.

She remains in hospital and requires round-the-clock care, police said.

Chay Bowskill, 20, and his friend Rocco Sansome, 20 - who had driven the van - were sentenced for kidnap on Wednesday.

Leicester Crown Court heard Bowskill, of Empingham Drive, Syston, had grabbed Miss Lynn following an argument and put her into a van against her will.

The jury was told Miss Lynn, who was aged 19 at the time, fell from the van as it was travelling at about 60mph (97km/h) along the dual carriageway and suffered severe brain injuries, which she has still not recovered from.

Both men were convicted of kidnap on Tuesday.

Bowskill was also found guilty of coercive and controlling behaviour in the relationship with Miss Lynn, and perverting the course of justice after he put pressure on his mother to withdraw her police statement.

He was found not guilty of causing Miss Lynn grievous bodily harm for her injuries after he said she had voluntarily jumped out of the vehicle.

Chay Bowskill had been in a relationship with Miss Lynn at the time

Judge Timothy Spencer QC handed Bowskill a sentence of seven-and-a-half years at a young offenders institution on Wednesday.

He described Bowskill's treatment of Miss Lynn during their 12-month relationship as "vile" and added: "She was belittled by you to a point she must have felt on a regular basis, worthless.

"You bombarded her with repulsive, degrading messages, sometimes within a timespan of a few hours.

"You controlled her freedom of movement by a variety of means and she was not allowed any sort of life apart from you."

He said had Miss Lynn not been kidnapped and placed in the van by Bowskill, she "would not have suffered those devastating injuries".

'Life will never be the same'

Sansome, of Wanlip Lane, Birstall, was sentenced to 21 months in a young offenders institution.

He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months after he was found to be over the drug-drive limit at the time of the offence.

The judge called him "naive and immature" and added: "You demonstrated a blind loyalty to Bowskill which you would do well to reassess.

"Your role was clearly at a vastly different level to his but you did engage wilfully in a kidnapping and a serious one at that."

Paddy Lynn, Angel's father, said their lives had "changed beyond recognition forever".

"The catastrophic injuries Angel suffered will mean life will never be the same for her or our family," he said.

"Every day is not only a huge struggle for Angel but also a huge struggle for our family and friends.

"I know that Angel will never get married now and I will never get to walk my daughter down the aisle.

"We don't know what the future holds for our daughter but we try to put smiles on our faces each day but inside our hearts are bleeding out."