A 22-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed for nine years for an attempted kidnap which saw a woman 'play dead' to escape him.

Connor Woodrow pleaded guilty to attempted kidnap at a trial in August and was sentenced at Hull Crown Court on Friday (December 17).

The attack occurred in Rawcliffe in East Yorkshire, near Camblesforth and Snaith, on Monday, March29 and Woodrow also has an extended sentence of five additional years on licence after release.

The court heard that Woodrow followed a woman who was walking her dog alone on a remote area of the riverbank in Rawcliffe, and grabbed her from behind.

The victim fought with her attacker and managed to get away after she 'played dead', running away from the scene after Woodrow released his grip.

Woodrow, of Boynton Drive, Rawcliffe, then fled the scene himself, and police were called shortly afterwards to the M62 motorway bridge near Dobella Lane in Rawcliffe after he jumped from the bridge onto the carriageway below, sustaining serious injuries. Woodrow, who was released on prison licence the previous year for a serious assault he committed in 2016 in Carlton, North Yorkshire, was arrested at the scene, and was immediately recalled to prison from custody whilst he awaited trial.

A/DS James Kelly, officer in the case, said: “Firstly, I want to praise the victim for her bravery throughout the investigative process and do not underestimate the trauma that she must have felt having had to relive the events at court.

“Woodrow’s actions caused significant distress to the victim, the long-term impacts of which are still becoming known. It is clear that he poses a significant danger to women, and I am pleased by the lengthy sentence handed out to him today.

“Now that Woodrow has been sentenced, hopefully the victim can begin to feel safer and start to move on from her horrific ordeal.”