Wolverhampton victim leapt from speeding car to flee gang after he was snatched off the streets

Kuldip Kang was bundled into a car by three thugs, attacked and robbed before he leapt out as they travelled at 40mph.

The 20-year-old from Merry Hill in Wolverhampton said today: "I honestly believed that if I stayed in the car with them I was going to die."

"Whilst it was happening it got to a point where I felt I would just let them do what they wanted and if they were going to kill me, then that is what would happen.

"Then I started thinking of my family and friends and that gave me the strength to do everything I could to stay alive. I honestly believed that if I stayed in the car with them I was going to die."

The pizza delivery driver, who was snatched in Wolverhampton, jumped out of the car when it pulled into a road in Moseley.

Mr Kang recalled: "I flicked off the door lock so that it could be opened quickly, then waited for a moment when they were not punching or looking at me. Then I made my move. whenI realised we were in a lane that looked like a dead end and thought that was where they were going to kill me.

"The car was doing 40mph the last time I looked at the speedometer before I opened the door and jumped. As I went out, one of them grabbed my jumper. He kept hold of the top of the jumper and I was being dragged along on my back, bouncing on the ground alongside the rear tyre for a few seconds before I managed to shrug him off.

"They had taken off my shoes and socks and my back, heels, elbows and arms were scraped and cut. They did not stop immediately but came to a standstill shortly afterwards. I heard three doors opening and shutting and a shout of 'get him.' I just ran straight ahead towards the main road as fast as I could.

"I could see two people behind me, the third must have gone to get the car. I got back on the main road and dodged down a cul de sac on the opposite side. I knocked on as many doors as I could without getting an answer and hid in the bushes when I saw their car.

"It drove past with its headlights on but did not see me. I was really frightened because I thought I was trapped, so I broke cover and ran back onto the main road. They realised what was happening and gave chase. I stumbled into somebody's garden, heard a dog bark and the security light came on.

"They saw that and parked their car alongside but did not see me through the bush I was hiding behind. They waited for a bit but must have thought that I had run past because they finally drove off. I then jumped into the back garden of the house and knocked on the door for ages before it was answered. The man was a bit hesitant but when he saw the state I was in, he let me inside to phone my dad who came to get me."

Wolverhampton Crown Court was told how Mr Kang was bundled into the gang'sToyota car and driven away, leaving his mother's Hyundai where it had been forced to stop in Chapel Ash around 2am. Mr Mark Phillips, prosecuting, said the Toyota Auris, hired under somebody else's name, was driven by 19-year-old Tyron Grundy, who was due to join the Grenadier Guards the following month.

Mr Kang was put in the back between Alex Bradley, aged 22, and Anton Birch, an 18-year-old with 13 GCSEs, before being repeatedly punched, kicked, hit over the head with a bottle three times and racially abused while the vehicle headed towards Bushbury, it was said.

Mr Phillips continued: "One of the defendants told him 'I have got a gun and we will kill you.'"

The car stopped twice on the journey before the Toyota turned off Moseley Road into Moseley Old Hall Lane, Moseley and Mr Kang jumped out.

He ran to nearby bushes where he hid as two of the gang fruitlessly searched for him in the dark leaving him to knock on the door of a resident and raise the alarm the court was told. Mr Kang's father arrived and took his son to hospital where he spent two days under treatment for cuts and bruises.

Meanwhile, his family turned detective to trawl through Facebook looking for the culprits armed with the clue that the victim had heard one of referred to as Anton during the half-hour ordeal.

They guessed the gang lived near the Moseley area because they knew the side roads.

One of the victim's sisters knew somebody living in the area who had an Anton listed as a friend.

There was also a photo of him hugging another man who turned out to be Bradley. Mr Kang, from Merry Hill, was shown the pictures and confirmed they were two of the men involved and both were arrested on December 28.

Bradley's DNA was found in what appeared to be a bite mark on the victim's head, said Mr Phillips.

Grundy gave himself up on January 6.

Police raided the home of Birch in Fourth Avenue, Low Hill ,after his arrest and found three mobile phones with text messages showing he had been involved in drug dealing as well as pictures of large quantities of money, a sawn-off shotgun and a revolver, the court was told. There was no proof he had ever had any of the weapons.

Miss Kate Thomas, defending said Bradley had downed a bottle of vodka before the incident while the robbery was 'completely out of character' for Grundy who was of previous good character.

Miss Lauren Sales for Birch said he was an extremely intelligent young man who had 'assumed the persona of a drug dealer' after being 'groomed.'

Birch, Grundy, of Newman Road, The Scotlands, Wolverhampton, and Bradley from Old Fallings Lane, Bushbury, Wolverhampton, all admitted robbery.

Birch also admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis.

Bradley was jailed for five and a half years, Grundy was ordered to be detained for four years and seven months and Birch got two years seven months. Recorder Geoffrey Kelly told them: "You decided to have some sport with this young man. A measure of the terror he must have felt is that he jumped out of a car at 40 mph fortunately without injury. No doubt if he had not done that he would have suffered very serious injury indeed."

Mr Kang's father Shinda, who has three other children, said: "We are not a vengeful family but those who did the crime must now take their punishment."