One-man crimewave who tried to carjack two women in Walsall is jailed
A thief who tried to carjack two women within half an hour of each other has been jailed for five-and-a-half years.
The women – one a driving instructor and the other a nurse – bravely resisted Paul Nightingale on the afternoon of December 7 last year.
Nightingale, aged 40, approached his first target in New Street, Bloxwich, after she had just finished a driving lesson and asked for a business card.
He then jumped into the vehicle and threatened her with scissors while trying to cable tie her hands to the gearstick.
She used the dual control pedals to stop him driving away as members of the public became aware and rushed over.
Nightingale ran off and the victim suffered a cut hand.
Undeterred, Nightingale then confronted a woman in Field Road, Bloxwich, just 30 minutes later. He was carrying a plank of wood and demanded her car.
He got inside the vehicle and sat on her lap as he tried to start the engine.
However, she managed to raise attention by beeping the horn and others came to her aid. Again, Nightingale fled on foot.
Following enquiries police identified Nightingale as the prime suspect for both offences - and an attempt to steal designer clothing from a shop in Park Street, in Walsall town centre, earlier the same day.
A shop worker had chased after Nightingale and managed to retrieve the clothes after a struggle which saw her knocked to the floor.
Nightingale, of Stafford Street, Walsall, was arrested within five days of his crimewave and went on to admit assault with intent to commit robbery, attempted theft of a motor vehicle and three attempted shop thefts on December 7.
He was sentenced to five-and-a-half-years in prison recently at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Speaking after the sentencing, PC Jodie Allen, from force CID, said: "These women were put through terrifying ordeals but they bravely put up resistance and Nightingale was forced to flee empty-handed.
"We carried out quick time enquiries and were able to identify and then arrest Nightingale, who is now rightly behind bars and unable to strike again."
