Jailed: Former soldier who caused girlfriend of four weeks to jump from a moving car to escape brutal attack

Kirk Hall formerly of Llwyn Road, Oswestry, had only been seeing the woman for four weeks when he attacked her, a court has heard.

Prosecuting the 32-year-old, Mr Oliver King told Shrewsbury Crown Court on Thursday that the pair started their relationship on March 1 this year.

He said just four weeks later, on March 30, the couple were in Ro-Loz bar in Oswestry.

“She went to the garden for a cigarette and he went outside a bit later and as he approached he observed that she was laughing at something on her phone,” said Mr King.

“He snatched it from her and scrolled through it. He then took her car keys from the pocket of her gilet and ran towards Bailey Head.”

He told the court that Hall returned a few minutes later, telling his victim he had put her phone in her car and the pair returned to it together.

When the pair got back to the car, which was parked in a pub car park at the top of Bailey Head, Mr King said Hall then attacked his victim.

“He grabbed the top of her head, smashing her glasses on top of her head causing them to shatter. He then grabbed her, taking hold of her hair and pulling her by the arm, but she grabbed a flower pot and the defendant let go,” said Mr King.

"He then grabbed her again and head-butted her to the top of the forehead then bit her on the left cheek. She was by now upset and crying and asking the defendant to stop but he persisted.”

Hall then “dragged” his victim into the car and forced her into the passenger side before he jumped in the driver's side and grabbed her hair again before proceeding to drive around the pub car park in an “errratic manner”.

“She was trying to get out of the moving car,” said Mr King. “He pulled her back in and said 'what are you trying to doo, you stupid ****, are you trying to kill yourself?"

But he said the victim tried again and managed to “scramble from the window of her car”.

“She dropped to the floor,” Mr King said. “The car was in motion at this point, and she hid under another car.”

The court heard that the victim called the police, who took her to hospital to address her injuries but when she returned home she found her car outside, but the keys were missing and a "can of Coke" had been poured over the electric, writing it off – her car keys were later found in a field nearby.

Hall was arrested for the first attack and bailed, but the court heard that when the victim returned home on the afternoon of April 14, she found the defendant in her front room.

Mr King said a further attack then took place, which involved Hall head-butting”the woman in the forehead before throwing a vape at her.

He said that Hall only left when the victim's dog got between the pair and started growling.

Hall was arrested again, but he then began to send his victim text messages declaring his love for his victim and telling her he'd "bought an engagement ring and wanted to have children with her".

Two days later she was woken at 5am to find Hall outside her house and Hall was arrested and detained.

In an impact statement read to the court, Hall's victim said she had been “traumatised” by her experience with Hall which had had a “catastrophic” effect on her mental health, causing her to have panic attacks and making her feel “scared to go outside.

Ms Rosemary Proctor, defending Hall, said he had “struggled” to adjust to civilian life after leaving the army.

“He joined the army at 18 and left four years later. He saw combat. But he has struggled to live the life of a civilian,” she said.

The court was also told that Hall, who admitted one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, one count of aggravated vehicle taking, one assault by beating and a charge of stalking, as well as driving while uninsured, had been made a subject of a stalking protection order taken out against him by two women last year.

Judge Rachel Brand KC, told Hall he had “completely lost your way since you were discharged from the army".

She continued: “Having heard the circumstances, I am quite satisfied some of the offences individually and the combination of offences result in a case where the only appropriate course of action is immediate custody.

“In addition to these catalogue of offences, in August 2023 you were made subject of a stalking prevention order with two other women you had been in a relationship with.”

She jailed Hall for 18 months, placed a restraining order on him to prevent him contacting his victim.

He was also banned from driving for 17 months.