Jailed: Jealous stalker knocked woman unconscious in Shrewsbury Railway Station ambush

Nathan Parish, 28, called the victim more than 40 times before deciding to lie in wait for her at Shrewsbury Railway Station on May 25.

He has now been jailed for 16 months after admitting assaulting her and stalking her.

The attack came just weeks after he finished a prison sentence he received for another attack on her last November, in which he threatened to burn down her house.

Shrewsbury Crown Court heard that by May 25 the two had known each other for about four years.

Prosecuting barrister Miss Suzanne Francis said they had never formally been a couple, but Mr Brendan Reedy for Parish said that after he got out of prison in April their relationship “flourished” and they were effectively boyfriend and girlfriend.

Miss Francis said that on the day of the attack a number of messages were sent by Parish which eventually became violent in nature.

"The complainant went out to Chester, travelling from Shrewsbury with a friend," she said.

"During the day Nathan Parish texted and called her continuously. It's clear that it began with messages around 11am, it went on until around 10pm."

Threatening

She said that in the daytime the woman also had around 20 missed calls from Parish.

"For the most part they are fairly nice text messages – 'I hope you have a nice day'," said Miss Francis.

"There comes a point when this defendant sees an image of her with another man; it appears that this was on Snapchat."

Parish then called the woman and spoke to her friend, threatening to slit the former's throat and stab her, Miss Francis told the court.

Between 10pm and 11.17pm, he tried to call her another 21 times.

The two women contacted police before and after the threats, and afterwards they decided to return to Shrewsbury early because of their concerns.

The two arrived at Shrewsbury station at about 11.30pm, where Parish was hiding behind some automatic doors.

Miss Francis said that he jumped out, “launched himself” at the victim and punched her once to the head, rendering her unconscious.

Ambulance

He then ran away but was caught by police. He told officers: “I know what this is all about, I know what I’ve done, it’s wrong.”

His victim suffered a split lip in the attack and woke up in an ambulance, the court heard.

Parish, of Rutland in Shrewsbury, was sentenced to 16 months for assaulting the woman and causing her actual bodily harm, and a two-month concurrent sentence for stalking.

The court heard that he had 14 convictions for 29 offences, including for harassment in 2011, breaching a restraining order in 2015 and arson in 2018.

Judge Anthony Lowe said: "You lay in wait, I don't know how long you waited there, but you lay in wait for your victim to arrive.

"I have no doubt that you intended to carry out an attack upon her and to that extent it is pre-meditated.

"You punched her so hard that it knocked her to the ground and rendered her unconscious.

"You say you have a relationship with her, she denies that.

"While I may not think 16 months is adequate for what you did, the law is the law and I must reduce your sentence for your early guilty plea."

Judge Lowe also imposed a restraining order, preventing Parish from contacting his victim or from going within 100 metres of her address.