Woman begged armed hotel intruder in Hull 'don't hurt me, I have children'

A "terrified" woman begged an armed intruder "please don't hurt me, I have children" when he barged into her hotel room.

Christopher Prior, 39, stole a knife from an Italian restaurant before forcing his way into the woman's room at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel in Hull, a court heard.

The victim thought she was going to be killed during the ordeal, Hull Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Michael Masson said Prior took a knife from a restaurant on Princes Avenue through an open back door.

He then got into an elderly couple's home through a patio door and then went to a Travelodge hotel, where he failed to get through the guest access door.

At 7pm, he went to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Ferensway and knocked on the door of a woman who was waiting for a takeaway delivery.

She opened the door and Prior pushed his way past her into the room, holding a knife in his right hand.

"She shouted for help," Mr Masson said. "The defendant told her to stop shouting and that he was not going to hurt her."

Prior shut the door and the woman backed away.

She told him: "Please don't hurt me. I have got children." The prosecution said Prior told the woman that he needed somewhere to hide.

"She told him that he could stay and that she would leave but he told her to stay in the room," said Mr Masson.

"She was absolutely terrified. She thought that she was about to be murdered."

He left the room after about three minutes.The woman said that she had been left traumatised after what she described as the most terrifying experience of her life.

She was receiving therapy and her work had been affected, the court heard.

Prior admitted false imprisonment, burglary and possessing a knife.

Jailing him for three years, Judge Tahir Khan KC told Prior: "It must have been, for her, an excruciating period of time and then you did leave. The trauma she went through includes her being fearful for her life and also having flashbacks. This was an offence of false imprisonment of some gravity."The length of detention was not great but the fact that this victim was in an enclosed location must have been terrifying and she clearly was significantly affected by your behaviour."

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