Parents of kidnap victim Angel Lynn thought 'she wouldn't last the night' after horror injuries

The parents of woman who suffered catastrophic brain injuries after she fell head-first from a van they thought she wouldn't make it through the night.
Angel Lynn's mother Nikki Lynn (right) wants more to be done to help victims of domestic abuse. Credit: PA/GMB

The parents of a kidnap victim who suffered catastrophic brain injuries when she fell head-first from a van have spoken about how they had lost hope and thought she wouldn't make it through the night.

Angel Lynn, now 22, fell from a van that was travelling at 60mph on the A6 near Loughborough.

She was kidnapped by her "controlling" ex- boyfriend, Chay Bowskill, and his friend, Rocco Sansome, both then 20, in September 2020.

She now receives round-the-clock care after being left unable to communicate, walk, or feed herself.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, her parents, Nikki and Patrick Lynn, said doctors told them she wouldn't survive but "miracles do happen".

"But in Angel's case, it's not going to happen," said Mrs Lynn.

"You've got to get your head round this more or less she isn't going to make it."

  • Angel's parents Nikki and Patrick Lynn said she no longer has seizures


Mrs Lynn said Angel, who was just 19 when she was bundled into the back of the van, got Covid-19 and pneumonia during her treatment.

"The doctors said they've done everything they can now to stop her seizures and it's not working," she recalled.

"We've got one more medication to try...and it worked."

Since the new medication, Angel's parent say her seizures have stopped, though she has since been in and out of rehab units.

Mr Lynn said they were told "she wouldn't last through the night but we prayed for her".

They're now preparing for Angel to return home in an adapted space.

"She can pull herself up but she will need special baths so she's got a bedroom downstairs, wet-room, then a carers bedroom next to hers and a carers shower," said Mrs Lynn.

"The kitchen has been made bigger so she can make her way through the kitchen and have plenty of room."

Angel's parents have shared her devastating story in a new Channel 4 documentary, The Kidnap of Angel Lynn, in a bid to give other victims of abusive relationships a voice.

The documentary, which aired on Tuesday, showed scans of Angel's skull after she fell head-first onto the road.

The scans show she was left with two fractures - one across the top of her skull and down the left side of her face and another across her forehead and into her eye socket.

Damaged caused to Angel's nose, eye socket and cheeks from the head-first fall could be seen on some scans. Credit: Channel 4

In the interview with Good Morning Britain, Angel's parents were asked about domestic abuse and whether more needs to be done on the issue.

"We had no inkling," Mrs Lynn said. "It does need to be put out there a lot so people understand the signs.

"Our whole family has been absolutely devastated by this, it's changed all our lives."


  • Shocking footage shows the moment Angel was kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend


Bowskill was jailed in January last year for seven-and-a-half years for the kidnap as well as coercive and controlling behaviour in a relationship and perverting the course of justice.

This was later increased to 12 years after the Court of Appeal ruled the initial sentence "unduly lenient".

Accomplice Sansome was also found guilty of Angel’s kidnap and jailed for 21 months. He was also disqualified from driving for 22-and-a-half months.


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