Body cam footage has shown the dramatic moment police surrounded a man who held a woman at knife-point before stealing her car.
Stephen Mather, 43, of no fixed abode, was today (December 16) jailed for seven years after being found guilty of robbery and dangerous driving at Manchester Crown Court.
The court heard how police were called to Dale Street in Edgeley, Stockport at around 9.20pm on April 24, 2021.
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A female victim, in her 20s, had arranged via Snapchat to meet Mather to buy something he was selling.
When she arrived at the location in her white Nissan Qashqai, two males, one of which was Mather, approached her and proceeded to get into the car.
Mather then instructed the woman to drive to Lucy Street and hand over the money for the purchase before going to collect the items.
When they arrived at Lucy Street, the young male walked off while Mather and the victim got out of the car to have a cigarette.
Mather then pinned the woman against the car and held a knife to her throat.
He then demanded she hand over her phone, keys and possessions on her before instructing her to go down the street and walk away.
Following his instructions, the victim then saw Mather race off in her vehicle down Lucy Street before turning onto Old Chapel Street.
The victim then notified the police of the incident and the stolen vehicle, with an officer from GMP's Tactical Vehicle Interception Unit able to locate the car on Stockport Road as it was parked in a layby.
As the officer pulled up behind the car, Mather immediately put the car into reverse and intentionally reversed into her vehicle.
As more officers arrived at the scene, Mather then moved forward and ended up colliding with another police vehicle as he attempted to get away.
Unable to move off, he was then swiftly detained by officers.
Police said the incident had resulted in the victim fearing ‘she would be stabbed by Mather’.
Detective Constable Robert Shakespeare, of GMP's Stockport division, said: "This was a terrifying ordeal for the victim, who was left fearing that she would be stabbed by Mather.
“Thankfully she was left unharmed and due to the swift response of officers from TVIU we were able to locate Mather and potentially stop him from committing any further offences.
"Once alerted by police, Mather then attempted to ram the police vehicles in a failed attempt to flee officers. Thankfully he was unsuccessful in his escape and no officers were injured and no extensive damage was caused.
“Now Mather faces seven years behind bars where he'll be unable to cause any further fear or disruption."
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