A WOMAN who narrowly escaped a kidnap attempt by Gavin Plumb has labelled him a “dangerous predator” – and said Holly Willoughby is only safe now he is back behind bars.
The French air hostess, who requested to remain anonymous due to continued fears for her safety, told how she is still “haunted” by the day that twisted Gavin Plumb attempted to bundle her off a train as she sat alone on her way to Stansted Airport.
The now mum-of-two was wearing her blue and yellow Ryanair uniform when predatory Plumb launched his attack armed with a black imitation firearm and three pieces of rope.
Shaking as she recalled the horrifying ordeal, she said: “As soon as he walked over to me all of my senses said something was not right.
“My hairs stood on end and I froze. I had my uniform on, so I had my skirt on and he touched me on my bare leg.
“His hand was massive. It was like a huge paw. I felt physically sick, he repulsed me then and I am still haunted by it now.
“Because I am quite petite and he was so massive I felt in immediate danger. There was no one to help me.”
Sat at the kitchen table in the home where she now lives in France, his first known victim recalled how Plumb, 37, bent down to her and motioned for her to remain silent.
He then flashed an ID card and handed her a piece of paper that read: “I am a police officer. You have to get off at the next station for a quick chat.”
Still noticeably traumatised by the incident which took place just months after she moved to England in 2006 to work for the airline, the 42-year-old added: “I am not native to England and I had not lived there long at that time.
“So I wondered, should I get off? He whispered in my ear that he was a special officer and was undercover.
“He was very close to me and was leaning over and I could feel his breath on me.
“Even though I was a foreigner in England, I was still not convinced by him. I think he sensed this.
“He flashed a card and said, ‘There you go.’ It was like he showed me an ID card or something but it was so quick.
“I said nothing and waited to see what would happen. It was scary because the carriage was deserted but it was daytime.
“Then he just got off at the next stop. I stayed in my seat. It was like I was frozen to the spot.
“I stayed on the train one more stop to the airport. When I got off I ran straight to the station security.”
Transport Police swiftly detained Plumb where he had disembarked at Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex.
After being searched on the platform he was found to be carrying a fake black handgun and three pieces of rope.
During the course of their investigation cops then discovered he had tried to kidnap a SECOND Ryanair worker whilst she was on her way to work in the same week.
The woman added: “I am so thankful to this day that I didn’t get off the train with him.
“It is a quiet station and I hate to think about what might have happened.
“It made me very scared for my safety and being alone when I was outside because I thought he might come back to get me.
“I still worry about that now sometimes.”
Plumb received a suspended sentence for the two kidnap attempts and then went on to attack two 16-year-olds in Woolworths two years later.
He held the two teenagers at knifepoint and bound one of their hands together in a storage room at the store where they all worked.
After being sentenced to two years in prison he was then released in 2010.
Yesterday he was found guilty for trying to kidnap, rape and murder TV star Holly after an eight day trial.
The woman last night added: “The sentence for all of his previous attacks was not enough clearly.
“I know who Holly is because I have seen her on TV and she seems to be a lovely person.
“I am shocked he has been able to go on to ruin her life too. I just feel very sorry that she has also been in this position.
“This sentence is excellent news because I think it is the only way women are safe on the streets.
“He has to stay behind bars for Holly to be safe as well. I have followed the case and he was obsessed with her.”
Plumb had denied soliciting murder and inciting kidnap and rape between 2021 and 2023, but was found guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday.
The security guard had grown obsessed with the idea of kidnapping not just anyone but daytime TV royalty Holly Willoughby.
The fiend was today convicted of soliciting murder, incitement to kidnap and incitement to rape.
Due to Holly’s fame, Plumb would need an accomplice to help him ambush the star before raping then murdering her.
But years spent hunched over a computer screen chatting to like-minded creeps he could recruit had yielded no solid results.
That was until Plumb stumbled across a US-based man named David Nelson while discussing his twisted desires in a forum called Abduct Lovers.
Using the name BigBear, the loner began opening up to Nelson – even bragging about his previous snatch attempt convictions.
Operating with a photo of Holly as his user pic, Plumb told his new pal he had a “s**tload” of information on her.
He also shared videos of his “restraint kit”, which included handcuffs, a gag and two bottles of chloroform to “stupefy” the star.
At one stage, Plumb sent a route map showing the distance between his home in Essex and Holly’s house where he planned to pounce.
Stung in the past by associates who got “cold feet”, the security guard was wary Nelson would actually travel to the UK to help him.
To calm his fears, Nelson sent Plumb a flight booking – causing the security guard to swear and gush: “It’s really happening.”
In return he sent a video to prove he was “real” – listing the day’s date and creepily whispering Holly’s name.
While he thought his sinister plan was coming together, Plumb had actually divulged all his secrets to an undercover police officer.
And Nelson had relayed all the information from the “credible” plan to both the FBI and police.
The officer even wrote in his report that Holly “may be in immediate danger of death”.
Given the level of threat, police swooped on Plumb’s home on October 4 last year.
Footage showed the security guard without a top on as he asked officers what was going on.
He then told cops Holly was “fantasy of mine”.
While he had lusted after the star, Plumb actually went to “great lengths to suggest to other people it was not fantasy”.
Despite there being a sexual element for him, Plumb didn’t mention anything “sexy or gratifying” – instead relying on revealing the more boring details of the plot.
This, the court was told, showed how serious he was in recruiting a genuine accomplice to carry out the plan with him.
In fact, when he met Nelson he believed “after years of planning he had finally found someone who didn’t appear to have cold feet”.
But in reality, the true fantasy was Plumb believing someone out there could truly be as sick as him.
