A Wiltshire man has been sentenced for following a teenage girl in his car for half an hour.

His young victim panicked and called the police fearing that he was going to kidnap her.

Puligadda Sai, of Fore Street in Trowbridge pleaded guilty to a section five public order offence of using threatening, abusive or insulting words and behaviour with intent to cause fear of or provoke unlawful violence.

This relates to an incident at around 6pm on September 18, when the 29-year-old followed a young-looking 18-year-old who was walking home from Trowbridge train station towards Staverton.

He followed her from a pub, driving very slowly behind and alongside her at a walking pace – even holding up traffic at times – and there was never any conversation between the two of them.

After 30 minutes, the victim called 999 because she felt frightened and thought she was going to be kidnapped.

After admitting to the offence at Salisbury Magistrates' Court, Sai was fined £415 and ordered to pay £50 to his victim along with a £166 victim surcharge and £85 in costs.

Local Crime Investigator, Shonna O’Harney said: "This was an extremely concerning and frightening incident for the victim involved who feared for her safety as a result of Sai’s actions.

“The way that Sai behaved was completely unacceptable.

"Everyone should be able to feel safe walking home and should not be subjected to this kind of behaviour especially whilst walking home in broad daylight.

"I would like to thank the victim for coming forward and reporting this to the police.

“I hope that this sends a strong message out to the public that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable in our communities and we will act robustly to bring these offenders before the courts to get justice for the victims."