A MAN who carjacked a Good Samaritan who had stopped to help him has been jailed for five-and-a-half years. Having just ploughed his own car into a ditch, callous Mark Allgood, 31, chased after the kind-hearted woman, assaulted her, stole her car keys and

A MAN who carjacked a Good Samaritan who had stopped to help him has been jailed for five-and-a-half years.

Having just ploughed his own car into a ditch, callous Mark Allgood, 31, chased after the kind-hearted woman, assaulted her, stole her car keys and drove off.

The grey Audi A3 belonging to the married teacher was found dumped in Needingworth a few hours later, having been burnt out by Allgood.

The terrifying incident took place on the A141 in Huntingdon, at the roundabout joining roads from Wyton, March and Abbots Ripton.

Wisbech man Allgood listened with his head bowed as Peterborough Crown Court heard details of the offence, which took place at 8pm on March 4.

Craig McDougall, prosecuting, told the court how the woman, in her 20s, had been deeply affected by the carjacking.

She watched in horror as Allgood smashed his silver Vauxhall Vectra into a ditch and she then pulled up nearby to phone the emergency services, Mr McDougall said.

"She was alone, in shock and concerned for her own safety, but nevertheless she stopped to help," the prosecutor said.

After searching for her mobile phone for a few moments, Allgood emerged from the wreckage and got into the passenger door of the woman's car.

"Once inside the car he said 'drive, you've got to drive me'," Mr McDougall said. "She replied: 'no, no, I'm not going to drive you'.

"She took the keys out of the ignition, got out of the car and ran away as fast as she could screaming 'help me' - he gave chase shouting 'shut up'."

Mr McDougall said the woman eventually fell onto the grass verge and Allgood jumped on top of her with all his weight, demanding her keys and aiming punches to her upper body and kicks to her legs.

Eventually the petrified woman gave Allgood the keys and he drove off, almost causing another accident, the prosecutor said.

The £10,000 car was discovered burned out at Millfield Football Club, in Mill Way, Needingworth at about 10.45pm.

Allgood's solicitor Stephen Hopper said there was 'absolutely no excuse' for Allgood's actions, but insisted his client had shown genuine remorse and had written a letter of apology to his victim.

Jailing Allgood for a total of five-and-a-half years, Recorder Sean Enright said: "This was a very unpleasant offence that you committed in a panic."

Allgood was handed four-and-a-half years in prison for robbery and one year for driving the stolen Audi dangerously, to run consecutively.

He was also handed a concurrent six-month jail sentence for driving his own car dangerously and banned from the road for five years. Lesser offences of driving each vehicle without insurance or a driving license were given no separate penalty.

DI Ian Simmons, who led the police investigation, said: "I am extremely pleased with the sentence. This was a nasty and unprovoked attack on a young woman who had stopped to help a man she believed to be in trouble.