Portslade man charged with kidnapping and beating a woman from Hove

An unemployed man from Portslade is due to appear before Brighton magistrates this morning (Monday 16 July) charged with kidnapping a hairdresser’s receptionist from Hove.

Stephen Webber, 41, of George Williams Mews, Portslade, is accused of kidnapping 26-year-old Laura Chapman, of Westbourne Gardens, Hove.

He has also been charged with two offences of assault by beating and one offence of assault causing actual bodily harm.

The charges follow an investigation by Sussex Police into Miss Chapman’s disappearance last Tuesday (10 July).

She was found near Eastbourne on Saturday (14 July) and, after medical treatment for minor injuries at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, in Brighton, she returned to her family.