THE ex partner of a twisted security guard who plotted to kidnap, rape and murder TV star Holly Willoughby says she’s “finally safe” after he was jailed.
Gavin Plumb, 37, was on Friday handed three concurrent life sentences – one for each of the offences – with a minimum term of 15 years.
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Laura Roberts, 38, said the sentence was the “biggest relief” of her life.
The mum of Plumb’s two children, who are now 15 and 16, broke down in tears when she heard the news he was caged.
She said: “My jaw is on the floor.
“I am so happy, I’m over the moon to be honest. I can hardly explain how I feel.
“It is the biggest relief of my life.
“I feel safe, finally. I feel like our kids are safe with him behind bars and now he can’t have any influence on them.
“I want to thank the judge for doing this for us and for making all women safer in this country.
“I hope he (Plumb) never gets out and they throw away the key.”
She previously said: “I have known for over 25 years how evil this man is.
“If he is on the streets, then I would also warn all women and their daughters to be careful and stay away from him. He is a predator.”
Laura, who had orders in place to stop Plumb contacting her and their two children, said she believes he has only got “more evil”.
“There is no way he will stop, why would he change the habits he has now?” she continued.
“He loves the feeling of power he has over women and I honestly believe it will get worse as he gets older.”
Plumb will remain on the sex offenders’ register for life and has also been handed a restraining order.
Holly, 43, bravely waived her anonymity in regards to the incitement to rape count so that she could be named in court.
The plot had a “catastrophic and life-changing impact” on her, the court heard in Plumb’s sentencing hearing.
Jurors were told Plumb began obsessing over the former This Morning star when his weight ballooned to 35 stone.
As he was housebound, he began watching more daytime TV, which led to Plumb developing a “celebrity crush” on Holly.
This turned sinister when Plumb set his sights on snatching the presenter after spending years researching kidnapping celebs.
The security guard had made previous abduction attempts – targeting two cabin crew workers on a train as air stewardesses were a “fantasy” of his.
He also tied up a 16-year-old girl at knifepoint but was freed from jail for that disturbing offence in 2010.
Following his release, Plumb spent “99.9 per cent” of his time online – trawling through creepy websites for an accomplice as he formulated his Holly kidnap plot.
He collected a cache of millions of images of the presenter and other female celebrities.
Plumb also tracked Holly’s movements and activities for “some time” as he gathered intel on her security arrangements.
At one stage, he even considered booking a tour to the ITV studios that would involve meeting presenters.
He discussed the plot with an accomplice named Marc, telling him: “I’m at the point where idc (I don’t care) about the risks or consequences.”
In voice notes between the pair, Plumb told how they could strike in the dead of night – using chloroform on Holly and her husband Dan Baldwin to knock them out.
The security guard also said the “home invasion” plan would guarantee that “Phil will get a new co-host” – referring to Holly’s former This Morning host Phillip Schofield.
As his ideas began to take shape, Plumb ordered 400 “heavy duty” cable ties from Amazon for a “restraint kit”.
He also purchased two £9.20 bottles of chloroform, handcuffs, shackles and a gag – with a chilling image showing all the instruments laid out on his bed.
But greedy Plumb could not resist sharing the secret plot with another person – undercover police officer David Nelson.
In alarming one-on-one chats, he shared videos of the kit and a map showing the route between his house in Essex and Holly’s home.
Plumb also used the alias “BigBear” to post pictures of the star on the shocking Abduct Lovers website.
Believing the plan was a “credible” one, Nelson contacted both the FBI and police, who swooped on Plumb’s home in October last year.
Footage showed the officers being greeted by a topless Plumb, who told them Holly was a “fantasy of mine”.
He also demanded “what are you talking about?” and asked officers “what the hell was going on”.
Plumb was holding a mobile at the time, which he refused to hand over a pin for as officers didn’t “need to know that now”.
Having heard that police would search his house, Plumb said: “I mean based on what you’ve said I can pretty much guess what you’re looking for.”
Chilling echoes – how Plumb became obsessed with kidnapping Holly after previous snatch attempts
By Holly Christodoulou, Digital Court Editor
YEARS before Plumb had even set his sights on Holly, he became fixated on fulfilling a warped kidnap fantasy.
The security guard spent his time hunched over a computer screen as he trawled through forums dedicated to abduction.
In 2006, Plumb tried to lure a terrified cabin crew worker off a train using a threatening note.
He wrote: “I have got a gun. All you have to do is keep quiet. Do what I say. So just stand up and get off at the next stop with me. Don’t cry or make a sound.
“Don’t stop me from touching you because I won’t hurt you. If you do all of this, no-one will get hurt but if you don’t I am going to shoot you and myself and everyone else.”
Although the plan failed, undeterred Plumb tried again just two days later when he stumbled across another air stewardess on a train.
This time – armed with an imitation firearm and rope – he pretended to be a police officer to get the woman off the train and kidnap her.
But again the plan failed and Plumb retreated back to his online friends to hone his plan.
He put this into practice in 2008 when he attempted to tie up two teenage girls while working in Woolworths.
Holding one 16-year-old at knifepoint, he told her: “Get to the back of the storeroom”.
He was locked up but released two years later where he set the wheels in motion to snatch his “ultimate fantasy” Holly.
Drawing from his previous experience, Plumb knew exactly what it would take to “terrify and overpower a woman”.
This was evident in his “restraint kit”, which consisted of handcuffs, shackles, a gag and two bottles of chloroform.
Thankfully for Holly, he chose the wrong online accomplice to reveal his plan to – an undercover cop who was able to warn police before it was too late.
Hopefully Plumb will now be locked up for a long time so he won’t be able to make his disturbing fantasy a reality.
He later added: “As I said, it’s totally taken me by surprise. I know what it’s about, I can tell you, I reckon, I, I know what it’s about.”
Plumb then answered no comment to all questions in two police interviews after he was taken into custody.
Holly meanwhile had been just moments away from going on air for This Morning when she was told about the sick plot.
The mum-of-three, 43, announced later that month she was stepping down from the show after 14 years.
She said in a social media post at the time: “I have to make this decision for me and my family.”
The star previously told how she will be “forever grateful” to those who foiled the evil plot following the verdict.
Holly added: “As women we should not be made to feel unsafe going about our daily lives and in our own homes.
“I will forever be grateful to the undercover police officer who understood the imminent threat, and to the Metropolitan and Essex police forces for their swift response.
“Thank you to the Crown Prosecution Service, the Rt Hon Mr Justice Murray, Alison Morgan KC, the members of the jury and all involved in this case for ensuring that justice was done and that the defendant will not be able to harm any more women.
“I would also like to commend the bravery of his previous victims for speaking up at the time. Without their bravery this conviction may not have been possible.”
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