‘Complete disbelief’ as thieves steal hearse before crashing in Nottinghamshire

When the car driver got out to get the details of the occupants in the hearse he was assaulted, suffering a broken nose, facial fractures and bruisin.

Two of the occupants in the hearse, 24-year-old Dayle Deville and 20-year-old Alexia Kelly, have now been sentenced after admitting to their roles in the incident.

Deville, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to charges of actual bodily harm and aggravated vehicle taking (allowing himself to being carried in or on the vehicle).

Kelly, of Brockenhurst Gardens, St Ann’s, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking (allowing herself to being carried in or on the vehicle).

The hearse, stolen from within the grounds of Nottinghamshire Funeral Service Ltd in Foxhill Road East, crashed into the car in Jessops Lane, Gedling, shortly after 5am on October 27 2018.

In a statement the driver said: “I was on Lambley Lane driving towards the bridge when the dark-coloured hearse appeared.

“I initially saw the headlights as they were coming over the bridge. It was travelling at high speed and this part of the road is a 30mph zone. It was travelling much faster than 30mph.

“The hearse lost control as it was coming over the bridge, crossed the road on to my side and smashed straight into the front of me. I was in total disbelief.”

Due to the theft of the hearse the funeral directors had to rearrange a number of appointments and had to replace the vehicle due to the damage caused in the crash.

Deville and Kelly were sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday (May 20).

Deville was jailed for eight months for ABH and received a six month sentence, to be served concurrently, for aggravated vehicle taking. He was also banned from driving for 32 months.

Kelly was given a 15-month community order, with 30 hours’ unpaid work, for aggravated vehicle taking.

Deville also received additional prison sentences after pleading guilty to a charge of robbery, committed in Nottingham on 18 October 2018 (16 months in prison), an attempted robbery in Nottingham on 5 November 2018 (16 months), theft of a phone in Nottingham on 5 November 2018 (9 months concurrent) and a charge of fraud by false representation in Nottingham on 25 October 2018 (4 months concurrent).

Two other men who have already pleaded guilty to charges of actual bodily harm and aggravated vehicle taking, in connection with the hearse incident, have had their cases adjourned until June 3 for sentencing.

They are Jack Jones, 20, of Welbeck Gardens, St Ann’s, and Steven Lambley, 22, of Sherwood Vale, Mapperley.

Steven Lambley has also pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and theft, committed in Nottingham on 5 November 2018.

In a related case, Colin Lambley, 21, of Foxhall Road, Nottingham, and Amy McCarten, 18, of Kilnbrook Avenue, Arnold, pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods and fraud, committed on 25 October 2018. Their case is adjourned until June 19 for sentencing.

Detective Constable Rich Kinsey, of West Bridgford CID, said: “Over a period of two months at the end of 2018, this gang of six individuals targeted the residents of Carlton and Gedling, with offences spanning robbery, assault, theft, fraud, handling stolen goods and even stealing a hearse from a funeral home.

“After a detailed and complex investigation involving a number of officers and specialist departments, we are pleased with the outcome of this hearing and hope that the victims of these crimes can take some comfort from the sentences received and are able to put their ordeals behind them and move on.”

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