Man jailed after terrifying incident in Sunderland's Chester Road

A passenger in a van that hit a woman when she tried to stop a thief who stole money from her in the street has been put behind bars.

The victim, who used a walking aid, spent six weeks in hospital after the terrifying incident in Chester Road, Sunderland, in September 2018.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that Lewis Smith, 21, took cash she was holding in her hand and jumped into a van which was driven by Alan Dobson, 49, with 26-year-old passenger Kyle Hurworth.

The brave woman held onto the open door of the vehicle as it drove away, in attempt to stop the trio from speeding off.

Instead, as they accelerated away, she was kicked, which caused to her fall on the road.

Dobson proceeded to run over her shoulder and neck, before leaving her stranded and seriously injured.

David Robinson-Young, prosecuting, said: "On the 14th of September 2018 at around 3pm, (the complainant) got off a bus on Chester Road in Sunderland.

"She was going to see her friend who worked at a shop there called Fair Blinds. She saw him on the pavement outside the shop.

"She asked his advice on what bus she needed to get to the city centre. He told her before he returned to the Fair Blinds shop.

"(The complainant) remained on the pavement in a doorway next to the store,

this was on the same side of the street as the Fair Blinds shop.

"Shortly before she arrived on Chester Road, the three defendants had arrived in a van which parked outside of a pawnbroker on the street called Ramsdens.

"Smith had got out of the van and had gone to the shop called Vape on the other side of the road. Dobson had gone into Ramsdens to cash a cheque.

"As Mr Dobson was standing on the pavement in the doorway he saw she had in her hand a small amount of cash and also a small quantity of cannabis."

The court heard the woman then heard a male's voice coming from the van, which turned out to be Hurworth's, shout: "Give us a tenner's worth."

To her horror, Smith then returned from the shop and ran at the woman and swiped the cash from her hand before jumping back into the van.

Mr Robinson-Young said the victim ran after him and held onto the door as it began to drive away.

She then heard one of the men, who turned out to be Hurworth, order Dobson to "drive faster."

He said: "(The complainant) heard one of the males shout to the other 'She's not letting go' and 'kick her, kick her.'

"Smith was now facing her and he kicked her to her face twice with the sole of his foot which caused her to fall from the side of the van to the road.

"She felt wheels of the van run over her shoulder and her neck."

The court heard the men then drove off and a number of witnesses rushed to the woman's aid.

The men were later arrested and they each pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.

Smith also admitted a separate charge of theft.

In a victim statement, the woman said: "As a result of this I spent around six weeks in hospital and suffered numerous serious injuries including several broken ribs, a broken shoulder, two broken vertebrae, a punctured lung and had two teeth knocked out."

At a hearing in August, Dobson, of Melville street, Chester-le-Street, Durham, was sentenced to two years and eight months behind bars.

At the same hearing, Smith, of Hazel Avenue, Houghton, was sentenced to an 18-month community order alongside 35 rehabilitation days and a £100 fine.

Today, Mr Recorder Simon Goldberg KC sentenced Hurworth, formerly of Chester-le-Street but now of no fixed address, to 18 months behind bars.

Christopher Knox, defending, said Hurworth was an adolescent when the offence took place and has stayed out of trouble since.