FIVE MEN DENY CHARGES LINKED TO HEARSE ON FOOTBALL PITCH

Five men pleaded not guilty at Newcastle Crown Court to charges linked to a hearse driven onto the pitch at Dunston Football Club. The vehicle entered during half-time in a Dunston UTS v Gateshead match on 21 July 2023. John Wright, Carl Barron, Graeme Rutherford and Darren Kay denied conspiring to threaten to kill John Henry Sayers, Stephen Sayers, Michael Sayers and another man. The charge covers 5 to 22 July 2023. The allegation says posters on the hearse showed the four men alongside the words “Soon to be deceased”.

Wright, Barron and Rutherford also denied conspiring to damage property at John Henry Sayers’ daughter’s home between 23 June and 5 July 2023. They denied a separate charge concerning damage to another man’s house and its contents between 17 and 30 June 2023. Wright, Barron and Boddy denied conspiring to steal a Citroën C4 between 6 and 11 July 2023. Boddy further denied taking part in the activities of an organised crime group between June and November 2023. That charge concerns allegations that he supplied false number plates and allowed vehicles connected to offences to be stored and disposed of on land under his control.

The wider case includes reports of criminal damage at addresses in Dunston and Byker and a vehicle reported stolen in the Durham area. Wright lives in Tow Law, Barron in Grange Villa, Rutherford in Birtley and Kay in Chester-le-Street. Boddy previously lived in Bishop Auckland. The defendants are due to return to court on 1 November, and the court has set a four-week trial for 1 November 2027.