Thief faces prison after raid led to woman’s death

3:25pm Friday 21st November 2008

A CAR thief whose bungled diesel raid on a farm ended in the death of a grandmother told his family: “It’s all my fault.”

Tony Aaron Blair, 22, is facing prison after he admitted stealing fuel in the raid during which 68-year-old farmer Rosemary Dove died.

Mrs Dove collapsed while making a 999 call after she and her husband, Frank, spotted the intruder on their farm at Bishop Middleham, County Durham.

Blair, of Leeholme Road, Leeholme, Bishop Auckland, fled after being chased across fields by the couple’s family.

Mrs Dove and her husband had returned home at 8.20pm on Sunday, June 22.

As they approached East House Farm, they spotted an open gate and an unknown vehicle on their premises, then saw a man stealing red diesel from a pump.

Mrs Dove went inside to telephone police and alert their two sons, who farm nearby. While she reported the incident, she told a call handler she felt unwell. Then the line fell silent.

Daughter-in-law Susan later found her on the floor and she was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Meanwhile, her husband, who had been joined by their sons and grandson, chased the intruder, who was in a stolen silver Mitsubishi pickup truck – across fields.

They managed to corner the vehicle, and son Michael got out of his car to approach it. The pick-up knocked him into a ditch, leaving him with serious hip and head injuries.

Blair escaped but was quickly identified as the main suspect. The 22-year-old lived with his grandparents, George and Maureen Brunskill.

Sensing something was wrong, Mrs Brunskill had spoken to her grandson.

Bill Brabban, prosecuting, told an earlier hearing: “She couldn’t calm him down and recalls he kept saying ‘You can’t sort this, there’s a woman dead and its all my fault’.”

On June 24, he had arranged to meet his solicitor to surrender to police, but went on the run again after seeing a police car pass the house. He was later arrested.

He told police: “I didn’t mean to kill anyone, this has got way out of hand. I didn’t even know I’d knocked that bloke over.”

This week, he admitted theft of diesel and causing grievous bodily harm to James Michael Dove, with intent to resist detention.

He also admitted the theft of a Mitsubishi pick-up truck on June 20.

Guilty pleas were also entered to handling a stolen Toyota Landcruiser, a stolen Nissan X-Trail and the theft of a caravan. He was remanded in custody awaiting a pre-sentence report.