Pair jailed for life for DPD driver's murder

Mehakdeep Singh, 24, and Sehajpal Singh, 26, were jailed for life on Friday

Two men have been jailed for life for murdering a DPD delivery driver as he was delivering parcels.

Aurman Singh, 23, from Smethwick, was attacked with weapons including an axe, a golf club and a shovel in the Coton Hill area of Shrewsbury in 2023.

Mehakdeep Singh, 24 and Sehajpal Singh, 26, both from Tipton in the West Midlands, who were previously found guilty of murder, were given life sentences on Friday and told they would serve a minimum term of 28 years in prison.

Five other men were convicted in 2024 over the death of Mr Singh, who was based at DPD's depot in Stoke-on-Trent.

During Friday's hearing at Stafford Crown Court, Aurman Singh's mum, Kuljit Kaur, said her son's death had "shattered her world".

She spoke of how she "clung on to hope" and prayed it was a mistake until she "laid eyes on his lifeless body".

Ms Kaur said her son was a "beacon of love and kindness" whose future was "stolen by the hands of strangers".

"I would do anything to have just one more moment with him and give him a hug," she added.

Aurman Singh died after he was attacked in Shrewsbury

Prosecutors said it was unclear what motivated the attack which killed Mr Singh and he died at the scene on Berwick Avenue in August 2023.

The court heard Mehakdeep Singh used a hockey stick during the attack while Sehajpal Singh had a shovel.

The pair fled in a white Mercedes which was later found dumped on Kynaston Road, Shrewsbury, West Mercia Police said.

They then called a taxi to the town's railway station where they got a train to Wolverhampton before fleeing abroad several days later.

They were tracked down and arrested in Austria in May before they were charged with Mr Singh's murder two months later.

'Calculated and brutal'

Wearing casual clothing, the two killers showed no emotion as they listened to judge Simon Hirst's sentencing remarks.

He described the attack as a "carefully planned and executed murder" with the victim "totally unaware" the gang were lying in wait.

Following the hearing, Det Sgt Mat Crisp, of West Mercia Police, said the murder was "calculated and brutal".

He said the gang used a contact to get inside information from DPD to learn Mr Singh's delivery route before carrying out the attack.

"The group used an arsenal of weapons against Aurman, who was defenceless," he said.

"There is no doubt in my mind what their intention was and that was to kill him."

The previous five to be convicted were:

• Arshdeep Singh, 24 of Shaw Road, Tipton, Dudley - guilty of murder

• Jagdeep Singh, 23, of Goodrich Mews, Dudley - guilty of murder

• Shivdeep Singh, 27, of Greenfield Road, Smethwick - guilty of murder

• Manjot Singh, 24, also of Greenfield Road, Smethwick - guilty of murder

• Sukhmandeep Singh, 24, from Paynels, in Orton Goldhay, Peterborough - guilty of manslaughter.