Case over hearse driven on football pitch dropped

The hearse was left abandoned on the pitch in Gateshead

A man charged with criminal damage after a hearse was driven on to a football pitch will face no further action because of a lack of evidence, a court heard.

The 29-year-old was charged after the disturbance at Dunston UTS football club, in Gateshead, on 21 July 2023.

He had been due to appear at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court in South Shields on Friday for a plea hearing, but did not attend.

Prosecuting, Stephanie Cook said the case would no longer proceed “due to an unrealistic chance of conviction”.

Robin Ford, defending the 29-year-old, said there had “not been enough evidence and there never had been”.

Magistrate Mr Murphy then agreed to discontinue the case.

A hearse and a Subaru car were driven onto the pitch last year at the stadium on Wellington Road during half-time.

Those inside the hearse threw leaflets on to the pitch, before abandoning the vehicle and driving off in the Subaru. The match was later called off.

No-one was reported to have been threatened or injured, but the defendant had also faced charges of intent to cause the spectators harassment, alarm or distress.

Four other men had also been subject to a police investigation in connection with the disturbance, but on Friday, Northumbria Police said the men faced no further action.