Axe attack on DPD driver went through to brain

DPD driver Aurman Singh who lived in Smethwick was based at a depot in Stoke-on-Trent and was attacked in Shrewsbury

An attack with an axe, hockey stick and golf club was so severe on a DPD delivery driver as he made his rounds that a blow went straight through to his brain, prosecutors said at the start of a murder trial.

Aurman Singh, 23, who lived in Smethwick, Sandwell, worked from the company’s depot in Stoke-on-Trent.

On Monday 21 August last year he was attacked by a group of men as he delivered to Berwick Avenue in Shrewsbury.

At Stafford Crown Court, all five of the accused appeared and included Arshdeep Singh, 24 of Tipton, Dudley; Jagdeep Singh, 23, of Dudley; Shivdeep Singh, 27, of Smethwick; Manjot Singh, 24, of Smethwick; and Sukhmandeep Singh, 24, of Peterborough. They deny murder.

While five men were on trial, prosecutors said, a total of nine men were involved in the events, with seven carrying out the physical side of the attack.

Arshdeep Singh wielded the golf club, Jagdeep Singh wielded the axe, and Manjot Singh a wooden stave, according to the prosecution.

It was further alleged that Shivdeep Singh drove them to the scene and drove them away again, staying inside a dark grey Audi, one of two cars said to be involved.

Meanwhile, Sukhmandeep Singh, who also worked at the DPD depot in Stoke-on-Trent, was accused of accessing the firm’s computer systems and informing the others where Aurman Singh would be as he worked his way through his delivery route.

But the alleged driver and "inside man" were, the prosecution said, equally culpable of murder as those raining down blows.

On Tuesday, a witness told the court he became aware of the attack after hearing a “commotion” in the street outside his house.

'Hit with weapons'

“I saw some people outside - all males - doing something in the middle of the road," he told the court.

“They were hitting somebody with weapons...”

The witness said he saw one of the men wielding a shovel and another with a long stick which he described as being either a hockey stick or golf club.

He said the attackers, who wore face coverings, did not seem to have local accents and added he thought they may have been from Birmingham.

The jury was shown an image taken by the witness of a departing white Mercedes - the second car said to be involved - as well as the DPD van.

'Losing blood'

He said he saw Aurman Singh sprawled half on the pavement, half on the road and could see instantly that he was badly injured and losing blood.

Other witness statements read out in court described residents rushing to help the driver as he lay in the street.

They described him as having serious head injuries and appearing to have difficulty breathing, with one witness saying she could see the injured man’s brain.

Witnesses described seeing men with turbans and others wearing snoods which partially covered their faces.

Prosecutors said at the trial's opening that Aurman Singh did not stand a chance against such an attack.

“He was chopped in the head three times with an axe - blows which fractured his skull and one of which went through to his brain," the prosecution told the court.

“He was clubbed over the head with the golf club with such force that the head of the club broke off and the shaft was bent.

“He was hit with other weapons including the hockey stick and the wooden stave.

“He was stabbed in the back with such force that the knife cut through one of his ribs.”

The court was told there was an intent to kill although prosecutors conceded they did not know the motive.

The trial is expected to last up to six weeks.