Armed mob convicted of horror killing of DPD worker in Shrewsbury

Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing

An armed mob who killed a DPD worker while he was making deliveries has been convicted.

DPD employee Aurman Singh was part of a two-man crew working in Shrewsbury.

Masked thugs brutally ambushed him in a chilling attack which lasted just "seconds".The 23-year-old was slaughtered with weapons including a 3.5-lb axe, golf club, wooden stave, metal bar, hockey stick, shovel, knife and cricket bat.

Terrified parents quickly ushered their children inside their homes as they watched the armed men invade their street.

Aurman's panicked workmate instantly rushed away from the street, shouting at his friend to run for his life after spotting the weapon-wielding killers hunting down his colleague.

But Aurman only managed to sprint a few yards before collapsing to the ground and falling victim to a vicious onslaught. He was left for dead.

His killers made a quick bid for freedom, fleeing in the two cars they had arrived in and taking some of their weapons with them.

A video of the axe and wooden stave was filmed moments after they got back into the vehicles.

A total of five men denied murdering Aurman, from Smethwick, and stood trial at Stafford Crown Court.

Jurors convicted four of them of murder on Thursday, 28 March.

They now face life sentences for their horrific execution in Berwick Avenue, Shrewsbury, on 21 August last year.

Arshdeep Singh, 24, of Shaw Road, Tipton, Jagdeep Singh, 23, of Goodrich Mews, Dudley, Shivdeep Singh, 27, of Greenfield Road, Smethwick and Manjot Singh, 24, of Greenfield Road, Smethwick, were unanimously convicted of murder.

Sukhmandeep Singh, 25, of Greenfield Road, Smethwick, was acquitted of murder but unanimously convicted of manslaughter.

A trial which started in February at Stafford Crown Court heard how police pieced together the movements of the killers and their victim in the lead-up to the murder.

Footage from CCTV captured Aurman walking into DPD's depot in Stoke-on-Trent just after 6.52am.

Just before 7.15am, he was seen behind the DPD van before it was to be loaded with deliveries.

Defendant Sukhmandeep Singh - who was not present during the deadly attack but described as the 'inside man' offering up information on the victim's whereabouts - was seen using a mobile phone.

He was said to have taken a picture of the DPD van and sent it to his accomplices, jurors heard.

An Audi - which carried the convicted killers to the scene - and the Mercedes, were captured in Shaw Road, Tipton, just before 9.50am.

The boot of the Mercedes was seen to be open while several men stood around it.

Both cars then travelled to get fuel from Esso, in Dudley Port, Tipton, before stopping in the car park outside Castlefields Community Hub, in Shrewsbury.

Footage captured the Mercedes arriving first, with the four wanted men popping into a nearby Morrisons Daily.

They walked over to the Audi once it arrived, with all the men "standing together" for "several minutes" before leaving.

Empty sandwich packets were later discovered by police in the Audi.

The cars were recorded arriving in Coton Mount, Shrewsbury, and seen to be "waiting" at 12.06pm.

Jurors heard how the DPD van drove along that same street just after 1pm, with both cars following it as it travelled up Berwick Avenue.

Footage showed unsuspecting Aurman on his phone in the front passenger seat of the parked van as his colleague made a delivery.

Cameras in nearby Round Hill Green showed Aurman's colleague running from the scene at 1.05pm.

It was at this point that Aurman's fate was sealed and he was ambushed by his killers.

The armed thugs were seen running back to the Audi and Mercedes, with both vehicles fleeing "at speed" just one minute later.

As the mob left the spot, Aurman's "hesitant" colleague ducked behind a black vehicle as he tried to make his way back to the DPD van.

He discovered Aurman's severely wounded body on the ground.

An unmarked police vehicle managed to locate the Audi at about 2.20pm as it escaped from Shrewsbury to the Black Country.

A police helicopter then captured the Audi stopping in Amphlett Croft, in Tipton, 20 minutes later.

Defendant Arshdeep Singh was seen "rummaging" in the boot of the car before dumping the axe in a wheelie bin.

Officers attempted to bring the Audi to a stop as it made its getaway by deploying a stinger but the driver manoeuvred around it.

The Audi finally came to a stop, surrounded by police and dogs.

The four occupants of the Audi dropped to the floor before they were handcuffed.

All five men - who have been remanded in custody - will be sentenced at a date to be fixed.

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