Three bikers jailed for 'senseless' killing of rival motorbike group member in Plymouth

• Watch Sam Blackledge's report

Three members of a Plymouth motorcycle group have been jailed for a total of 20 years after being found guilty of killing a rival biker on the A38.

David Crawford died when his motorbike was deliberately hit by a transit van being driven by a member of a biker group in May.

The driver of that van, Benjamin Parry, was jailed today (13 January) for 12 years.

Two other men - Thomas Pawley and Chad Brading - were accused of conspiring with Parry to target the victim and were jailed for four years.

David Crawford was a 59-year-old grandfather from Ivybridge and a member of the Red Chief's Motorcycle Club.

Mr Crawford got trapped underneath Parry's van and dragged along the dual carriageway for hundreds of metres.

He died at the scene after suffering horrific injuries.

Parry and his two co-conspirators, Thomas Pawley and Chad Brading, all of whom belonged to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club were jailed for manslaughter.

• Watch the footage from inside the van that traps David Crawford

David Crawford's family said his death was a "huge shock" and that they miss him every day.

The court heard a victim impact statement from David Crawford's daughter, Sarah, said her heart felt like it had been "ripped from her chest" when she heard of her dad's death.

She said: "My first thought was my poor dad. Was he in pain, how long was he suffering for?

"Did he know he was dying? Soon afterwards the realisation hit me that I had to tell the rest of the family.

"This has been a huge shock. My dad was a massive character in the community of Ivybridge. Everyone knew Dave or 'Mad Dog'.

"He wasn't pushed around but he had a softer side - or as he would say 'I'm all soft and gooey inside'. We miss him every day."

Mr Crawford's widow Ann-Marie described her husband as the "life and soul" of the party.

"He was funny and he was very protective of the people he cared about," she said.

"He was very passionate about rugby. He had a motorbike most of his life."

She added: "When the police told me he had been killed, our worlds changed in that split second.

"Finding out the people involved were a rival biker club, my world became very small.

"I don't leave my mum's house unless I have to or I am with someone.

"I've stopped going to the gym, I have anxiety and panic attacks and I don't sleep because I'm unable to switch off my brain.

Sean Brunton KC, mitigating for Benjamin Parry, said: "He knows he must pay a price for his idiocy, his aberration and his dreadful mistake.

"He apologises unreservedly for what he did. But a mistake is what it was. It wasn't intended to happen."

Ignatius Hughes KC, mitigating for Thomas Pawley, said he is of "entirely previous good character.

"Very often when people come before the courts, we see a history of offending. But not in his case," he said.

"A man who has worked his whole life honourably discharged from the forces, and in genuine real terms never offended anybody in life.

"Mere membership of a motorcycle club does not make you dangerous or even bad.

"Thomas Pawley had been associated with this club for mere months as a probationary member."

During the hearing, Justice Neil Garnham said the footage from the van makes for "sickening" viewing.

"Mr Crawford was thrown up onto the bonnet of the van. From there he pitched head first. Mr Crawford fell beneath the van where he became trapped.

"You, Parry, did not stop even though you knew you had struck Mr Crawford and his bike. You carried on down the A38, a distance of almost 1,000 metres.

"Mr Crawford was trapped under your vehicle, being grated along the tarmac that entire journey.

"As you turned off, the motion propelled Mr Crawford's body out from under your van. If you did not know what happened before, you did then.

"And yet still, you did not have the common decency to stop, you drove off home."

The judge told Pawley and Brading: "There was a common enterprise between you to give Mr Crawford a 'slap', but not that he should be run down or seriously hurt or killed.

"But you did not stay or call an ambulance, instead you too drove off home. Mr Crawford was utterly innocent in all this. Neither he, nor his fellow bikers, had done anything wrong.

"You three had absolutely no business trying to dictate who rode their bikes in Plymouth or what colours they wear. Mr Crawford's family have been left devastated by his senseless killing."

The judge told Parry he planned that there should be an attack on Mr Crawford.

"Although I accept you may not have intended this outcome, very significant mental and physical suffering was caused to the deceased," he added.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Rob Smith from Devon and Cornwall Police said: "It's been a painstaking investigation to be able to piece together the movements of the individuals involved and present that to the court.

"I hope the sentencing today will give the family some closure to the incident and allow them to move on with their lives."

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