Gresh in the news again

Front page of Metro (North) newspaper today.

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?Family_crash_dad_turned_Land_Rover_into_death_trap&in_article_id=436150&in_page_id=34

BBC Lincolnshire yesterday, too.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lincolnshire/7770861.stm

"incompetent modifications"
load of rubbish, there just looking for reasons to slate 4x4's cant they just leave the poor guy alone he has already lost four children i think what ever went wrong lesson learned no need to stretch it out for this length of time
cheers kieran

It's so awful to go through all of this, as well losing your children. Most older Land Rovers have replacement parts from other vehicles or scrap yards. Most of the comments seem irrelevant, e.g that he'd changed his gear box. It's hard to imagine what he's going through, although I have been keeping up with his blog. All we can do is wish him luck.

Lu and T :bom:

Firstly I do agree that the bloke has been through more than enough and (in my opinion) in no way should he be made accountable for the kids tragic death. That said though, I am sure they will try to make an example of him. Sadly though I believe it is a different story with regard to the car and its condition...

Quotes from link above...
"...Mr Spencer said the calliper on the offside front brake was bigger than the one on the nearside front brake and this caused the car to slew when the driver hit the brakes..."

..."Mr Spencer said: "Sometimes, the vehicle would stop straight, but, other times, it would lock and grab erratically.""...

What was Gresh thinking of? This I would agree is "ill-judged" and "dangerous".

I understand that these are not the only issues being considered.

The big question I believe is where to draw the line between throwing the book at him for a dangerous car and separating that issue from the kids. To that end I sincerely hope they get it right.

Good luck Gresh, our thoughts are with you.
Jon

kieran wrote:

"incompetent modifications"
load of rubbish, there just looking for reasons to slate 4x4's cant they just leave the poor guy alone he has already lost four children i think what ever went wrong lesson learned no need to stretch it out for this length of time
cheers kieran

I tend to be quite wary about what I read in the press. I've been reading fairly detailed daily updates on a local paper's site: http://www.horncastlenews.co.uk/news/Death-crash-dad39s-trial-.4794043.jp, as well as Gresh's blog. I think today the trial has begun to give Gresh's side of the story. Previously there have been some comments, which I feel are less relevant, e.g. comments about repairs being needed on the way home from an off road course, which is not uncommon in my experience. People outside the Land Rover / 4x4 community don't always seem to understand about the vehicles and activities. All we can do is wish Gresh luck and hope he gets a fair hearing. :star:

Lu :bom:

I suppose you've all heard by now, Gresh was found guilty and will be sentenced in January. Not looking good as they are talking about a custodial sentence.

A fair case? Surely all this sensationalist newspaper jargon of “his vehicle was made up of 5 different Land Rovers” does not help? Strewth, if truth be known the majority of elderly Land Rovers on the road today are made up from 30, 40 or even 50 different vehicles! They just don’t understand. Land Rover owners must be amongst the most environmentally-friendly bunch of motoring enthusiasts on the planet as our steeds are mobile re-cycling plants! It’s just that in Gresh’s case, he had an accident and the ministry has gone through it with a fine-tooth comb. Make any modification whatsoever, I bet they would find fault in it. Bad welding, poor layout, wrong bolt used – a 1,001 different reasons. It makes me spit.

View it any way you want – he was foolhardy, incompetent, negligent, just plain unlucky – but at the end of the day he did not MEAN to kill four of his children! This is the bottom line for me and always will be.

An interesting link at http://www.adadsheartbreak.co.uk/?p=506#comment-604

Along the same lines as I’ve mentioned here, I’ve left a comment or two. Damn! I should have said, “three remaining children the judge should be thinking of”, only I said “four children”. Why haven’t all forums and comment boxes got an EDIT button?

Tom Mc wrote:

...but at the end of the day he did not MEAN to kill four of his children! This is the bottom line for me and always will be.

Couldn't agree more.

Just been out to fetch lunch and heard that they have sentenced Gresh to 2 years jail sentence today.

Those poor children first they lose their 4 siblings and now their father will not be around for the immediate future for them.

yet if you randomly stab someone in the streets and kill them you get 4 or 5 years and youll be out in 2....

will gresh be entitled to be out in 1 year?

Crazy~Johno wrote:

yet if you randomly stab someone in the streets and kill them you get 4 or 5 years and youll be out in 2....

will gresh be entitled to be out in 1 year?

I think entitled is probably the wrong word but I know what you mean and sincerley hope so...if not before.