Amputee, 50, was ‘murdered’ by thief who ran him over with his own car after home raid, court told

A father with a prosthetic leg who attempted to stop an intruder from making off with his car was left dying in the road after the thief used the vehicle as a weapon, a court has heard.

Marc Allen, 51, disturbed alleged intruder Errol Woodger at his home in south-east London in December 2019. 

When Mr Woodger snatched the keys to his Mercedes GLA, Mr Allen put on his prosthetic leg and gave chase, prosecutor Anthony Orchard KC told a trial at the Old Bailey.

Mr Allen stood behind the vehicle on the driveway outside his ground-floor flat in Erith, in the London borough of Bexley, and shouted: ‘You aren’t taking my car,’ jurors were told.

But the Mercedes then reversed sharply, the court heard, before ploughing into him ‘at speed’ as he stood in the middle of the road.

The impact sent Mr Allen over the roof of the car, causing severe head injuries, jurors were told. One neighbour claimed they heard his head ‘crack’ after he slid off the Mercedes and hit the road.

Mr Allen was treated at the scene and at King’s College hospital, but died a month later. Mr Woodger, of Abbey Wood in south-east London, denies murder and robbery.  
  
‘On 29 December 2019, Marc Allen interrupted a burglary at his property, his car keys were taken,’ Mr Orchard told the court.

Following the incident on Peareswood Road, Erith, seen here, Errol Woodger, a 38-year-old man from Abbey Wood in south-east London, has denied murder and robbery

‘Marc Allen attempted to stop the thief, this defendant, driving off in his car. The car was used as a weapon to run Marc Allen over as he attempted to stop the theft.’

Jurors were told that Mr Allen’s car had been supplied by a mobility scheme because he had a prosthetic leg.

‘It appears he became aware of someone either exiting the next-door premises, or in the communal hallway,’ said Mr Orchard.

‘Marc Allen must have put on his prosthetic leg and gone to his front door. Within minutes Marc Allen’s Mercedes was being stolen.

‘His car keys had been taken. You can be sure he didn’t hand them over voluntarily.

‘Linda Rumsey lived nearby on the opposite side of the road. As she turned off the TV to go to bed, she recalls she heard shouting outside,

‘She went to her window and saw Marc Allen standing by the rear of the car, on the driveway. The driver’s window was partially open. She could see the head of, she assumed, a dark-haired male, driving.

‘The car engine was revved up several times. The car lights were on, as was the security light at the property. The vehicle then reversed quickly out of its parking spot, and on to the road,

‘The car may have given Marc Allen a glancing blow as it was being reversed, he moved out of the way.’

The car reversed back about three houses according to Ms Rumsey, and once the vehicle was in the road Marc Allen was standing in front of it.

Ms Rumsey told police: ‘The car revved forward at speed towards my neighbour, my neighbour didn’t move out the way, he stood in the road.

‘I think he thought the car was going to stop, but I could see he wasn’t going to stop. The car drove forward at speed and hit my neighbour.

‘I think it was the middle of the car bonnet which hit his body, he went up onto the bonnet and over the roof.

‘He slid down the back of the boot and his head went bang when it hit the floor, I heard his head crack, it sent a shiver through me.

‘Whoever was in that car was intent on taking it, nothing was going to stop him.’

Another neighbour, who said Mr Allen yelled ‘Hoi’ a number of times before the collision,described a ‘golf ball sized’ lump on the back of his head when he was found lying in the street.’

Mr Orchard added: ‘The prosecution case is the Mercedes vehicle being stolen was used deliberately as a weapon to facilitate the escape of the thief, this defendant.’

The trial continues.