Grandad thrown off bonnet trying to stop car thief

TWO JAILED AFTER 57-YEAR-OLD WAS LEFT TO DIE IN THE STREET

- AMY WALKER

A 'RECKLESS' car thief who left a beloved grandad to die in the street after he was thrown from the bonnet of a car has been told how his 'greed' tore a family apart.

Christopher 'Chris' Hanley had been to visit Charlene Thomas, 37, at her flat in Beswick on the morning of March 16 last year.

As she distracted him, Marvin Sutton, 35, swiped the keys to his Land Rover Discovery. Mr Hanley immediately ran over to the driver's side, before jumping onto the bonnet in order to stop the car as it drove away.

Sutton then flung the vehicle in a 'U-shape, throwing the 57-year-old to the ground. Mr Hanley was left with severe head injuries and was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

In an emotional victim impact statement, Mr Hanley's wife, Helen, said: "Your greed has destroyed my family." At Minshull Street Crown Court yesterday, both Sutton and Thomas were jailed. As he was led from the dock, Sutton pointed to the family of Mr Hanley, who sat in the jury box, and murmured: "Sorry to the family." The night before the incident, on March 15, Mr Hanley visited Thomas at an address on Paxton Place. It was 'unclear' how they knew each other, the court heard.