Man admits to killing Clarence

A hit-and-run driver has admitted mowing down Black Country pensioner Clarence Elwin and leaving him for dead in the road.

Carl Campbell, from Wolverhampton, was today facing jail for killing 92-year-old Mr Elwin in Tipton more than a year ago.

The pensioner's beloved 10-year-old Yorkshire terrier Zach was killed instantly in the crash, which happened at 4.20pm on June 21 last year.

Afterwards, Campbell callously dumped his black Toyota Celica car in the middle of woods in Brewood, south Staffordshire, and reported it stolen to cover his tracks.

But police, who had launched a region-wide search for the mystery driver, arrested him a fortnight later.

Obscene

Yesterday, 26-year-old Campbell, of Second Avenue, Low Hill, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop after a road accident, failing to report a road accident and attempting to pervert the course of justice at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

He could now face five years in prison when he is sentenced next month.

At a previous court hearing Campbell showed total disregard for the consequences of his actions when he was photographed making an obscene gesture.

Former railway worker Mr Elwin, a great-grandfather known as Joe to his friends, was knocked down by speeding Campbell while walking his dog just yards from his home in Gospel Oak Road.

His daughter Pauline Fox, of Field Avenue, Tipton, was in court to hear Campbell's guilty pleas in the face of "overwhelming" police evidence.

She said: "I'm pleased he pleaded guilty, I just want it dealt with now. It has been a long time and I feel drained.

"Everywhere I go people still ask about my dad, they all knew him and he was so well-liked around here.

"I shall miss him until the end of time, he was a fit and healthy man, it was such a crime that he never got to live out his life."

Sergeant Bob Hartill, from West Bromwich Road Policing Unit said after the hearing: "I am pleased he has admitted it, but the weight of evidence that we had against him really left him without much choice. It was pretty overwhelming.

He added: "He had hidden his car in woods down a track no-one would ever go down.

"It was found by a dog walker who thought it looked suspicious and reported it to police.

"He had left a wing mirror in the road and it matched the one missing from the car." Campbell was released on bail and is expected back before the court on November 20 for sentence.

Before the incident Mr Elwin had been in "perfect health", but he suffered serious injuries when he was hit and was placed on a ventilator at Sandwell Hospital.

Horrified

He was released on September 26 after a 15-week stay, but needed 24 hours care in a Waterside Nursing Home in Tipton, and was unable to walk.

He was re-admitted to Sandwell Hospital where he died on November 8.

Shockwaves rippled across the Black Country following the tragedy and police were inundated with offers of help after the Express & Star launched a poster campaign to track down the driver.

The posters, featuring a photograph of Mr Elwin with his beloved pet on his knee were displayed in the windows of shops and homes throughout Tipton appealing for information.

Cards and good wishes from people all over the country flooded in to the family, from people horrified by what had happened.

The great-grandfather, who worked on steam railways in Wolverhampton and Oxford, left behind a devastated family including his children, Pauline and Trevor, five grandchildren Gary, Julie, Debbie, Claire and Craig and six great-grandchildren, Daniel, Jack, Harry, Billy, Madison and Amelia.

By Lucy Townsend