‘Vigilantes’ seeking revenge killed innocent e-bike riders in 60mph chase – Bundlezy

‘Vigilantes’ seeking revenge killed innocent e-bike riders in 60mph chase

Image shows William Birchard and Darren George who were cycling home on a single e-bike when they were struck (Picture: SWNS)
William Birchard and Darren George were cycling home on a single e-bike when they were struck (Picture: SWNS)

Two men have been jailed for murdering two e-bike riders in a 60mph chase they mistakenly thought were trying to break into their home.

Alex Rose, 30, deliberately drove his Ford Raptor pick-up truck into William Birchard, 21 and Darren George, 22, in the early hours of July 22.

Rose, from Sunbury, and his passenger Charles Pardoe, were both found guilty of two charges of murder at Guildford Crown Court on Wednesday, September 10.

Rose received a life sentence with a minimum of 34 years, minus time on remand, leaving him with 32 years and 308 days left to serve.

Pardoe also received a life sentence with a minimum of 29 years. His time on remand leaves him with 28 years and 178 days left to serve.

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Alex Rose (L) called Charles Pardoe (R) to meet up and they drove around in his black Raptor for over an hour. (Picture: Surrey Police)
Alex Rose (L) called Charles Pardoe (R) to meet up and they drove around in his black Raptor for over an hour (Picture: Surrey Police)

Rose had mistaken William, 21, and Darren, 22, for people he believed had tried to break into his home earlier that night, jurors at Guildford Crown Court were told.

He pursued the pair, who were on a single e-bike, at 60mph along the M3/A316 slip road in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, just after 12.50am.

The resulting crash saw William, from Colnbrook, die at the roadside, while Darren, from Egham, passed away in hospital later that day.

Rose drove past the men lying injured on the tarmac, ditched the truck and later reported that his vehicle had been stolen.

The Talaria Sting E-Bike. A man arrested at an airport while trying to flee to Turkey after mowing down two e-bike riders in a case of mistaken identity has been convicted of murder. Alex Rose, 30, chased down William Birchard, 21, and Darren George, 22, and deliberately crashed his pick-up truck them after mistakenly believed they had tried to steal from his home. Rose, who had previously been a victim of burglary at his business premises, saw people moving around in the grounds of a college which backed onto his home on the night of July 21 last year. He then called friend Charles Pardoe, 25, and they drove around in a black Ford Raptor for over an hour searching for the culprits. Photo released 11/09/2025
The friends were riding a Talaria Sting e-Bike (Picture: Surrey Police/SWNS)
Alex Rose dumped the Raptor (Picture: Surrey Police/SWNS)
Alex Rose dumped the Raptor (Picture: Surrey Police/SWNS)

Officers tracked Rose to Birmingham Airport on July 23, where he was about to board a one-way flight to Istanbul with his girlfriend, Tara Knaggs.

The flight had been booked only hours before, with Rose carrying a single carry-on bag with a few items of clothing and £4,000 in cash.

Police arrested Rose on suspicion of murder and Knaggs on suspicion of assisting an offender while the couple were in the departure lounge.

Knaggs had told her mother it was a surprise trip for her birthday, arranged by Rose, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Knaggs, 25, from Great Ayton in Yorkshire, was found guilty of assisting an offender. Aspden, 26, of Walton-on-Thames, was found not guilty.

Mary Walford, from the CPS, said: ‘Two men lost their lives as a result of Alex Rose wrongly believing that they were going to break into his property.

‘This was a tragic case of the two victims simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.’

DI Debbie Birch said Rose organised a ‘vigilante hunt’ rather than call the police about the supposed break-in.

‘He intended to take the law into his own hands, and his actions have led to the tragic loss of Darren and William, two young men who should have had their whole lives still ahead of them,’ Birch added.

‘Following the collision, Alex Rose fled the scene, demonstrating a total lack of regard for anyone except himself.’

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