News
Robbery suspect John Hayden of Essex died in water-filled Cambridgeshire ditch
Mr Haydon was in a car being driven by a Wilburton man who has been charged with robbery and causing the death of Mr Hayden by dangerous driving
John Hayden died in a water-filled ditch in Cambridgeshire, 80 miles from his Essex home, it was confirmed today. Mr Hayden, 36, a suspect in a Manea robbery, was found in a silver Ford Focus in a water-filled ditch in Byall Fen Drove, Manea, at about 7.30pm on October 22.
Officers and paramedics attended, but Mr Hayden, of London Road, Maldon, Essex, was pronounced dead at the scene.
His family have requested privacy.
An inquest into his death has confirmed he died after being found “submerged in water following a road traffic collision. His death was confirmed at the scene”.
A full inquest will be held later.
Mr Haydon was in a car being driven by a Wilburton man who has been charged with robbery and causing the death of Mr Hayden by dangerous driving after Manea One Stop shop was robbed.
At 7.30pm on October 22, police were alerted by ambulance crews to the car in a water-filled ditch in Byall Fen Drove, Manea.
Road policing officers found Mr Hayden dead in a silver Ford Focus.
Sonny Loveridge, 25, of Stretham Station Road, Wilburton, Ely, has been charged with robbery and causing death by dangerous driving.
Bharat Sisodiya, owner of the One Stop shop in Manea, said no one in the store at the time was hurt.
In a message to villagers, he said he wanted to “thank you everyone for your support”.
A local councillor said the alarm was triggered during the robbery “and the people who attempted the robbery fled empty handed and then crashed on the way out of the village”.
Mr Hayden was pulled from the car at Byall Fen Road, Manea, shortly after two men had held up the village One-Stop shop and post office in Park Road, Manea.
Loveridge was discovered uninjured close by and arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and drink and drug driving.
Anyone who witnessed the crash, or who may have dashcam footage of the moments leading up to it, should contact the road policing unit via webchat or by calling 101, quoting incident 457 of 22 October.
