Clacton man jailed for murdering friend with van after pub row

A man who killed his friend by driving a van at him and dragging him 320 metres has been jailed for life.

Craig Garton, 42, had argued with his friend Dean Clark before they were both kicked out of the Blacksmiths Arms pub in Little Clacton on 7 February 2020.

Essex Police said Garton was in a "drink-fuelled rage" when he drove at the father-of-four.

He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to at least 15 years in prison at Chelmsford Crown Court.

The court heard Mr Clark was knocked to the floor and became trapped underneath Garton's Ford Transit van.

Judge Christopher Morgan said: "You drove 320 metres with Dean Clark under your van and, as you must accept now, the further you drove the more certain it would be that death would occur."

The van only stopped after it hit a bus stop, the court heard.

Mr Morgan said it was still unclear why Garton, who had shown remorse, killed his friend.

"What that argument was about will never be known," he said.

In a victim statement read to the court, Mr Clark's long-term partner described the 41-year-old as her world.

She said their four children had been "robbed of their father".

"They will now have to grow up with a huge hole in their lives," she said.

Essex Police said Garton, also a father-of-four, told officers after his arrest that he "went out for a few drinks and ended up killing my mate".

Garton, of Upper Branston Road, Clacton, was over the drink-drive limit according to a breath test.

As well as being jailed, he was also banned from driving for 18 years.

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