Herald court report: Edward Spencer pleads guilty to causing deaths of Campden teens after putting families “through hell” as stark evidence emerges

“TWO years of hell” is how families described the long wait for a driver “who has shown no remorse” to take responsibility for causing the deaths of his friends.

Edward Spencer, 19, passed his driving test only five weeks before he was responsible for a fatal crash that left three dead and three others seriously injured.

He was behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta when he hit a Fiat 500 head-on around 4pm on 21st April 2023, but had maintained he was innocent of any crime and had no memory of what had caused the crash. This week a trial by jury had been due to start on Monday (17th March) at Warwick Crown Court, but at the 11th hour Spencer switched his plea to guilty.

The deadly collision happened just outside Stretton-on-Fosse as Spencer was driving along Campden Road towards Shipston. His passengers were fellow Chipping Campden School sixth-formers Harry Purcell, 17, Frank Wormald and Tilly Seccombe, both 16. All three tragically died as a result of their injuries, leaving their families devastated.

The crash also left the Fiat occupants with serious and life-changing injuries. They were a female driver and her two step-children – who can’t be named for legal reasons.

It took a year for charges to be brought against Spencer, of Armscote Road, Newbold-on-Stour. In April 2024, he was charged with three counts of causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving; and three counts of causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving. Subsequently he pleaded not guilty to all charges at a hearing last September.

The Herald was at the Leamington court on Monday to witness the latest proceedings unfold.

Spencer avoided the cameras of the media and was permitted by court staff to use a side door to the court. Dressed in a smart suit, Spencer stood in the glass-panelled dock of Court One and responded “guilty” six times as each charge was read out by the clerk, with the teenagers’ and other victims’ names ringing poignantly round the courtroom.

Judge Andrew Lockhart KC, presiding, heard from Spencer’s barrister that the basis of the change of plea was that the defendant “could not remember what happened” but accepted reports compiled by investigators that evidenced his culpability.

With guilty pleas entered, the next step is sentencing, which Judge Lockhart set for 28th April back at Warwick Crown Court.

The judge also referred to “video clips” which had been submitted that had been intended to be shown to a jury had there been a trial. Instead, the defence and prosecution teams had to agree what would be fair to be submitted for Judge Lockhart to consider ahead of sentencing.

As previously revealed by the Herald, the police had made an appeal to Chipping Campden students to submit evidence of how Spencer had driven in the past – it is understood a number of video clips were submitted.

Judge Lockhart described the filmed evidence as containing “incontrovertible material” and “where plainly the defendant is the driver”.

It also came to light this week that Tilly had confided in a friend on the afternoon her death that she had been worried about Spencer’s driving. According to her dad, James Seccombe, she had been getting a lift to and from school with Spencer from her Preston home rather than using the bus.

Mr Seccombe told the Daily Mail that messages were subsequently found on Tilly’s phone which “show there was obviously another [driving] incident that she was clearly cross about – to which she got a belligerent response [from Spencer].”

Mum Juliet Seccombe added: “What has been so shocking for us is his behaviour before and also after the crash. He hasn’t shown remorse.”

Mrs Seccombe continued: “Until Monday, he has spent two years not facing up to what he has done. His legal team commissioned two accident investigation reports – one of which was legally aided – on top of the police crash investigation.”

She added: “It’s like the value of the lives of Tilly, Frank and Harry doesn’t mean anything to him.”

The teenager had also applied to the DVLA to get his licence back following the fatal crash, which had been granted. But during Monday’s hearing Spencer was given an interim driving ban by the judge until sentencing.

Another thing that appeared to displease the judge was the fact that Spencer had broken his bail conditions, for which he had been back in court. Judge Lockhart expressed hope that there wouldn’t be “any further difficulties with that”. And pointed out that “it was a more sensitive time as there had been an admission of wrongdoing”.

Toward the end of the 30-minute hearing, the judge, adopting a formal tone, addressed Spencer directly. He again read the charges and the names of victims, and warned him that he would be given a “custodial sentence following pre-sentence reports”.

Under sentencing guidelines causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving has a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a mandatory minimum disqualification from driving for 12 months. The severity of the sentence is governed by culpability and harm done.

Pre-sentence reports will help Judge Lockhart decide Spencer’s degree of responsibility and the appropriate sentence.

Whether this will mean Spencer will go to prison remains to be seen, as he could be given a suspended sentence.

After discussing the submission of victim impact statements – which are to be one per family – the judge addressed the victims’ families sitting in the public gallery, thanking them for their “attendance and dignity”.

Some of the families have said they will speak further after sentencing, with one mum noting they had been “been dragged through two years’ hell” waiting for the trial to commence.

The Seccombes are also supporters of Forget Me Not Families Uniting – a group of bereaved families who have lost loved ones to collisions involving young drivers. They are campaigning for the government to introduce graduated driving licences for those aged up to 24, which could include restrictions such as a ban on new drivers carrying younger passengers and a late-night driving curfew for the first six months.