Willenhall driver who hit judge ‘was uninsured, speeding and smoked cannabis before crash’

An uninsured driver whose car clipped a district judge as he tried to cross a busy road in Birmingham after Christmas celebrations was speeding and had smoked cannabis before the crash, a court has heard.

Lawyer Matthew Mawdsley, a father-of-three who lived in Manchester, had been appointed as district judge in the city just weeks before he suffered fatal injuries in a collision on the A38 Aston Expressway on December 16 2022.

The 54-year-old had been out celebrating Christmas with his district judge colleagues and had continued drinking into the evening before attempting to walk back to the hotel he was staying in that week due to train strikes, Birmingham Crown Court heard on Monday.

Mr Mawdsley had been trying to cross the busy carriageway at around 10pm when he was hit by the rear nearside of a car being driven by Elliott Nash, 33, who was on his way home from working on a stall at a Christmas market in Pigeon Park.

He fell to the ground and was then hit by another car, suffering catastrophic head injuries, as well as fractures to his pelvis, ribs and hip.

Nash, from Willenhall in Walsall, is on trial accused of causing death by driving while uninsured, which he denies.

Prosecutor Phillip Bradley KC told a jury of six women and six men that Mr Mawdsley’s attempt to cross the busy road may have been affected by alcohol, but said Nash simply should not have been on the road in the first place.

Opening the Crown’s case, he said: “We all know at that time of year, the city centre sees workers and partygoers attending Christmas parties. Mr Mawdsley was no different.