Father arrested after missing court over assault at son’s funeral

Gye Worthy has been arrested after failing to attend court for sentencing over an assault at his son’s funeral. The 40-year-old was due before Teesside Crown Court on Tuesday, where he also faced sentencing for resisting arrest and stealing four bottles of wine.

Worthy had admitted assaulting celebrant Paul Maull during the funeral service for his son Cole, 17, at Teesside Crematorium in Middlesbrough on 9 September. Cole was one of seven people killed when a Volkswagen Passat travelling in the wrong direction collided head-on with a marked police car on the A66 on 22 August.

The crash also killed police officers Matthew Blades, 37, and Tom Clough, who were in the police car. The Independent Office for Police Conduct said they had been looking for the Passat after its cloned number plates triggered a camera, but were not involved in the pursuit that preceded the collision.

The court heard Worthy had not spoken to his solicitors or explained why he was absent. Deputy District Judge Julia Baggs approved the prosecution’s application for an arrest warrant without bail, meaning he will be held in custody ahead of a future court date.

Worthy was also due to be sentenced for stealing four bottles of wine, worth £30, from a shop on 8 October. The BBC reported that the Worthy family home in Acklam had been rammed by a car shortly before the fatal crash.