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ONE PAPER ... ALL THE NEWS from Dewsbury, Batley, Ossett, Mirfield, Liversedge, Birstall, Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton & Spen Valley
Friday February 24, 2017
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No. 778
‘WE WANT JUSTICE FOR JONNY’ TRAGIC DEATH... Jonny Binns was knocked down and run over by a car outside The Scarborough pub in Thornhill
Landlord’s appeal after pub regular is knocked down and killed in car park: ‘If anyone knows anything about what happened, please come forward...’ By Danny Lockwood THE LANDLORD of the Thornhill pub where a man was tragically killed last Friday night has appealed for the people who saw what happened to come forward and speak out. Jonny Binns was hit by a car and killed in the car park of The Scarborough pub at 8.40pm, after a fight broke out on The Town, the road which runs through the heart of the village. Police have arrested nine men and youths aged between 16 and 20 and released them on bail. Paying tribute to pub regular Mr Binns, 32, who lived on Ings Crescent in Thornhill, landlord Richard Leather described him as “a polite, kind lad, always with a please and thank you, who would do anything for folk”. Mr Leather, who has run the pub with his wife Rowena for 19 years,
Messages, above, from Jonny’s mum and family and, left, floral tributes outside The Scarborough pub
said Jonny “was certainly not a fighter” and that it was more likely he had left the pub to see if he could help stop trouble rather than get involved. He said the large car park, which
also acts as a footpath onto the neighbouring Henley Avenue estate, was very busy at the time. As one vehicle went to leave the scene of the trouble it was said to have hit and then run over Mr
Binns, who has a young son. It is believed the 19-year-old driver, who was held over the weekend before being released on police bail, lives in Hanging Heaton. “We don’t know what was happening outside,” said Mr Leather. “You can see Jonny in the pub on CCTV and also see regulars looking out of the front (towards the Scarborough fish and chip shop across the road) to see what was going on.” He said local people were still in
a state of shock but added: “Number one, we want justice for Jonny and I can’t stress enough – if anyone knows something, anything, about what happened, even if they were doing something they shouldn’t have been, then please, please come forward.” A dedicated Leeds United fan, the victim had worked at Dewsburybased Dust Control Systems in Shaw Cross Business Park for more than 12 years. Managing director Philip Oldfield said: “We are all devastated and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.” More than 100 tributes were placed in the pub car park over the weekend and a crowdfunding page to raise money for Jonny’s son and the son of his former partner had raised more than £1,600 by Thursday afternoon. A pot on the bar of the pub had raised more than £500 and a framed Leeds United shirt dedicated to
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